Struggling Japanese dairy producers betting farm on new markets

There is a demand in Japan for some good quality, domestic produced extra mature cheddar. Not the bland US, NZ Seiji-Ishii stuff. We need good English-style cheddar

Japanese dairy producers should heed my plee

Are these the same dairy farmers who couldn't provide butter for three years not so long ago?

Or, more accurately, produced just enough butter to engineer a shortage, leaving consumers only allowed to buy one packet at a time at an artificially - increased price?

Naturally, the fact that New Zealand butter is both excellent and plentiful didn't apply here. Can't expect J-Ag to become competitive on the world market now, can we? There'd be no point in locking in all those LDP votes from farmers if that happened.

"We want people to learn about dairy husbandry through opportunities of this kind and hope some are willing to take jobs in the industry," said Naoe Yuasa, 37, a dairy farmer in Funabashi and one of the event organizers. "Although I am having a tough time, quitting is not an option," she said.

They seem to be attracting the wrong types, as seen in the recent videos of abuse of cows in Shimane.

Maybe it is the terrible jobmarket but this is wrong.

https://japan.postsen.com/local/73672/Abuse-video-spread-to-cattle-prefecture-instructs-Shimane-farm-prefectural-police-investigate-Tokyo-Shimbun-TOKYO-Web.html

And the perps were let off with apologies.

Should have let the cows give them a good stomping.

Better and cheaper cheese would have me buying more but produce is largely made as cheaply as possible for the masses not the foreign gourmet

There is a demand in Japan for some good quality, domestic produced extra mature cheddar.

Not just cheddar, any cheese really that goes beyond a bag of random shredded melting cheese. The selection of cheese in our supermarkets somehow manages to be even more depressing than the variety in the bread isle: Melting cheese of indeterminate quality, a can of Kraft parmesan, and on very good days some milk-based mozzarella. That's it, that's the full extent, even in a big, well stocked supermarket.

I know the Japanese are not big on cheese. But I feel a slight increase in dairy products may be easier to sell to the Japanese public than just pressure-injecting them "more milk".

Most of the industrial cheese in Japan is garbage, but there is a guy in Okinawa making real cheese. Check out the Cheese Guy.

They struggle because to get all those goodies and cash subsidies they must a very low level as dictated by JA. And if you ain't a JA member you can't legally sell to consumers. Even farming here is racket.

I have not had any milk since I was 12 years old. In my coffee I drink soy.

They struggle because to get all those goodies and cash subsidies they must a very low level as dictated by JA. And if you ain't a JA member you can't legally sell to consumers. Even farming here is racket.

THIS!

Not just cheddar, any cheese really that goes beyond a bag of random shredded melting cheese. The selection of cheese in our supermarkets somehow manages to be even more depressing than the variety in the bread isle

Oh man I hear you.

It's the JA Ojis that cannot think outside the box. Just make more good quality butter and cheese.

“Struggling”?!

Even when I’m paying ¥1000 for a small block of real butter?

Cut out all the middlemen nonsense in Japanese business!

Not the bland US, NZ Seiji-Ishii stuff. We need good English-style cheddar

Sorry, can’t speak for the US, but the US has some of the best mild and sharp cheddar around, especially if it comes from Wisconsin, it just depends on where you buy it, but I will say that what they sell here in Japan without a doubt is bland.

It's the JA Ojis that cannot think outside the box. Just make more good quality butter and cheese.

JA is Just pure evil, they do more damage than hurt Japanese farmers and the produce market in general.

In the US - cow milk is losing its way and being replaced by a whole raft of plant milks. Now it is a personal choice what one puts in the body, but the technique here seems to be pulling a page from the 1950s and is swimming upstream.

If we have extra milk - how about real ice cream instead of "soft creme", nice butter, and well (as said above) cheese!

I have not drank my 1/2 liter of delicious Japanese milk yet today. Haven’t put milk in my coffee since I was 12.

