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Why hasn't it happened such that somebody just goes to a nation like India and brings modern farming technologies that yield such high growth products here? Th

Why hasn't it happened such that somebody just goes to a nation like India and brings modern farming technologies that yield such high growth products here? This allows people to grow products a fraction of the price but at a similar market value. Thus eliminating that 5x increase in the cost of feed for the milker, allowing him to expand his supply to meet the new demand for milk.

william42 15y ago
Isn't that what the Green Revolution was?
- HaloZero 15y ago
  See above about the cows in India vs United States. There have also been significant advancements in farming since the 1970s when the Green Revolution happened I would think.
rdouble 15y ago
They did - the green revolution.
chime 15y ago
> somebody just goes to a nation like India Norman Borlaug did. See: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-09-13/india/28066884_1_norman-borlaug-green-revolution-nobel-citation http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-09-13/india...
ghshephard 15y ago
Great question. I suspect that Milk production is held back because of the lack of larger "Factory Farms" - supposedly, milk production in india is 1/10th the yield that it is in the United States. I don't know if it's the animal breed, hormonal control, milking, manufacturing, storage, or shipping - but something is holding India back - particularly as they became the largest milk producer in the world over 10 years ago, and, of course, have been beneficiaries of the green revolution. Google provides us with the following policy brief: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/docarc/pb_wp2.pdf http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/docarc/pb_... Extended Paper: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/docarc/wp2.pdf http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/docarc/wp2... Relevant snippets: ""one dairy cow in the USA produces as much as ten Indian 'dairy animals''. This dramatic difference can be explained by various factors such as genetics, feeding, management, technology, etc, about which a greater amount of scientific knowledge exists"" ""Local Cattle: Original Indian 'milch' animals (mostly Bos indicus) which have a relatively low milk yield potential but are well adapted to local conditions"" The graphs, on page 11/61 of this paper also make it very clear that breeding plays a major role - with daily yields of local cattle being 1/5th of the cross bred cattle. The extended paper, as a whole, tells you pretty much everything you want to know about dairy production in India.
JoeAltmaier 15y ago
Different techniques apply when labor is expensive vs cheap. A different solution would be appropriate in India.

william42 15y ago

Isn't that what the Green Revolution was?

HaloZero 15y ago
See above about the cows in India vs United States. There have also been significant advancements in farming since the 1970s when the Green Revolution happened I would think.

rdouble 15y ago

They did - the green revolution.

chime 15y ago

> somebody just goes to a nation like India Norman Borlaug did. See: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-09-13/india/28066884_1_norman-borlaug-green-revolution-nobel-citation http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-09-13/india...

ghshephard 15y ago

Great question. I suspect that Milk production is held back because of the lack of larger "Factory Farms" - supposedly, milk production in india is 1/10th the yield that it is in the United States. I don't know if it's the animal breed, hormonal control, milking, manufacturing, storage, or shipping - but something is holding India back - particularly as they became the largest milk producer in the world over 10 years ago, and, of course, have been beneficiaries of the green revolution. Google provides us with the following policy brief: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/docarc/pb_wp2.pdf http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/docarc/pb_... Extended Paper: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/docarc/wp2.pdf http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/programmes/en/pplpi/docarc/wp2... Relevant snippets: ""one dairy cow in the USA produces as much as ten Indian 'dairy animals''. This dramatic difference can be explained by various factors such as genetics, feeding, management, technology, etc, about which a greater amount of scientific knowledge exists"" ""Local Cattle: Original Indian 'milch' animals (mostly Bos indicus) which have a relatively low milk yield potential but are well adapted to local conditions"" The graphs, on page 11/61 of this paper also make it very clear that breeding plays a major role - with daily yields of local cattle being 1/5th of the cross bred cattle. The extended paper, as a whole, tells you pretty much everything you want to know about dairy production in India.

JoeAltmaier 15y ago

Different techniques apply when labor is expensive vs cheap. A different solution would be appropriate in India.