As the government has applied incentives and pressure for milk harvesting, processing and marketing to be integrated, the nation’s dairy sector has quickly responded with awe-inspiring speed. The Leyuan dairy farm in Hebei province comprises six units milking at least 3000 cows each, owned by a processing company aiming to roll out another five units over the coming five years to take its total milking numbers to almost 50,000.
Typically, the operations will also house almost as many young stock, all in temperature-controlled homes using dried, recycled, sanitised solids from effluent as bedding for cows producing up to 50 litres a head a day, milked four times a day.
Their carefully monitored output is shipped to nearby company-owned processing plants to be largely processed into well-packaged, cleverly portioned, consumer-friendly yoghurt and UHT milk products.
QR codes on packaging direct consumers to the company’s online store and bulk buy offers.
Waikato’s China manager David Morris said such operations are now typical and operators have married his company’s rotary technology with software systems to analyse herd data daily for optimal per head production
“When you have feed costs comprising about 50% of your budget and herds on this scale it is critical to ensure cows are getting only what they need and if they are not performing to know why.”
Feed for many Chinese indoor herds has typically included a lot of imported food.
However, the Leyuan property is using locally grown corn and largely domestic alfalfa feed, with only a small portion sourced offshore as United States-China trade issues prompt more domestic feed sourcing.
Chinese attention to milk quality has meant a more labour intensive approach to the rotary platform’s use than Kiwi farmers would be familiar with, as staff dip and wipe teats to sanitise them prior to milking.
“But they are still managing to achieve 520 cows an hour throughput, which by China standards is right up there.”
A combination of United States and Australian genetics have the big boned Holsteins producing up to 50 litres a head a day. Typically a cow will last for five lactations, having produced close to what US dairy cows are capable.
The first dairy on the Leyuan farm complex was commissioned only five years ago with Chinese president Xi Jinpeng’s personal endorsement. Since then six units consisting of five twin-80 bale WMS rotaries and one 60 bale have become operational.
Morris said such operations will now be the norm, and WMS saw the China market offering major growth potential.
“The challenge for us as a company is to continue to offer a high level of personal contact and training of staff, the human touch to the product. This is certainly the Chinese way of doing business.”
Richard Rennie’s China trip was partly funded by the Asia-New Zealand Foundation