Japanese milk and especially their sour cream is far far better than anything I can get in the states.

invalid CSRF

Some British style cheddar please!!!!!!

no mention of the government reducing import taxes as well as fuel taxes which would help not only dairy but all business

Not the bland US, NZ Seiji-Ishii stuff. We need good English-style cheddar

NZ agricultural standards are top of the world, and exceed the organic certifications set in other nations.

Add to the that one of the most uncontaminated environments on the planet.

Japan hides a lot of unsavoury agricultural practices and use of agchem and hormones behind the 'domestically produced' label .

Not the bland US, NZ Seiji-Ishii stuff. We need good English-style cheddar

....... and make it extra sharp cheddar! Some saltine crackers and an ice cold beer. I appreciate the tradition of wine and cheese, but I'm just not a wine person. Tillamook Creamery makes a decent cheese in the US.

I have not had any milk since I was 12 years old. In my coffee I drink soy.

I use soy milk for a lot of things but not coffee, the taste is not as good imho. Soy milk in my pancake batter is a winner though.

but the US has some of the best mild and sharp cheddar around, especially if it comes from Wisconsin

sorry dont even come close to the varieties you can get out of Europe, sorry that government cheese in you philli cheesesteak doesn't cut it

Over 90% of Japanese have vitamin d deficiency. Add vitamin d to milk & dairy productd and promote that through the benifits of vitamin D etc.

Elvis is hereToday  06:44 am JST

There is a demand in Japan for some good quality, domestic produced extra mature cheddar. Not the bland US, NZ Seiji-Ishii stuff. We need good English-style cheddar

Japanese dairy producers should heed my plee

Yes! I bought 25 packs in one go when I found it Gyomu. Just as well because it all flew off the shelves in about a week never to be seen again.

For some items the supermarkets have to accept a smaller profit margin imo. Milk is not a luxury item, bread is not a luxury item. Whilst they aren't traditional items, they have become as common in Japanese households as in any western home. Give the farmers the bigger cut of the profits, keep prices low for customers, and make your profits on the other products. As for butter... I cant remember the last time we bought any. It is insanely expensive.

Also, why dont they start making proper cheese? Its seems like the most obvious missed opportunity.

I don't know if I'm the only one who thinks this, but the string cheese here tastes like biting into a rubber band. I used to love string cheese as a kid, and I feel this is a great way to introduce cheese to kids who have a stronger sense of smell and are still unable to eat stronger smelling cheese. Hope they use the excess milk to start creating better quality cheese like everyone is mentioning above!

Yes! I bought 25 packs in one go when I found it Gyomu. Just as well because it all flew off the shelves in about a week never to be seen again.

So you left none for others.

wallaceToday  10:08 am JST

Yes! I bought 25 packs in one go when I found it Gyomu. Just as well because it all flew off the shelves in about a week never to be seen again.

So you left none for others.

Obviously I did if it was there for about a week.........

The new UK-Japan trade deal was publicized as allowing more cheese in, but it'll be mostly PR guff. It was negotiated by Liz Truss so is likely to be no better than the UK-Australia trade deal that has been openly ridiculed on Australian tv.

This is a weird situation. Its tempting to condemn Japanese farmers for being inefficient, but milk and meat are now produced overseas essentially in huge factories. These are so far removed from any childhood notion you may have of what a farm is that I at least almost want to cheer on the slightly less factory-like methods used in Japan. I find it way easier to identify with one guy with 30 cows than a conglomorate with 50,000 flushing their poo or nutrients from it (inadvertently on purpose) down the nearest river. The solution is probably to stop eating dairy, but I like the taste and so do my family.

promoting increased consumption of milk and other dairy products

While at the same time, most Japanese are unable to digest dairy products properly... Great idea.

While at the same time, most Japanese are unable to digest dairy products properly...

Japanese are, by and large, lactase deficient but that doesn't mean they cannot digest dairy products at all, they just have to eat them in moderation. Only about 19% are actually lactose intolerant. And Japanese eat yoghurt (i.e. pre-digested milk). A metric ton of yoghurt. Have you seen the yoghurt isle in supermarkets?

Just make some decent cheese and sell it for a reasonable price.

