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China
China has during the last ten years grown its milk production faster than any other nation ever has done. China is today among the ten biggest milk producers in the world.
The rapid expansion of milk production has included massive investments in animals and production facilities. Investments in milking systems have been one big part.
The concept of village milking centers –VMC- was early adopted and has been constantly improved and developed during the growth period.
Today there are thousands of VMCs in operation for herds with 50 to 2 000 cows milked in anything from simple bucket plants to large automated parlours.
To collect the experience from operation of VMCs in China a field study was made during 2005. The study gave a lot of interesting results and some alarming indications about milk quality. The study was therefore followed up by some further field investigations during 2006.
Field study
During 2005 we visited twenty production sites in Hebei and Inner Mongolia. During 2006 we added some further tests from sites also in Shaanxi and Anhui. This may not be representative for all of China, but with the present limited access to field study reports in English we find it valuable to publish to allow more parties to add to the development.
Generally all farms had animals with good genetic capacity and modern milking equipment. The main restriction for production volume seems to be feeding, particularly forage quality and quantity.
For milk quality we noticed generally high values for TBC and SCC.
The high TBC values were due to lack of correct detergents, not sufficient hot water and wrong cleaning routines. A complete service of the plant and correct cleaning routines immediately brought back the TBC value to European standard levels.
The high SCC values indicate frequent mastitis infections in the herds. There is no general quick cure for this. You need to find solutions for each individual production site where you after diagnosis of type of mastitis have to combine treatment and culling with different operation and management changes. The present SCC levels indicate average production losses of 20% in many herds. This is a considerable reduction of potential income to the individual farm as well as the total industry.
Recommendations
To continue and support the remarkable and fast development of milk production in China we propose the implementation of a Quality Payment System where good performance is encouraged through bonuses above a standard or basic level and substandard performance is observed through a penalty or price reduction.
This has to be implemented in the field and supported by national standards supported and enforced by the authorities.
Such a system will motivate the producers to take the cost of detergents and service to get the additional income from quality bonuses. It will also encourage steps to reduce and eliminate udder diseases, which will lead to more milk, better milk quality and healthier animals.
China has made the major investments in animals and facilities. The addition of a milk quality payment system will make sure it is used in a more proper and optimal way.
Literature
Maja-Lena Främling, 2005. A study of village milking centre in China. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Uppsala, Sweden.
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