Milk made in Hong Kong? University rolls out only drink of its kind in city, hopes to reach some supermarkets in future
- City University flew in 24 cows from Australia last year to live on its farm in Tai Po as part of new veterinary medicine programme
- Locally produced milk is on sale at university’s campus in Kowloon Tong for HK$9 (US$1) per 236ml carton
A university in Hong Kong began selling the city’s only locally produced milk on its campus on Thursday, while expressing hopes that its products would soon hit some supermarket shelves.
In 2017, City University became the first and only local tertiary education institution to launch a veterinary medicine programme. It flew in more than 20 cows from Australia last September to enhance the teaching it could provide and produce milk locally.
A farm run by the university in Tai Po, where the cows are housed, features facilities such as barns, feeding tables, milking machines and a room for processing the drink.
Undergraduate veterinary students will attend compulsory courses at the farm during their six years of studies. They will learn basic animal handling, conduct clinical exams, diagnose disease and provide medical treatment for the cattle.
“At our peak, currently, we are producing about 550 litres (1,162 pints) of milk a day. But in the coming November, we’ll be down to just 100 to 200 litres per day,” farm manager Eryl Done said. “The average across the year will be somewhere over 300 litres a day.”
This roughly translates to about 1,200 cartons of milk, each at a size of 236ml (8 fluid ounces), hitting the shelves every day.
After three years of preparation, the milk is on sale at the university’s campus in Kowloon Tong for HK$9 (US$1) per carton. The drink is entirely produced by the 24 young pregnant Jersey cows the university raises on its farm.