Drop the price of dairy products!!!!

Milk is meant for baby cows, not humans. Give me soy, almond, and oat milk any time! Healthier and happier!

There seems to be a theme among the posts here, and I wholeheartedly agree: Japan needs reasonably priced, good-quality cheese!

JA and the government, which I suspect are joined at the hip through a complex web of cash-laden gift boxes exchanged at ryotei, are the key to the problem. Their interference in the market is probably a major hindrance for prospective cheese-makers from setting up facilities and distributing them independently.

Cheese, cheese, and more cheese. Nuff said.

I would support that ‘cheese’ solution, because the market for milk is surely limited and even sinking with less childbirths. Also many adults , although liking to drink milk, develop some slight problems with age. As prices fir imported cheese are astronomically high now, there’s a big market for such products, if they would buy a license, from Suisse, Netherlands, France etc and then start to produce. There are already samples for such domestic but originally foreign cheese brands. The problem still is, they often try to trick the consumers , be et the producer or the distributor or the supermarkets, I don’t know, but they demand the same high prices as if it would be imported by chilled air freight from foreign countries. That’s not a good business style when trying to promote more domestic milk consumption.

japanese dairy production is one big misery.

compare to any supermarket in USA Canada Australia EU or even Russia...

good suggestion-lower price of milk.if you have overproduction on market start make products market wants more,say cheese.good cheese in Japan at good price is very hard to find.

Japan's government and dairy associations have begun to focus on promoting increased consumption of milk and other dairy products to drive demand

I don't think there's a lack of demand for dairy products as it is a lack of affordable ones. Milk is more than double the cost here compared to my home country. Dairy by-products like butter and cheese are over triple the cost.

I love dairy but I'm going broke just buying the stuff. Maybe that's why I'm still thin.

We need butter milk too!!!

Good time to promote dairy in 40C weather. Yum!

I only eat imported butter and cheese and will continue to do so until Japanese farmers get there act together.

There is a demand in Japan for some good quality, domestic produced extra mature cheddar. Not the bland US, NZ Seiji-Ishii stuff. We need good English-style cheddar

most of comments are about...cheese!

we miss good cheap cheese here!

Milk and dairy products have high level of radionuclides from Kanto and Tohoku. Good luck.

"I'll just leave this completely random and made up fact here. Good luck."

Everybody is complaining about japanese cheese and rightfully so because it's not cheese per se, it's processed cheese and it is awful.

If one wants even mediocre cheese, they must pay through the nose for some questionable imported cheese.

Kniknaknokkaer

"We need good English-style cheddar"

Yes! I bought 25 packs in one go when I found it Gyomu.

Gyomu supa! Lots of imported stuff. Great prices. Large packages.

When you can't make it to Costco!

Elvis is here

We need butter milk too!!!

Even more than that, we need half & half here! There's nothing better for coffee. Milk is too thin. Cream is too rich. And, that "coffee fresh" they serve here is usually just white-colored vegetable oil.

I end up making my own by mixing cream and milk together. But, I'd rather just buy it.

I see from all the comments we’re ALL Cheese freaks, lol

Nice there’s something we can all agree on.

Yogurt Cake is my favorite.

I like dairy products, especially milk, cheese and cream, oh yeah, great stuff

Milk is easy to get of course, cream! OMG, decent stuff is soo expensive and not of a decent standard in my judgement.

Well, living in my location it’s very easy to get lovely foreign cheeses you see, though Niobe a wonderful selection as would be found in Europe. There’s a place in Namba near the Muji, I think it’s called A1, just can’t recall right now, lol. Anyway, plenty of good Italian and French cheeses in there and the prices are reasonable.

Costco has the Wykes cheddar which is my favourite, yummy. However haven’t been for a few months so I don’t know if they still stock, usually buy a good few when I visit and some of those Australian frozen meat pies, lol

Bought two packs myself this weekend. Still there but not as much stock as previous visits. Good stuff!!

Costco has the Wykes cheddar which is my favourite, yummy. However haven’t been for a few months so I don’t know if they still stock