Harbin, China, Sep 17 – Governor Doyle witnessed the signing of a long-term agreement between Wisconsin-based Cooperative Resources International (CRI), a leader in the field of dairy and beef genetics, and Flying Crane Dairy, one of China's leading producers and distributors of premium infant formula and milk powder.
CRI has worked extensively with the State of Wisconsin to develop international relationships and trade and is one of the largest U.S. suppliers of cattle semen to China. The Governor is attending meetings in Harbin and Beijing, located in China’s Heilongjiang Province, through Sunday, September 20, 2009.
“This agreement supports a long-term partnership between CRI and Flying Crane Dairy where CRI will provide expertise on dairy genetics, farm management and dairy production technology and Flying Crane will expand their dairy farm operations and increase their milk processing capacity,” Governor Doyle said. “This is another example of the growing cooperation in the areas of trade, technology and training between Wisconsin and Heilongjiang. Thanks to innovative and progressive companies like CRI, Wisconsin is a leader in dairy farming and agriculture. Our international partners recognize this and know that you come to Wisconsin when you’re looking for the best experts in dairy production.”
CRI, of Shawano, is one of Wisconsin’s leading agricultural cooperatives. CRI is a leader in the field of dairy and beef genetics as well as providing dairy herd management information that allows farmers to maximize the productivity of their cows.
Flying Crane Dairy is one of China’s leading producers and distributors of premium infant formula and milk powder. Flying Crane is a vertically integrated operation using the milk from their three 10,000-head dairy farms.
Under the agreement signed today, CRI will advise Flying Crane who intends to construct ten additional dairy farms to house 10,000 dairy cows at each facility in order to increase their milk processing capacity to a goal of 5,000 tons per day. To reach this goal, Flying Crane will partner with CRI to gain their expertise in farm construction, dairy production technology, advanced operation concepts, and farm management.
Also attending the signing ceremony were Heilongjiang Vice Governor Du Jiahoa; Randy Romanski, Deputy Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Keith Heikes, Vice President, International Programs, CRI; Robert Stratton, Vice President, International Marketing, CRI; Youbin Leng, Chairman and CEO, Flying Crane Dairy and Lianguo Wang, Vice President, Flying Crane Dairy.
Governor Jim Doyle is leading a trade mission to Japan and China from September 13-22, 2009. The trade mission is providing participants with opportunities to meet with distributors, potential customers, and key business and government officials. The Governor is also promoting investment by Japanese and Chinese companies in Wisconsin.
In 2008, China was Wisconsin's third-largest customer, with exports totaling $1.2 billion, a 4.4-percent increase over 2007.