INTERVIEW ▶▶▶
CDMTCC has stood for many on farm advisory work, seminars, workshops and publications since 2012.
What are some of the major issues in milk supply and production? The major issue is the huge growing demand for dairy products that puts pressure on local production, which has a tough time keeping up. Today, local production aims to supply 70% of the
The Chinese have established farms in
areas where you would not expect to see a dairy farm, like in the deserts of China!
dairy consumed in China, but to keep up with the demand growth each year new farms need to be built or the older ones expanded. This poses some challenges as land access is a limiting factor, but by thinking outside the box the Chinese have established farms in areas where you would not expect to see a dairy farm, like in the deserts of China!
What’s the average farm size in China? The large-scale farms account for a lot of the milk production but the average size farm is still quite small because in China even if you only have one cow you are considered to be a dairy farm, and
8 ▶ DAIRY GLOBAL | Volume 8, No. 2, 2021
many families still have a cow or two for a personal supply of milk. This milk never enters the market but pulls the average farm size in China down.
In terms of sustainability, can you give some examples of how big farms deal with this concept and the use of antibi- otics? Our experience with China shows that the mindset towards anti- biotic use is quite different from the one we know in Europe. To- day more and more dairy farmers around the world are starting to use Selective Dry Cow Therapy (SDCT) while treating the cows. As many dairy farmers know, this method has been used for more than two decades now and was actually already mandatory in Denmark back in 1995. This method has greatly impacted antibi- otic usage but has not really taken off in China yet. The main rea- son is probably connected to the rapid development of the dairy farming industry where the infrastructure and service environ- ment have not been able to follow as quickly as farmers would like. Therefore, the access to laboratories that can analyse milk quickly, like with PCR tests, is not available everywhere in China. This will of course come, and prudent use of antibiotics is on the agenda of the government.
What impact has Covid-19 had on the sector, and has it changed practices at farm level? As most people know, Covid-19 first affected China and people living there. When the lockdown in major parts of the country was put in place, the impact on dairy farms was similar to what farmers have experienced in other countries. First there was some surplus of milk on the market but that changed quickly into demand with people staying home and using more conven- tional dairy products. The food service business suffered as pub- lic places and restaurants closed and there was a consequent
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