Castilla y León farmers say milk production costs have exceeded 50 cents per kilogram

The latest official study, prepared by the University of Valladolid and the Technical University of Madrid, covers the period only up to February 2025. According to the study, average production costs were €46.71 per 100 kg of solids-corrected milk in 2024 and €45.73 in the first two months of 2025. UCCL considers these figures well below current cost levels. According to the organisation, straw prices have risen by 52%, diesel by 22%, electricity by 20%, vetch by 16%, alfalfa by 10% and compound feed by 6%.

Without up-to-date official data, UCCL argues, about 600 dairy farms in the region are left defenceless as they renegotiate contracts with processors. More than a quarter of these farms (26%) are in the province of León, 19% in Palencia and 13% each in Ávila and Zamora. Spain’s Food Chain Law (Ley de la Cadena Alimentaria) requires farmgate prices to cover production costs. However, as UCCL dairy head David Alonso Pérez noted, without regular cost studies farmers lack an official technical basis for negotiating a fair price, and the transparency requirement remains on paper only.

UCCL is calling on the regional agriculture ministry to publish an updated cost study immediately and to set up a system for monitoring costs continuously. The organisation also urged consumers to choose local dairy products of Spanish origin.

DairyNews.today previously reported that, according to Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, the average milk price in Castilla y León in August 2026 was €0.476 per litre, 10.6% lower than a year earlier. The number of milk producers in the region fell from 617 to 584 over the year.