SODIAAL AND THE DAIRY SECTOR

OUR MILK

Sodiaal collects 48 different types of milk.
PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), organic, Bleu-Blanc-Coeur, grass-fed, from cows fed without GMOs... These different types of milk, subject to specific specifications, meet two expectations: that of consumers, looking for quality or products consistent with their values (environment, animal welfare, nutritional quality, etc.), and that of farmers wishing to increase the value of their production.

Key figures

3
8,523
COLLECTION POINTS
4,2 billion
LITRES OF MILK COLLECTED
15,295
DAIRY FARMERS
460,000
LITRES OF MILK ON AVERAGE PER FARM
Mountain
PDO/PGI
Organic
949
million litres of cow’s milk collected in the mountains
32 %
of farms are in the mountains
279
million litres of milk collected
7 %
of total litres collected
203 M
million litres of organic milk collected
5 %
of total litres collected

Creating value...

…with milk identified as being of quality and origin or the farms of which are engaged in specific segmentation approaches

At Sodiaal, these types of milk represent 21% of our collection

 

Sheep and goats
We are also expanding our ewe's and goat's milk activities, with growth in the number of exploitations in 2022.
Ewes
Farm
Collection Points
231

Total volume
quantity paid in liters
28 480 759
Goats
Farm
Collection Points
45

Total volume
quantity paid in liters
7 180 545

PDO milks

Sodiaal is a major stakeholder in dairy PDOs and fully plays its role in sustaining and developing these sectors which are of crucial importance for French regions and heritage: maintaining the rural fabric, maintaining typical regional landscapes, preserving traditional know-how and production methods, diversity of regions and flavours, etc.

Our three companies serving PDOs

In particular, we are the largest producer of Cantal, Fourme d'Ambert, Bleu d'Auvergne, Tomme mixte des Pyrénées, Brie de Meaux, Emmental Grand Cru and French Emmental, Gruyère and the second largest producer of Munster and raclette cheese.
lait aop sodiaal
Cheese from Auvergne, Causses, and the Pyrenees
Cheese from Alsace and Ile de France
Cheese from Franche-Comté and Savoie

Grass-fed milk : SPECIFICATIONS

  • Access to meadows less than 1 km from the milking parlour
  • Minimum annual surface area of 12 ares (120 d)/cow
  • Minimum 0.1 ares/DC/day
  • Minimum 120 days of grazing (one day represents at least 6 hours)
  • Extranet declaration before 1 March for the year
  • Daily maintenance of a pasture log (number of cows/entry and exit hours/eligible plot No.)
This milk that meets precise and detailed specifications to ensure that cows have access to pasture, including:

This has many benefits: high-quality food, animal welfare, carbon sequestration.

At Sodiaal, our ‘grass-fed milk’ specifications guarantee a minimum of 150 days of pasture for milk from ‘grass-fed milk’ collection rounds.

Discover more

3
*2023 figures