NAHA - An Okinawa dairy farming family is working to protect local milk production as soaring feed and utility costs, extreme summer heat and reduced demand during the school vacation place growing pressure on an industry that has seen the number of farms fall sharply over the past four decades.
Hiranaka Farm in Yaese, Okinawa Prefecture, produces about 2 tons of milk each day from around 80 cows.
The farm began with just four cows and has gradually expanded over about 40 years. It is now run by the family's daughter, Michi Hiranaka, who works alongside her parents every day.
Her father said the business remains difficult but can continue with sufficient effort, although rising utility expenses have become a major burden.
Despite maintaining stable milk quality and production, Hiranaka Farm has seen electricity and other utility costs rise to nearly twice their previous level in recent years. Prices for compound feed, which plays an important role in maintaining the cows' nutritional condition, have also continued to climb.
Dairy farming in Okinawa is particularly exposed to international developments because much of the feed and other supplies must be transported by sea.
Factors including the war in Ukraine, problems involving oil procurement and the weaker yen have pushed up production costs.
Hiranaka said roughly 90% of the feed and grass given to the cows arrives by ship, meaning higher transport and commodity costs are directly reflected in farm expenses. Electricity, fuel used for machinery and water charges have also increased.
Farmers cannot easily reduce those expenses during Okinawa's hot summer because the cows require sufficient feed and measures to protect them from heat.
At Hiranaka Farm, large quantities of grass are provided every day, while fans and misting systems are used to prevent heatstroke.
The family said heat stress can reduce the cows' appetite and lower milk production, with changes in their physical condition also becoming visible through the condition of their udders and bodies.
According to the Okinawa prefectural government, the number of dairy farms in the prefecture has fallen from 212 in 1985 to 55 last year, reflecting factors including a shortage of successors and worsening business conditions.
Hiranaka is also serving as a director of a dairy cooperative as she works to protect Okinawa's dairy industry and continue supplying fresh local milk to consumers.
She said she remembers when the family farm was much smaller and operated on a highly personal scale, and praised the energy and determination her parents showed in expanding the business and repeatedly reforming its operations.
Hiranaka said she does not want the farm built by her parents to disappear during her generation.
Summer is particularly difficult for Okinawa's dairy farmers because schools close for vacation and milk normally supplied for school lunches is no longer needed.
The surplus milk is mainly transported to factories in Kyushu and other areas, where it is processed into products such as butter and skim milk powder.
Depending on how the surplus milk is used, however, the purchase price paid to farmers can fall to around half the usual level.
Around 500 tons of milk normally intended for school lunches is expected to become surplus during the roughly two-month summer vacation period.
Asked about the summer season, the family said they simply hope autumn will arrive soon.
Hiranaka said the farm has survived difficult conditions by continually improving its methods of raising cattle and actively introducing machinery and other technology.
She said it is particularly rewarding when the accumulation of small daily efforts eventually produces results.
Looking ahead, Hiranaka said she hopes to promote Okinawa dairy farming more actively and strengthen connections between producers and consumers.
She also wants consumers to understand that the milk is produced in a clean environment and to continue drinking locally produced milk.
Okinawa companies are also developing new ways to use surplus summer milk, including producing bread and sweets with milk that would otherwise have been supplied to schools.
For the Hiranaka family, maintaining the farm requires balancing the health of the cattle with increasingly difficult business conditions, while continuing to send fresh Okinawa milk to consumers each day.
Source: 沖縄ニュースOTV
