Introduction
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The Netherlands has over a century of experience in producing a large quantity of high quality milk on a limited area of farmland. The SDDDC’s activities focus on sharing Dutch dairy expertise with Chinese experts and decision makers in dairy research and the dairy industry.
At present, China’s dairy market is facing major challenges. China is experiencing a rapidly growing demand for dairy products, but has limited availability of arable land. At the same time, the focus of the dairy sector is shifting from quantity expansion to quality improvement and profitability increase. That is why it is key to improve milk yield and milk quality. Besides, food quality and food safety have become important priorities for the Chinese government.
In support of the situation, problems and trends in the Chinese dairy industry, the SDDDC undertakes activities that can contribute to improving dairy safety and quality in China (based on a ‘Grass to Glass’ chain approach).
The SDDDC aims to contribute to improving production, quality and safety throughout the Chinese dairy sector. With an annual budget of over 10 million RMB the centre undertakes a variety of activities: research and innovation, cultivating academic talent, trainings and field visits, running expertise centres (demo farms) and other stakeholder engagement activities.
Our Main Activities
Research Projects
SDDDC undertakes dairy science research and technology development activities, which are crucial for improving “grass to glass” dairy safety and quality in China. The current program includes research on among others feed production and silage, feeding efficiency, farm size development, education, farm management and manure handling.
PhD Cultivation and Teachers Exchange
We provide scholarships to support 2 Chinese MSc. Students per year to go to Wageningen UR for a 4-year program leading to a PhD degree. Meanwhile, 2 Dutch or Chinese teachers are selected each year and financially supported by the SDDDC for a 6 to 12-month exchange program to China or the Netherlands.
Trainings
Basic Training Courses “Dairy Academy”
The SDDDC organises a number of training activities every year. The trainings are focused on dairy professionals such as farm managers, herd managers and veterinarians.
The SDDDC provides a 3 day training course that is given on a SDDDC Expertise Centre (demo farm) ~4 times per year. The training consists of a mix of lectures and in barn practice, given by top class dairy experts and senior trainers from both China and the Netherlands.
Master Training Courses - Cow Signals Master/Feeding Master/ More Masters...
As well, the SDDDC is the base of the CowSignals Master Training Centre. Here, the renowned CowSignals training company provides train-the-trainer services, aiming to prepare the future senior trainers in China’s dairy farming field. The customized program is taught by registered trainers of the CowSignals training company. Trainings can take up to 10 days with 10 different training topics.
In-depth Training Courses -Focus on Dairy Processing & Economic and Other Sectors of Dairy Chain
At the moment, SDDDC is preparing in-depth training courses on dairy related topics on academic level. The trainings are being co-developed by Wageningen UR and China Agricultural University. The trainings are focused on professionals majored in dairy technology development and innovation. Multiple training modules are being developed to meet the needs of an audience with different professional backgrounds. Topics include among others milk processing, milk quality control, farm economy and farm management.
Dutch Dairy Experience
Each year we organize 5 to 6 Dutch Dairy Experiences (field trips to the Netherlands) for different stakeholders from China to demonstrate the Dutch best practices in grass to glass dairy safety and quality. During theses trips we visit a broad set of players, including representatives of suppliers, farms, processing plants, service providers, knowledge institutes and regulatory bodies.
Dutch Dairy Expertise Centre
In cooperation with Beijing SinoFarm Livestock Technology Co., Ltd., we have set up our first Dutch Dairy Expertise Centre (Demo Farm) in Beijing in 2014. This location is where we display how to improve dairy safety and quality to relevant stakeholders in China (government, universities, farms, research institutes and industry) and where our research, innovations and process improvements can be tested and applied in practice. As well, this centre will serve as a base for education and knowledge sharing.
Stakeholder Engagement
A series of activities are organized to exchange and share knowledge and expertise within the dairy sector. These include, organizing conferences, participating in seminars, hosting a website, distributing leaflets and publishing articles.
Publications on Sino-Dutch Dairy Sector
Annually we publish The White Paper on China Dairy. This is a professional industrial development report presented by SDDDC and Chinese dairy experts containing a description and detailed data analysis of the present Chinese dairy sector, issues, challenges, and development trends. The White Paper is a guideline for all SDDDC’s activities. Furthermore, we believe that the White Paper is a valuable reference for relevant stakeholders in China.
With support of both Chinese and Dutch dairy experts, we aim to regularly issue high quality publications on dairy sector developments, such as the Dutch Dairy Report 2015.