New Zealand Partnership May Boost Milk Production in Georgia
US - Milk mustaches aren't heavily imported from Georgia. The 270 dairies here barely produce enough milk to supply the state's consumers. The little country that supplies 40 percent of the world's dairy exports, though, is looking to change that.
27 November 2007
1 minute read
"We've got about as many dairy cows as people. At this stage, we're running out of land that's suitable for dairy farming."
Allan Titchmarsh, a dairyman and member of the New Zealand Dairy Systems Management LLC.
"New Zealand is a very small country," said Allan Titchmarsh, a dairyman and member of the New Zealand Dairy Systems Management LLC. "We've got about as many dairy cows as people. At this stage, we're running out of land that's suitable for dairy farming."
New Zealand dairies produce 5 percent of the world's milk. NZDSM investors and dairy farmers now run two dairies near Augusta, Ga., said Jean Bertrand, assistant dean for academic affairs in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. And they've bought a third Georgia farm.
"They plan to add 20,000 to 25,000 cows to the Georgia dairy industry in the next five years, which will be a 20-percent increase," Bertrand said.
To make that work, Titchmarsh said NZDSM dairies and businesses hope to train UGA students who will return to the United States and run New Zealand-style dairies. As a bonus, a management position would come with about a $65,000 starting salary.
Source: BladePlus
