Dairy cows in Ninghe County

Dairy cows in Ninghe County

　　　Ninghe County is an agricultural county with a long history of farming and abundant resources of forage and straw, offering ideal conditions for dairy cow breeding. As early as the 1970s, local residents began spontaneously raising dairy cows, accumulating rich traditional breeding experience.

In recent years, the county Party committee and government have actively responded to the central government’s call to accelerate agricultural restructuring, making decisive decisions to vigorously develop dairy cow breeding in the county. The county Party committee has introduced a number of preferential policies. In the "Compilation of Relevant Policies for Supporting the Development of Facility Agriculture in Ninghe County," there are 7–8 policies related to dairy cow breeding, such as the "Tianjin Municipal Facility Animal Husbandry Demonstration Area Construction Standards," the "Implementation Opinions on Establishing Large-Scale Breeding Areas to Develop Animal Husbandry," the "Ninghe County Rural Credit Cooperatives Dairy Cow Breeding Area Loan Management Measures," and the "Measures for Absorbing Out-of-County Farmers to Engage in Dairy Cow Breeding in the County." Most of these policies have begun to show initial results after implementation.

The "farmer + enterprise + bank" model was pioneered nationwide and has been promoted. Zhongfen Dairy Co., Ltd. pioneered a tripartite funding cycle model connecting farmers, enterprises, and banks across the country, establishing a contractual relationship that protects the legitimate rights and interests of both farmers and enterprises. Farmers take out loans from banks, and after delivering milk, the enterprise promptly transfers the milk payments to the bank as agreed. The bank then deducts the farmers’ loan portions and subsequently returns the remaining earnings to the farmers. The effect has been significant, with measures and methods in place to ensure that the interests of farmers, enterprises, and banks are all protected. This approach has now been promoted nationwide.

The headquarters of Tianjin Zhongfen Dairy Co., Ltd. is located in Ninghe, Tianjin Sanyuan Dairy Products Co., Ltd. has set up a branch in the Ninghe County Economic Development Zone, and Wandashan Dairy Co., Ltd. has successfully partnered with the Ninghe County Bureau of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries to establish Wandashan Qilaihai Dairy Co., Ltd. The establishment of these major dairy industry leaders has greatly promoted the development of dairy cow breeding in the county. The industrial chain of "company + base + farmer" has been established and is functioning effectively.

Fengbo Biotechnology Co., Ltd., located within Ninghe County, primarily relies on new biotechnologies to engage in dairy cow embryo transfer and breed improvement.

The Ninghe County Bureau of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries not only ensures the design and management of breeding areas but also regulates the frozen semen market for dairy cows to prevent low-quality semen from harming farmers. The Livestock Department leverages its strengths to promote high-quality frozen semen, silage feed, and mechanized milking technologies. Technicians at the county veterinary station work diligently to prevent and control various infectious diseases among dairy cows.

By the end of 2003, the county had achieved a dairy cow inventory of 21,000 head, with a milk production of 52,000 tons. In 2004, the plan is to add 5,000 more dairy cows, bringing the total inventory to 26,000 head and achieving a milk production of 67,000 tons.