TH Group produces clean fresh milk from international standard "cows"

TH farm received a new herd of high-yielding HF dairy cows imported from the US on October 15. Photo: Phu Huong

The largest herd of cows imported from the US by TH Group to Vietnam "docked" at Cua Lo port, Nghe An on October 14, 2018, after nearly a month at sea. Before importing, TH Group's livestock experts carefully selected the cows from their background, pedigree, genetic potential to appearance, physique, milk yield potential and disease resistance in tropical regions. Each cow weighs from 400-500 kg and is expected to have an average milk yield of about 12,000 liters/cow/305-day cycle, meaning 60-70 liters of milk/day compared to the normal milk yield from herds in Southeast Asia and Australia which only give 30-35 liters of milk/day.

According to Mr. Hoang Kim Giao, former Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, the imported TH cows this time are highly appreciated, because the genetic value index of the next generation of HF mother cows is ranked high by the American Holstein Association in the Holstein cattle evaluation system. This index, with the embryos used to transfer to pregnant cows, is much higher, and thus, the next generation of imported American cows born in Vietnam will certainly have high genetic potential.

Currently, the TH dairy farm has a herd of 45,000 cows, of which 22,000 are lactating. The farm provides raw fresh milk to produce pasteurized and sterilized fresh milk products under the TH true MILK brand - including TH school MILK fresh milk and yogurt products, drinking yogurt, butter, cheese... This herd of pregnant cows will help TH quickly achieve the goal of 100,000 cows in the future.

This is a breakthrough direction to improve the quality of raw fresh milk in the world and some developed countries with the best dairy farming in the world such as the US, which is applied at TH. “These are important factors, the key for TH to continue to boldly invest in high technology in selecting dairy cow breeds, creating high-yielding HF dairy cow lines of international caliber, adapting to the climate conditions of Vietnam, as a premise to produce clean fresh milk, meeting international standards”, said Mr. Gilad Efrat.

The cows will be quarantined for 45 days before being added to the herd of more than 45,000 cows at the TH dairy farm. Photo: Phu Huong

After arriving at Cua Lo port, the high-yielding dairy cows imported from the US were brought to TH Farm in Nghia Dan to be carefully raised, isolated, and quarantined so that the cows could have time to gradually adapt to the hot and humid conditions of Vietnam and get used to the care and feeding process of TH Farm.

After stabilization, the herd will be classified, evaluated and can be raised with the adapted herd, with 12-16 "delicious" dishes prepared directly from clean raw materials such as high-quality grass, sorghum; corn, sunflower... with 100% computerized technology for ration planning, mixing, processing and providing food, under the consultation and management of Israeli nutrition experts.

It is expected that from the beginning of January 2019, international standard milk lines from this herd of cows will be born in the production process "from green pastures to clean glasses of milk".

With this imported high-yielding herd, the fresh milk output from TH farm will increase, meeting the growing demand for fresh milk in the Vietnamese dairy market, contributing to diversifying domestic fresh milk products.

A line of trucks waiting to pick up a herd of nearly 1,800 cows at Cua Lo Port on October 14. Photo: Phu Huong

Sharing on the day the cows arrived at the port, Mr. Brandon Speech - General Director of Royal Atlantic Holdings, the dairy cow supplier, said: TH made the right decision when choosing the Holtstein gene, which is the most elite selected gene in the world. "The countries with the best breeding livestock in the world belong to the US, Canada, Israel and Italy, and the highest-yielding dairy cows in the above countries use the elite selected gene Holstein.

With the import of 1,800 Holstein heifers, Vietnam has become home to the world’s most elite selective breeding herd outside of North America, ranking Vietnamese cattle higher than other breeds in China, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, South America and even higher than any other breed in Europe. More valuable than milk production, this herd has laid the foundation for elite breeding genes for the future of TH True Milk in particular and for the Vietnamese dairy industry in the coming decades,” said Mr. Brandon Speech.

The US is a country with a highly developed dairy farming and milk processing industry. TH selectively imports high-yielding dairy cows from the US, which means it will have many advantages in technical support and herd reproduction from the country with the highest quality dairy cows in the world.