Two Five-Year Plans Completed! Thank you, China!
Source: DairyNews.today
After 10 amazing years, the curtain has fallen on my time living and working in China. My journey began in 2014, thanks to Nuffield Australia, when I was awarded a Dairy Australia-supported scholarship to investigate the management of large-scale dairy farms around the world.
Paul Niven
Independent Expert
Independent Expert
In March 2015, our family moved from Cape Grim, Tasmania—the place with the cleanest air in the world—to Beijing, which at the time was a strong contender for the most polluted air. We were welcomed by the wonderful staff and family members of the Pure Source Dairy Farm Joint Venture partners: Fonterra and Abbott. Over the next six years, we designed, built, commissioned, operated, and sold two world-class dairy farms, producing around 200 tons of milk per day.
COVID changed China—and it changed me as well. First, there was a 10-month period in 2020 when I was away from my family, followed by 15 months in 2021-2022. In the second half of 2021, I began working part-time with Alta Genetics, before joining them full-time as Vice President of International Sales, based in China, in April 2022. I was also privileged to manage URUS (Alta’s parent company) expansion into East Africa starting in April 2023. My time with Alta and URUS concluded in November 2024.
Over these last ten years, I’ve made incredible friends, learned so much about myself and China, and accumulated a few stories to share. So, over the next 10 weeks, I’ll share some of these stories, including:
- Leave your Western brain at the airport
- Food—but not as we know it in the West
- COVID, confidence, and where did all the babies go?
COVID changed China—and it changed me as well. First, there was a 10-month period in 2020 when I was away from my family, followed by 15 months in 2021-2022. In the second half of 2021, I began working part-time with Alta Genetics, before joining them full-time as Vice President of International Sales, based in China, in April 2022. I was also privileged to manage URUS (Alta’s parent company) expansion into East Africa starting in April 2023. My time with Alta and URUS concluded in November 2024.
Over these last ten years, I’ve made incredible friends, learned so much about myself and China, and accumulated a few stories to share. So, over the next 10 weeks, I’ll share some of these stories, including:
- Leave your Western brain at the airport
- Food—but not as we know it in the West
- COVID, confidence, and where did all the babies go?
