A HOME FOR THE HERD
Growth in China's milk market may be about to explode, but the country still has plenty to learn from foreigners about how to produce milk, according to Lior Yaron, a dairy specialist and manager of an Israeli demonstration farm near Beijing that produces more milk than any other in China and more than three times the national average.
He says that routine, tranquility, good food and kindness are the secret of high output. The 600 black-and-white Holstein cows at the farm produced an average of 9,523kg of milk in 2002, against an average of 3,000kg from the five million cows in all of China.
'Cows like routine and are very sensitive. Our farm has strict rules for the staff. They cannot hit or kick the animals. They must be quiet and calm. If you are angry, the animal will know even if you do not strike them. If they are nervous, that will directly affect the quality of the milk,' he said.
The cows live better than many people, in large pens with a high roof, and eat high-quality feedgrains that are mixed by computer and available 24 hours a day. Since they are a northern breed, they are comfortable in the winter but sweat in the summer. So the farm has a sophisticated system that evaporates the sweat and uses fans to keep them cool.
'Cows are social animals, so we keep them in groups of about 100. But we do not provide music. We did tests in Israel on two herds, giving classical music to one group and not to the other. The milk yields were the same.'
