(Shanghai, January 2, 2025) Recently, the awarding ceremony of the demonstration farms for the China-Switzerland Dairy Industry Cooperation Project on Improving Quality and Efficiency was held at the Second Dairy Industry Frontier Technology Summit Forum. A total of 33 farms across the country were awarded the title of "Demonstration Farm for the Project on Improving Quality and Efficiency", marking the successful achievement of the expected goals of the China-Switzerland Dairy Industry Cooperation Project on Improving Quality and Efficiency and achieving phased results. Liu Chengguo, former Executive Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Honorary President of the China Dairy Industry Association, Yao Jingyuan, a Special Researcher of the Counselors' Office of the State Council, Liu Yaqing, Vice President and Secretary General of the China Dairy Industry Association, Wei Lin, Chief of the Dairy Industry Section of the Bureau of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Li Shengli, Chief Scientist of the Dairy Cow System and Professor of China Agricultural University, and other attendees participated in the conference. Li Jingqian, Chief of the Dairy Industry and Animal Product Processing Section of the National Animal Husbandry Station, Zhang Yuan, an Advisor to the Dairy Cow System and Professor of China Agricultural University, and others presented the plaques to the representatives of the demonstration farms.

      The year 2024 was the fifth year of the implementation of the China-Switzerland Dairy Industry Cooperation Project on Improving Quality and Efficiency. In 2019, in response to the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Revitalization of the Dairy Industry and Ensuring the Quality and Safety of Dairy Products", in the presence of relevant leaders from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Embassy of Sweden in China, China Agricultural University, and the China Dairy Industry Association, Tetra Pak, DeLaval, and China Agricultural University jointly signed the "Cooperation Agreement for the China-Switzerland Dairy Industry Cooperation Project on Improving Quality and Efficiency", and the latest project of the dairy industry cooperation between China and Sweden was officially launched. The project aims to establish demonstration farms through methods such as expert guidance and training with "one strategy for one farm", so as to increase the milk yield per cow, improve the quality of milk, and enhance the operational efficiency of the farms. As another important measure of the dairy industry cooperation between the two countries, this project has been incorporated into the framework of the Memorandum of Agricultural Cooperation signed between the two countries in 2012.

     At the ceremony site, Professor Li Shengli, on behalf of the project team, delivered a project summary report, meticulously combing through the specific implementation of the project and demonstrating the substantial progress made in the target work through before-and-after comparisons. It is worth noting that, in addition to the regular work, the project actively promoted its work in a digital way, pioneeringly establishing the "Cloud Platform for Ranch Services of the China-Switzerland Dairy Industry Cooperation Project" and organizing online seminars. After five years of efforts, the demonstration farms have achieved remarkable improvements in many aspects, including the milk yield per cow, the quality of raw milk, the average lactation days, and the number of lactations of cows. The average milk yield per cow has increased from 8.7 tons to 11.2 tons; the number of lactations of cows has been extended from 2.79 to 3.1; the indicators of milk fat and milk protein in milk have increased from 3.83% and 3.25% to 3.91% and 3.41% respectively. In addition, the project has implemented the guidance and training with "one strategy for one farm", formulated 280 professional countermeasures, and effectively improved the practical operation and management capabilities of the three-level technical teams of the farms. In the future, the project on improving quality and efficiency will continue to be promoted, with the demonstration farms playing a leading role and radiating to drive the orderly improvement of more farms.

      As early as the beginning of China's reform and opening up, China and Sweden started their cooperation in the dairy industry, and it has been forty years since then. During this period, the cooperation projects have cultivated technical and senior management talents needed at different development stages of the industry, thus laying a solid talent foundation for promoting the modernization process of the dairy industry and having a profound impact on the development of China's dairy industry.

     The achievement of phased results of the project on improving quality and efficiency marks that the dairy industry cooperation between China and Sweden has entered a new stage, with the expectation of better conforming to the national plans and arrangements for the development of the dairy industry and striving to continue to set an example for the development of the industry.