CHINA – Members of the Land O’Lakes team in Beijing recently attended the launch of the Dairy Farming Institute in China. The groundbreaking news follows an announcement made by Nestlé in January, in which Nestlé committed to transform Shuangcheng, one of its largest fresh milk supply bases in China, into the country’s benchmark for dairy farming and management best practices.
Cooperation agreements were signed between Land O’Lakes and Nestlé, as well as other industry leaders including Alta and East Rock Limited.
As a partner in the Dairy Farming Institute, Land O’Lakes is looking to play an important role in training local famers about animal nutrition and forage crop production, utilising the strong knowledge and experience the company has gathered in the US, and translating that to the local environment in China. This activity is expected to complement Land O’Lakes existing animal feed and forage activities in China.
«The emphasis will be on training the farmers so that they are prepared to modernise their farms and deliver high quality milk in an efficient and environmentally responsible way,†said Heiko Schipper, managing director for the Food and Beverage Division at Nestlé China. “It all starts with the skills of the farmer, and that is our first priority. We look forward to sharing our experiences, resources, technology and facilities with the dairy industry.â€
The Institute will be supported by three training farms providing practical guidance to help farmers scale up their facilities and improve their management skills. Farmers will be encouraged to use the latest agricultural technology and source high quality milk sustainably. Nestlé, the local government, investors and farmers will work together to help create an investment fund of 2.5 billion Chinese Yuan Renminbi (nearly US$400 million) for the five-year project. The first construction phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
TheCattleSite News Desk