Before the 1980s, there were no special maize varieties known in China that were specially meant for silage production, but in 1985, new varieties of special and dual-purpose silage maize were cultivated. The production and application of corn silage began when the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, and it was mainly promoted and applied in some large state-owned farms and dairy farms in the suburbs. Photo: Shutterstockįeed production – new maize better yields Mongolian cow – one of the local breeds in China. The level of dairy farming in China had increased significantly in this period, and this can be traced to many factors – use of a better dairy breed, TMR feeding technology, and better milking equipment technology also had big impact on this development. This big change, in only 20 years, was possible because of the introduction and application of key technologies in dairy farming. In 1949, the proportion of individually-owned dairy cows was only 6.25%, but in 1997, 20 years after the government started to encourage the private sector to go into dairy farming, the percentage had reached 82.62% and the number of dairy cattle had increased to a stunning 4,4 million. Within 20 years, the nationally owned, collectively owned, and individually owned farming businesses developed alongside each other and this period in Chinese dairy farming history can truly be called a reform period where dairy farming moved from state-operated farming to individually-operated farming.

In 1978, the state started to encourage the private sector to go into dairy farming and this promotion influenced the development in a major way. In 1949 the proportion of individual owned dairy cows was only 6.25%, but in 1997, 20 years after the government started to encourage the private sector to go into dairy farming, the percentage had reached 82.62%.” Reform period of Chinese dairy farming With dairy farms even set up in the deserts of China, this impressive transformation is a trend predicted to continue as the country’s dairy industry is currently making huge leaps. Snorri Sigurdsson, senior project manager at Arla Foods, tells us more about how rapidly the sector is taking shape with some farms boasting tens of thousands of cows.

Interview: “You would not expect farms in the deserts of China”ĭo large-scale dairy farms come to mind when thinking of China? The last few years have seen a huge change in the dairy farming sector in China.

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