July 27, 2015
Alltech recognises first Dairy Hero in China
Alltech has recognised Robert Erhard, the former general manager of the Nestlé Dairy Farming Institute, as the first recipient of the Alltech China Dairy Hero award.
The award is part of a programme which was launched in 2013 and honors farmers for their contributions in feeding a growing global population. Alltech has brought the Dairy Hero campaign to China to increase the general public''s understanding of the dairy industry.
"Long hours, inclement weather, rising feed costs, rollercoaster milk prices, labour management, environmental stewardship… the list goes on for the load a dairy farmer must carry each day," said Dr Pearse Lyons, the president and founder of Alltech.
"Yet, even in this demanding line of work, we continue to see dairy farmers who go the extra mile and get the job done to put milk on our table."
Erhard contributed to the rapid development of the Chinese dairy industry by introducing world-class facilities and the latest technology to local farmers through the Dairy Farming Institute in Northeast China.
The institute, located in Shuangcheng, Heilongjiang Province, is part of Nestlé''s long-term efforts to share its technical know-how and improve dairy farming around the world. It will help to modernise Chinese dairy farming practices to enable farmers to meet the country''s fast-growing milk demand in a sustainable manner.
As a major partner in the project, Alltech set up its feed evaluation laboratory in China and participated in numerous educational initiatives and assistance to establish best practices in Chinese agribusiness.
The Alltech In Vitro Fermentation Model (IFM), a diagnostic tool that simulates rumen fermentation and evaluates the nutritive value of total mixed rations (TMR), is featured in the Dairy Farming Institute.