Special breeding procedure at European standard organic dairy farm

To ensure the quality of life and health of dairy cows, Vinamilk has invested and applied a special breeding procedure to an organic dairy farm in Da Lat.

Dalat Organic Farm has been certified by Control Union (Netherlands) as an Organic Dairy Farm with European standards since 2016. Photo: Minh Hau.

Planting herbs and organic grass fields for cows

Vinamilk Organic Dalat Dairy Farm (Vinamilk Organic Farm Dalat in short) built by Vinamilk Company in Tu Tra commune (Don Duong district, Lam Dong) is the first organic standard dairy farm in Vietnam. In October 2016, Dalat Organic Farm was certified by Control Union (Netherlands) as a European Standard Organic Dairy Farm.

At the moment, Vinamilk owns 13 international standard farms across the country and 1 dairy farm complex in Laos. The total dairy herd managed and exploited by Vinamilk consists of approximately 150,000 cows, supplying the market with over 1 million liters of fresh milk a day. With the ongoing projects, it is expected that by 2022-2023, the herd at Vinamilk's farms will increase by 20,000 cows, increasing the supply of fresh milk to meet production needs.

To ensure organic agriculture’s criteria, this enterprise has implemented a special breeding procedure with the following criteria: no growth hormone used on cows, no antibiotics residue, no pesticides used while raising grass for cow grazing. 

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Director of Animal Husbandry and Health, Vinamilk Organic Farm Dalat, the cow caring process at the company must ensure that it is not subject to the interference of chemicals and growth hormones. Cows are grazed on all-natural organic pastures. The grass here is not under the interference of chemicals, chemical fertilizers or genetically modified substances.

Also, as claimed by Mr. Nguyen Van Son, the farm has grown southern herbs to apply to disease prevention and increase resistance for cows and calves.

Applying technology to animal husbandry

Regarding breeds, Vinamilk Organic Farm Dalat imports cows from organic farms in New Zealand and Australia.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Vinamilk Organic Dalat Dairy Farm is applying the breeding procedure and management according to 4.0 technology from input to output according to American, Japanese and European technology. With this procedure, the cows are carefully cared for, have their health ensured to improve milk yield and quality. The cows are milked 3 times a day with an average milk yield of about 24kg/cow/day.

The barn system is automatically cooled, cows can lie on soft foam pads. In addition, the barn is equipped with an automatic manure collection system. Also in these stables, the massage brooms system, the system of drinking water supply and food distribution are built methodically and scientifically to help the cows have a clean and cooling living environment.

All dairy cows at Vinamilk Organic Dalat Farm are equipped with electronic chips to control activity, rumination ability, health and disease status and ability to conceive and reproduce for each cow individual. This information is continuously updated through the internal network and special software, which automatically connects to the central computer system, thereby providing the manager with sufficient information of each individual to apply the necessary care measures.

In addition, this farm is also equipped with veterinary medicine management software to supervise the disease history as well as monitor the treatment of each individual cow and calf, helping the veterinarian to best manage the treatment process and management of the cattle’s treatment costs. This software stores the pathological data of cows from birth to the end of life, provides veterinarians with a comprehensive view of each individual's health profile to ensure the best treatment.

In accordance with Mr. Huynh Van Minh, an officer of Lam Dong Sub-Department of Husbandry, Veterinary and Fisheries, currently, the number of dairy cows in Lam Dong province is about 24,000. Vinamilk alone has about 3,000 cows, of which about 1,000 are organically raised. Regarding the production of Vinamilk organic dairy cows, this is not a unique model of Lam Dong province but of the whole country. Recently, the issue of disease-free husbandry, biosecurity, and organic farming is a sustainable livestock development trend. Vinamilk's Organic Farming is an effective model for localities to refer to and replicate.