WHILE Australia’s dairy industry may have plateaued during the past 10 years, China is continuing to see sharp rises in milk production.
Official figures show production and consumption of dairy products in China have soared, averaging a 12.8 per cent annual growth rate since 2000.
A group of Australian dairy farmers and consultants visited China as guests of animal health and nutrition company Alltech in January to see what Chinese farmers are doing to drive growth.
The group travelled to north east China to visit a world-class training centre, the Nestlé Dairy Farming Institute (DFI) in Shuangcheng in Heilongjiang province.
With an emphasis on education and utilising new technology, the DFI which opened in 2014, has already provided free training to about 1000 farmers. Partnering with Nestlé, Alltech participates in numerous educational initiatives and assistance in establishing best practices in Chinese agribusiness, hosting nearly 40 training sessions for DFI students last year.
Alltech Oceania technical sales representative Steve Ralston said the Australian delegation toured the cutting-edge Alltech In Vitro Fermentation Model (IFM) laboratory.
“Alltech uses its diagnostic tool to simulate rumen fermentation and evaluate the nutritive value of total mixed rations,” Mr Ralston said.
“Results from the model not only provide Chinese dairy nutritionists and farmers evaluations and recommendations for dairy rations to maximise feed efficiency and combat ever-rising feed costs, but also obtain estimates of the amount of energy lost as methane and methane emissions per animal.
“As the cost of feed can represent up to 60pc of the total cost of producing milk in intensive dairy production, improving dairy efficiency is essential in China’s efforts to increase domestic production.”
The Australians then toured the DFI model farm. Mr Ralston said the delegation was impressed with the quality and intensity of the operation, particularly the high production from the cows being milked three times daily. The group observed feed ingredients commonly used, including cornflakes, canola meal, sugar beet pulp pellets, lucerne hay and local sheep grass.
Leongatha dairy farmer Mike Kilkenny said the DFI dairy farm and Alltech lab were a well-thought-out collaboration.
“The ability to run the In Vitro Fermentation Model and then change the diet to improve feed efficiency is a great tool,” Mr Kilkenny said.
The Australian farmers traveled to Northeast Agricultural University, where they met with Professor Zhang Yonggen and some of his students who outlined the Chinese dairy industry and some of the challenges it is facing.
Prof Zhang stressed that financial pressures and cost of ingredients were major factors affecting the industry. The group spoke at length about the public relations campaign in China to help the dairy industry win back Chinese consumers’ trust in locally-produced products.
The group also had the opportunity to visit a family farm milking around 800 cows outside of Beijing.
“While the farm appeared quite simple upon arrival, once inside the complex the group was pleasantly surprised,” Mr Ralston said.
“Despite having very limited equipment, Zhao Wuwei, who started as a driver for the owner and has moved up to farm manager, was achieving in excess of 32 litres/cow/day with minimal capital expenditure. He will oversee the imminent transition of the farm to a modern 1000 cow unit.”
The delegation was particularly impressed with the on-site laboratory at the farm which tested for quality, the farm tests for melamine, cell count, milk components and aflatoxins.
“While China is fighting to improve consumer perception of quality in locally produced milk, the reality is that the milk sent out from this farm is probably cleaner than some Australian producers,” Mr Ralston said.
While average milk production in China is slightly lower than current Australian estimates, a focus on innovation and increased investment in new technologies is predicted to help China overtake Australian producers in the next 18 months.
“The Chinese are doing an excellent job of adapting to change before they have to. After seeing the level of innovation in the farms we visited, I believe that Australian farmers are in danger of not innovating quickly enough, making it easy for China to overtake us,” Mr Ralston said.
“We have far cheaper feed, better conditions and less extreme temperatures, We need to start thinking differently and changing.”
Mr Ralston said while China continued to rebuild consumer trust after several food safety scares in recent years, the Australian farm group saw that in reality, they were embracing new technology and advances in nutrition and would most likely move ahead of Australian production levels on a per cow basis.
Melbourne based dairy consultant Scott Barnett said the Chinese dairy industry was bouncing along by adopting the latest technologies, both mechanically and in their feeding.
“Australian farmers are at risk of being out performed if we rest on our laurels,” he said.