Santa Fe Dairy Producers Report Severe Financial Distress

Alfredo Trionfini, a dairy farmer and representative of the Confederation of Rural Associations of Santa Fe, described the situation in one of the province’s main dairy areas as “dramatic”. He said large, medium-sized and small farms were all under severe financial pressure. In his assessment, the sector’s economic importance had not received an equivalent response from the other participants in the dairy chain. “Dairy farming is an engine of development that nobody takes into account,” he said.

Trionfini listed limited financing options among the sector’s main difficulties. He said producers lacked sufficient access to loans, debt restructuring and extended repayment periods, while the price paid for milk had remained almost unchanged. He also contrasted farm-gate prices with retail conditions, saying that milk prices for producers were stagnant even as supermarket prices rose to levels that consumers could not afford.

He said signs of financial strain were appearing in farm decisions. Offers were circulating for heifers in their second or third lactation, animals that are generally in highly productive stages, according to his account. He also referred to sales of high-quality herds and complete dairy operations. “Last week entire dairies were sold, and everything is getting smaller and closing down,” he said. The sale of productive animals, he added, could affect farms’ ability to recover if economic conditions later changed.

The representative also questioned the financial return from investments required to improve quality, animal health and traceability. He said producers were being encouraged to make progress in those areas, but that such work required investment supported by a profitable business. “In the end, we have a business where 50% of the bar is black, where nobody knows who is who or what the products are, and the producer is on the floor,” he said. His comments came after farms had invested in productivity and efficiency while awaiting better margins.

Infrastructure problems were another concern in Esperanza and the Las Colonias department. Trionfini said many unpaved rural roads were difficult to use and that improved-road coverage was insufficient. Milk must be collected from farms every day regardless of weather, making road conditions important to the operation of dairies. He also criticised canalisation works that, in his view, moved water towards rural areas and worsened conditions for farms.

Electricity supply was also raised as a problem. Trionfini said the local Rural Society was seeking a dedicated rural team from the Provincial Energy Company to respond to outages outside urban areas. He cited a recent interruption that left producers without electricity for 24 hours. Milking equipment, milk-cooling systems, water pumps and other installations depend on a continuous supply, he said.

Trionfini further criticised the involvement of processors in the sector’s problems. Representatives of the Rural Society had held three meetings in Las Colonias to discuss various issues, but processing companies had not attended, according to his account. “The industry is silent,” he said, adding that companies should participate more in addressing the difficulties faced by their suppliers. “I think they will run out of milk,” he said. He also said producers had invested in their farms because they expected economic conditions to improve. “The producers trusted this model, made the investments and took the risk waiting for change to arrive, and we are still waiting because the change is not coming,” he said.