Milk research wins global dairy award
A food scientist from the Riddet Institute has wowed judges at an international dairy industry award, confirming the Palmerston North institute's strength in milk research.
Recent research has provided new insights into Chinese dairy consumption.
The research, part of the Riddet Institute’s NZ Milk Means More research programme, surveyed 1,000 Chinese milk consumers aged between 45 and 75 residing in the mega-cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou along with the two smaller provincial cities of Chengdu and Shenyang.
Dr Ao Chen, who was responsible for the project, says traditionally, milk has not been a staple in the Chinese diet. “However, over the past two to three decades, there has been a significant increase in its consumption,” Chen told Dairy News.
He says that, initially, a lack of cold chain distribution and home refrigeration led to the popularity of UHT milk across the country, but the growing interest in imported milk – often in a powdered format – has boosted powdered milk consumption in the city of Guangzhou.
“The consumption of pasteurised milk, on the other hand, has largely depended on the development of domestic dairy manufacturers in various regions.”
Chen says successful examples of this include Sanyuan Foods Co. Ltd in Beijing and Bright Dairy & Food Co. in Shanghai, the latter of which is a significant shareholder of Kiwi dairy company Synlait.
“Consuming dairy requires a changed mindset, and new ideas and exotic foods and drinks tend to be adopted first in the big cities where people are more open-minded and affluent,” Chen says.
Newly elected Federated Farmers meat and wool group chair Richard Dawkins says he will continue the great work done his predecessor Toby Williams.
Hosted by ginger dynamo Te Radar, the Fieldays Innovation Award Winners Event put the spotlight on the agricultural industry's most promising ideas.
According to DairyNZ's latest Econ Tracker update, there has been a rise in the forecast breakeven milk price for the 2025/26 season.
Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.
Nationwide rural wellbeing programme, Farmstrong recently celebrated its tenth birthday at Fieldays with an event attended by ambassador Sam Whitelock, Farmers Mutual Group (FMG), Farmstrong partners, and government Ministers.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.
OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.