Global Dairy: In Shanghai, Hunter McGregor tries room temperature yogurt

GLOBAL DAIRY CHINA

Room temperature yogurt

Words by: Hunter McGregor

In August I attended the monthly Kiwi Drinks in Shanghai. This event is organised by a group of volunteers and it’s a social get-together for Kiwis and friends of New Zealand.

There is a charity raffle with prizes donated by NZ companies, and in August I won a prize for the first time. I thought at the time it included some UHT milk from Fonterra (including a bottle of wine and whipping cream from Tatua).

To my family’s surprise and mine, it was UHT drinking yoghurt, made and packed in NZ by Fonterra.

My family is now hooked on this product and I hope it is popular in China, as it will be a major challenge to wean my kids off it.

UHT (ultra-high temperature) is a food processing technology that almost sterilises liquid food by heating it above 135C (the temperature required to kill many bacterial endospores) for two to five seconds. The result means that liquid milk (or yoghurt) can be safely stored at room temperature.

UHT dairy products are big business in China and in 2014 they accounted for 60% of dairy sales. Those numbers will have adjusted now, but judging by the amount of UHT milk products available in all supermarkets around China, the sales will still be very significant.

To understand why a room temperature dairy product dominates the market is to understand Chinese culture.

Most Chinese people, especially the older generation and traditional thinkers (i.e: people outside the bigger cities) do not like to drink anything cold. This includes beer and dairy products. I have a running joke with many of my foreign friends that have been in China for many years, that drinking hot water will solve everything!!

A UHT dairy product that does not need refrigeration fits this thinking very well. In modern China this thinking is changing and you see a lot more chilled dairy products, including local and imported fresh milk.

Another advantage for UHT milk is that it is easy to ship and store, which was a big plus traditionally in China with underdeveloped cool chain distribution. In many parts of China this is not an issue anymore, but people would still consume UHT dairy products.

It is often packaged in a nice box (with an easy-carry handle.) This is great for gifts, which also fits well into Chinese culture of giving a healthy gift. Dairy products are seen very much as a healthy product, especially for children and older people.

So in the future if you are passing through Shanghai while Kiwi Drinks are in progress, let me know! I will more than likely be at the back propping up the bar and trying to win another raffle. It has only taken me 11 years to win my first raffle prize, so good things take time.

McGregor picks up a goodie bag at the Kiwi Drinks event in Shanghai.

Dairy treats for the family.

To understand why a room temperature dairy product dominates the market is to understand Chinese culture.

Pasture & Forage News

October 2021

The science behind 4front’s environmental benefits – how does it work?

One of the most exciting things about our new tetraploid perennial ryegrass 4front is that it can improve environmental outcomes on your farm.

It does this in four ways. Better outcome #1 – 1.2t DM/ha more feed (for nothing!) Tetraploid ryegrasses can grow more DM/ ha than diploids because you can run higher covers before grazing, and they’re still very palatable. This means each plant has more leaf for photosynthesis, so we can harness more of the sun’s energy. Pasture growth accelerates over time. If we graze around 2-2.5 leaves/tiller, as is typical with diploids, we lose the fastest growth that comes with the third leaf, which is 40-45% of the total growth available. Grazing later 2.5-3 leaves/tiller (+0.5 leaf/tiller) captures that extra growth potential. It doesn’t take a lot of extra DM per ha to add up to a significant total gain over 12 months. Better outcome #2 – better balanced grass. As ryegrass regrows after grazing, the crude protein (CP) or N content of the plant drops. Lactating cows in spring need around 18% CP in their diet, so a pasture with 22% protein at that time supplies 4% too much. This excess protein, excreted as urine and dung, is what causes problems with N loading of soils. Grazing 0.5 leaf/tiller later may reduce CP by 1.5%, dropping excess protein by over 30%. Better outcome #3 – fewer grazings, higher N use efficiency. Higher pre-grazing covers mean a longer grazing round, more time for the plant to respond to N fertiliser, and a proportionately higher N response. Grazing management is easier, too! Better outcome #4 – higher cow intakes. Tetraploid ryegrass can increase cow production by around 10%. A key reason is that the basal leaves and leaf sheaths of tetraploids remain softer and lower in fibre than diploids at the same growth stage. If you’d like the full story, jump on our website and download your free copy of our new technical brief The 4front System – environmental benefits.

Captain wins in winter

If you want a plantain that grows well during the cool months of the year (when the risk of N leaching is greatest), get your hands on some seed for Captain CSP this season.

CSP stands for ‘cool season plantain’ and we called it that because it keeps growing when traditional plantains become dormant. The more DM a plantain grows in winter, the more soil nitrogen it utilises, reducing N loss to waterways. It also provides extra feed when it is most needed on farm. Combined with low DM content this increases urination volume and frequency, reducing the amount of N in the urine, hence reducing the risk of N leaching. Not only does Captain CSP have a cool season advantage over other commercially available plantains, it grows strongly in other seasons too. Animals like it, too. It’s palatable, easily digested and rich in essential minerals and trace elements. Captain has shown good persistence in mixed-sward trials.