The "happiness" Manh Hung mentioned does not stop at the joy, surprise or feeling of luck when having the opportunity to join dozens of students to experience the Vinamilk Green Farm Tay Ninh tour; but also what appears in the eyes and smiles of the employees currently working at the farm, as well as the living environment that is likened to a "resort" for 8,000 cows that are contributing to Vinamilk about 100 tons of milk every day.
"Resort" is as large as 960 Olympic standard football fields
Accepting the invitation to join a group of students on a trip to Vinamilk Green Farm Tay Ninh , this ecological farm appeared completely different from what I had imagined. Stepping out of the disinfection room door, the fresh air filled with the coolness of nature filled my chest, helping me to wake up after nearly 3 hours of traveling by car from the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
A group of students from universities in Ho Chi Minh City visited Vinamilk Green Farm Tay Ninh (Photo: The Anh).
Wearing a protective gown, a baseball cap and a presentation headset, I was ready to embark on a journey to explore the place where Vinamilk has invested up to 1,200 billion VND (equivalent to 50 million USD) and is recognized by the DeLaval Group (Sweden) as the largest independent dairy farm in Vietnam today.
A beetle accidentally landed on the hem of my coat, which surprised me, but also immediately reminded me of the milk carton I was holding. When Vinamilk changed its identity by putting cute illustrations on the packaging nearly 2 years ago, it painted a realistic image of what was happening on the farm, from the green fields, flowers, insects to the cows running leisurely.
Green pastures inside Vietnam's largest independent dairy farm
"To meet organic standards, the entire land must be left unused for 3 years, without using pesticides or chemical fertilizers. After that time, the inspection unit will come to take soil samples for evaluation once a year. So even if we meet the standards, we still have to maintain the use of only cow manure and biological fertilizers," said Ms. Le Thi Kieu Linh - Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine at Vinamilk Green Farm Tay Ninh while driving an electric car - the main means of transportation used inside the farm along with bicycles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - carrying the group through rice and corn fields. Ms. Linh is also a representative of the talented 9x generation of students who were sent by Vinamilk to study agriculture abroad more than 10 years ago.
Of the total area of 685 hectares of the farm, more than 500 hectares are used by Vinamilk for growing crops that meet the highest organic standards from Europe. The cultivation is done in seasonal rotation to prevent pests from developing without the use of chemicals. In addition to Mombasa grass and corn - the main food for 8,000 cows, many fruit trees such as mango, jackfruit, guava, custard apple, papaya ... are also grown around the farm to create biodiversity.
In addition to raw materials for green feed for the cows, the farm also grows many types of fruit trees to create a picture of biodiversity.
Vinamilk only devotes 100 hectares - about 1/7 of the total farm area - to livestock farming. This is far from what Manh Hung imagined. The student shared: "In my mind, places like this usually only have barns and cows. However, when I came here, everything was very different. Not only is there a large space, Vinamilk Green Farm Tay Ninh also has many plants and a large lake to regulate the air. I feel that everyone is doing everything for the health of the community, bringing good products to consumers, and bringing the voice of Vietnamese people to the world."
20 types of seeds create a floral aftertaste for each milk line
If Manh Hung was impressed with the sustainable agricultural model at Vinamilk Green Farm Tay Ninh, Doan Duc Long - a student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics - was excited when he witnessed and fed grass to the cows at the farm.
"When I received the invitation to visit, I thought I would only be able to ride the tram around the farm. In fact, I was able to go into the cowshed, feed the cows with my own hands, and watch the staff prepare meals for the cows. I didn't expect a farm with such a large scale to be willing to open its doors to everyone to see the entire farming process," the male student excitedly said.
Doan Duc Long - Student of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics (standing in the middle) with friends on a visit to Vinamilk Green Farm (Photo: The Anh).
It is not difficult to explain the excitement of the students. Because not every farm in Vietnam opens its doors to visitors. Vinamilk's farms that open their doors to visitors are all large-scale, actual operations; meaning that people can "witness" a normal working day at the farm and feel the reason why this place can produce such delicious and high-quality fresh milk.
All Vinamilk cows are purebred Holsteins imported from the US, Australia and New Zealand. 4,000 of the 8,000 cows at the farm are lactating, with a yield of 28-30 kg of milk/cow/day. This figure for high-yielding cows can reach 40-45 kg, even 60-65 kg, helping the farm in Tay Ninh provide 100-120 tons of milk per day for Vinamilk; approaching the ideal yield level.
Enjoying a box of Vinamilk Green Farm sterilized fresh milk right at the farm, Duc Long clearly felt the difference in flavor compared to similar products. Vinamilk's premium product is more fragrant and fatty, but has a lighter taste.
The secret to creating the unique flavor of Vinamilk Green Farm, according to Ms. Kieu Linh, lies in the diet of each cow. At the farm, each group of cows has its own diet, designed by domestic and foreign experts to ensure that all cows are in the best health to produce high-quality milk. Information about the diet is uploaded to the management software, with clear formulas and ingredients for mixing, combining the Lely Juno feed pusher robot, which is programmed automatically and plays music to relax the cows while eating.
Students enjoy feeding cows grass.
The best quality, health and productivity cows are selected to produce milk for Vinamilk Green Farm product line. The diet of this group includes 20 types of carefully selected seeds, grasses and flowers, notably barley, cotton seeds, corn silage, molasses grass... to create a nutritionally balanced menu for cows.
"Food rations are considered the most important factor, but not everything. Besides adequate food, the farm also has massage machines, a cooling shower system with a rain shower and fans so that the cows can be completely free to eat, drink, clean up, play... ", Ms. Kieu Linh added.
At Vinamilk Green Farm, cows are completely free to eat, drink, clean, play... (Photo: An Minh).
Not only that, the health of the cows is also monitored by a warning system designed in the form of a chip worn on each cow. This chip works similar to a smart watch for the user, capable of measuring heart rate, breathing rate to collect data, analyze abnormalities and issue warnings if any. Thanks to that, veterinarians can easily detect which cows are having health problems and quickly come to check.
The combination of the above factors has created Vinamilk Green Farm sterilized fresh milk that not only impresses consumers, but also meets more than 400 criteria on safety and transparency of Clean Label Project (USA) as well as 200 criteria of Monde Selection (Belgium).
In the context of consumers increasingly demanding high quality and transparency in product ingredients, especially food for children, Vinamilk is contributing to setting higher standards for the entire industry, thereby spreading "happiness" to the entire community./.
Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/bi-quyet-dang-sau-dong-sua-song-sanh-hau-vi-co-hoa-vinamilk-green-farm-2025062719261308.htm
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