AN AMERICAN IN CHINA - PART I

These stories were published in regional farm publications such as The Ohio Country Journal to add information and often some levity to agricultural science and current ag topics. This is the combined version of a two-part column about an early dairy production consulting trip to China – his seventh since 2005. Doc shares his observations about agriculture at that time one of the world’s fastest growing economy, which at the same time was trying to catch up to modern agricultural efficiency and technology. Doc Sanders shared his perspective on Chinese culture, including his adventures with Chinese security.

Doc’s books, especially Milk Them for All Their Worth, helped get his foot in the door as a dairy production and herd health consultant in 13 countries. His books were translated into four languages. In addition, he had a Russian website, a Chinese website, a Korean ag summary tech book, and a dairy nutrition paper published in Russia’s Feed and Dairy periodical.

In addition to China, his consulting work took him to Japan, Russia, South Korea, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario Canada, and Puerto Rico—which, despite being a U.S. territory, was like a hybrid foreign country to him as an Ohio native.

In his consulting visits to China and other countries he taught veterinarians, dairy farm workers, and farm managers how to maintain healthy cows and achieve high milk production.

And along the way he developed new friendships and learned a lot – primarily about the state and practice of agriculture in the host countries – and their culture in general. He presented 34 hours of seminars in four areas of China. Class size initially was 150 attendees but eventually was limited to 50, as his sponsors learned that the effectiveness of training tends to diminish for groups larger than that.

Speaking to a Packed House

In Shijiazhuang he spoke to 45 dairymen jammed into a space about the size an American classroom with humidity to match, they all became a bunch of sweat hogs. (Even when air conditioning is available, the Chinese never lower the temperature to what is considered comfortable in the U.S.)

And in Shijiazhuang there was no escape outdoors for a breath of fresh air. The city undoubtedly had the most polluted air he ever had the displeasure to breathe. He wondered if this might be a Chinese government plot to reduce the population.

On the Dairy Lecture Circuit

On that trip, he also visited four dairy farms. One of those farms was only a year old. At the time, it had 3,000 cows but it was being outfitted to house 6,000 cows. The facility had 10,000 growing heifers of assorted sizes, being prepared to enter the milking herd.

Anything needed to operate a dairy – and then some – was there. To this conservative Ohio Buckeye, it was a case of “let’s see how much we could spend.” He wondered at the time if it was financed by one of those interest-free loans from The World Bank. Anyway, they seemed to be operating with minimal financial accountability like the U.S. government.

The owners had hired the best dairy manager in China. Reportedly, he understood most management issues. (As you’ll read, he was not completely sold on the latest dairy technology.) About 140 twenty-something men and women employees worked under the farm manager – compared to the 35 to 40 employees who would work at an American dairy of similar size.

Doc was impressed by the enthusiasm and energy of the staff, though they were mostly non-skilled employees. They brought their enthusiasm to work even though they lived in a series of primitive construction shacks left behind by the contractor who built the dairy. New housing was under construction, but those shacks had been used by these employees for more than a year.

The employees’ sense of camaraderie, as they pooled their food and cooked together at the end of the day, was notable. No one appeared to have a full set of kitchen utensils. One person had a pot, another a couple plates, and so on.

About a third of the crew was female, but drama and romance seemed minimal. Chatter was lighthearted. I did not get the impression they resented being in hard labor jobs with little room for advancement. They were happy to be employed.

This dairy farm also had an overabundance of feed ration mixers, about twice as many as needed for a 6,000-cow herd. A half dozen large end loaders, like those used for road construction, and a bevy of skid loaders also were used to feed the herd. And the concrete driveways throughout the facility were wide enough to land a 747.

Point-Counterpoint

The manager was cocksure, the perfect counter to the confidence Doc had in his knowledge of how to run an efficient, productive dairy. The manager did know most of “his stuff” well, but he was neglecting some key practices that would improve the herd’s performance.

He ignored most of Doc’s recommendations for improving cow health and productivity. But he did occasionally concede small points.

He and his subordinate managers pulled out the Chinese editions of Doc’s dairy reference books and requested his autograph. While being cynical about his sincerity to step up this farm’s management, Doc was flattered. (Certainly, if he read Doc’s books, he could not be all wrong.)

During this trip, Doc was encouraged to find that several dairies he previously consulted had boosted their milk production by over 35% in the past couple of years. While this level did not match production performance attained by the high achievers in the U.S., it did come up to the average for American dairies.

Bumper-to-Bumper Combines

Doc also observed crop farming on that trip. For the first time ever, he saw 10 Chinese combines slowly cruising down a busy six-lane highway, headed for the wheat fields. A couple of these combines were in rough condition.

Each combine and was orange and featured an eight- or ten-foot header with a large cab for the operator. It looked like the drivers had packed sleeping bags and clothes. They slept on board.

While one day while out for an early morning walk, I saw new combines sitting on a John Deere dealer’s lot. They had two- or three-row corn headers with a hopper bin, similar in size to a JD 45 bin. Instead of an auger they use a screw mechanism to dump the hopper loaded with grain into a small trailer. Or a bag adaptor they used to bag the corn in burlap sacks.

Once as I sped by fields in a bullet train, I saw two small tractors pulling three-point hitch no-till seeders. They were planting soybeans behind the wheat harvested.

In China, many fields are two to four acres or less. In a couple of provinces, I did see a few 20–40-acre fields. The reason for small fields, I believe, was to increase employment. Farm workers perform much of the cultivation by hand. And even when a no-till seeder is used for planting at least two employees, in addition to the tractor driver, supervise each seeder.

So, despite being a dominant player in the world economy, China is still backward when it comes to modern agriculture efficiency.

Coming next week is Part II.