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BEIJING, July 18 (APP):In a cavernous, unmanned factory on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, the world’s fastest milk packaging machine seals 4.4 boxes of milk in literally “the blink of an eye”. Operating around the clock, this single machine produces 40,000 boxes daily – enough to supply nearly one million people. Welcome to the new face of Chinese dairy, where robots milk cows, artificial intelligence predicts breeding outcomes, and probiotic yogurt is engineered at the molecular level.
After decades of playing catch-up, China’s dairy sector is now undergoing a quiet overhaul. From genetically selected super-cows to precision-formulated yogurt, the country’s once-overlooked dairy industry has become an unlikely testbed for advanced agriculture and food science. The results are surprising: Chinese dairy is no longer simply growing – it is, in some aspects, setting the pace, CEN reported on Friday.
Breeding Smarter Cows: From Genomics to AI
At the heart of this push is a quiet revolution in livestock genetics. Chinese dairy companies are moving into the premium realm of molecular biology. AI-driven genomic selection, gene editing, and embryo optimization are being used to cultivate cows that produce more milk, live longer, resist disease, and require fewer resources.
At Saikexing, China’s largest base for sexed frozen semen, the proprietary “No.1 Breeding Chip” selects embryos based on five core traits – yield, fertility, longevity, health, and low-carbon output. Compared with global counterparts, this approach improves breeding efficiency threefold while cutting production costs by 70%. AI now helps optimize egg-sperm pairing to maximize genetic potential, producing high-performance embryos with striking precision.
This is no small feat: in April 2024, bulls bred by Saikexing dominated the U.S. Holstein Association’s TPI (Total Performance Index) rankings, taking 8 of the top 10 spots and 57 of the top 100 – an unprecedented breakthrough for Chinese genetics.
As a result, China’s average milk yield per cow has surged from 5,500 kg in 2012 to nearly 10,000 kg in 2024. Top-performing herds now exceed 12,000 kg. This leap has occurred without significant growth in herd size. Instead, smarter breeding, data-rich feeding systems, and real-time health monitoring have done the heavy lifting.
In China’s most advanced “digital pastures,” each cow wears an RFID ear tag that records everything from heart rate to feed intake. Sensors monitor movement, respiration, and milk output, while smart algorithms detect anomalies and adjust conditions accordingly. Feed optimization has also advanced, with protein-rich alfalfa reducing input while boosting yield.
Fully unmanned systems at companies like Yili, a world’s top 10 dairy company, now feature robotic milkers, automated feeders, and environmental sensors that regulate barn temperature, humidity, and lighting. Milk is harvested and processed with minimal human touch, all while tracking every cow’s lifetime productivity and health.
In 2000, a Chinese dairy cow produced just 31.6% of what its American counterpart did. Today, average yields in China’s large-scale farms match or in some cases even surpass U.S. levels. Though total dairy cow numbers have remained stable at around 10 million since 2012, total milk output has jumped by 32%, reaching 40.79 million tonnes in 2024. Newly-developed enzyme preparations and probiotics for feed reduce methane emissions from dairy cows by over 20% by increasing feed conversion rate.
Re-engineering the Dairy Product
Once the milk is in the tank, another layer of innovation begins.
At the National Dairy Technology Innovation Center, some “world’s firsts” can be found: One globally patented coating technique encapsulates probiotics, protecting them from stomach acid and ensuring delivery to the gut. Lab tests show bacterial survival rates up to 10 million times higher than conventional methods. Another breakthrough – an intelligent assessment system for infant formula – digitally evaluates 31 nutrients in human breast milk, improving formula design for digestion and health. China has also developed the world’s first milk naturally enriched with active phospholipid-based DHA, offering 25 times the bioavailability of synthetic additives. Lactoferrin, a key immune protein, is now separated and reintroduced in sterile conditions, producing the first room-temperature organic milk with active lactoferrin.
Using exclusive K56 probiotic strains, scientists have created seven new bioactive peptides that help regulate blood sugar and blood pressure. Functional dairy, once a niche, is becoming a mainstream frontier.
Behind the scenes, safety has become another pillar of competitiveness. The National Center operates one of the world’s most comprehensive dairy safety databases, integrating global contamination trends, AI risk modeling, and real-time traceability. If a problem arises, it can be traced down to a specific machine part in a specific factory and flagged industry-wide within moments.
Until recently, Chinese dairy was widely considered second-tier. In 2000, per-cow yields lagged behind the U.S. by nearly 70%. Today, China ranks among the top four dairy producers globally. Over 78% of its cows are now raised in large-scale farms of 100 head or more. Yili, the world’s second-largest holder of dairy-related patents, now processes nearly 10 million tonnes of raw milk annually. Despite this scale, it has maintained average microbial counts far below 10,000 CFU/mL for two consecutive years – surpassing even EU benchmarks.
Others should take note. The next dairy revolution may not come from Switzerland or Wisconsin – but from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.