Longing for some locally-produced milk? CityU Milk is now ready for business
Local | 25 May 2023 6:42 pm
The City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has set up a shop to sell milk produced at their farm in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, and plans to further sell the milk at supermarkets and to develop other dairy products.
Although primary and secondary schools can visit the farm on guided tours, it isn’t open to the public yet.
Vanessa Barrs, Dean of the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences at CityU, said students from the veterinary program would work at the farm from their first year to learn about animal husbandry and farm management to promote sustainable development.
“Sustainable milk production is a key focus of teaching at the CityU Farm. The intensity of greenhouse gas emissions is being reduced by strategies such as sourcing low-emissions feeds, including brewers’ spent grains, bread waste, biscuit waste and soya hulls. These are all by-products of human food production,” Barrs said.
Responding to criticism from animal rights groups that they were enslaving the animals, Barrs stressed that the well-being of animals is always the first priority in their teaching activities.
She continued that their farm strictly adheres to international guidelines and the cows won't be forced into overproduction. The cows on their farm are very healthy as well, Barrs added.
Meanwhile, the farm manager pointed out that the farm can produce up to 550 liters of milk a day and production would decrease to about 100 to 200 liters in the winter.
They also take pictures of the cows everyday to monitor their health, and note that the cows won’t have any difficulties in adapting to Hong Kong’s current climate.
