A taste of Israel in China

Our daughter, Ruthy, who is a staff member of the Israel Embassy in China, sends us the following:

On the outskirts of Beijing there is a large dairy farm. The sign at the entrance reads "Sino-Israeli Demonstration Dairy Farm" and two flags hang there side-by-side: Israeli and Chinese flags. The project is a joint venture between the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Mashav, the Center for International Cooperation of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Milk consumption in China, even in the big cities, is still low compared to the western world, but the rising standard of living is bringing about a rise in demand. The dairy industry is one of great potential for development in the Chinese market. The whole world is trying to get into the Chinese market, so why is this Israeli farm so successful and unique? Lior Yaron, the Israeli expert running the farm, told us that as a whole, the Israeli dairy industry is the most developed in the world, both in terms of high milk yield per cow and in terms of dairy farm management.

The Beijing farm has more than 1,000 Chinese cows to which it applies a wide range of the Israeli dairy industry's experience and technology. All activity in the farm is monitored on a daily basis in the main computer with the most advanced Afifarm herd management software, which is developed and made in Israel. The daily electronic testing is carefully followed up.

A slow and sluggish cow will be transferred to the hospital for treatment; an overly active cow indicates a cow in heat that should be artificially inseminated. Yaron, a third-generation dairy farmer, said that his father and grandfather identified such cows just by sight. Cows about to give birth are transferred to a special ward in the hospital. They are pampered there for about a week after giving birth until they have recuperated and can be returned to the cowshed.

The farm started operating in June 2001 and within a year had the highest yield of milk per cow in the Beijing area, maintaining excellent quality. As a result, several Chinese dairies have purchased the Israeli technologies used on the farm. Entrepreneurs from Shanghai and other cities have requested Israeli guidance in constructing their dairy farms. In October 2003, the mayor of Beijing gave the "Great Wall Friendship Award" to farm manager Yaron in recognition of its achievements in developing the dairy industry in Beijing.

I walked into the milking parlor to see the Israeli technology at work.

I was much impressed, but the cows paid no attention to me. No wonder - thousands of visitors have visited the demonstration farm, amongst them high-ranking officials and experts. I was just another visitor for them. They don't know I have a personal interest: the milk I buy is distributed by the Chinese company running the farm, so every time I drink my milk in Beijing, I get a little taste of Israel.

Love, Ruthy

Carl Alpert is a free-lance writer based in Haifa, Israel.

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