April 25, 2025
Exchange of ideas, market development are goals of the partnership
By Jim Massey
Freelance writer
Article curtesy of CALS Global: Envoys from CALS engage with dairy, crop industries in Thailand – CALS Global
Wisconsin’s reputation as America’s Dairyland travels far — 8,500 miles, in fact.
When a Thai princess was looking to reinvigorate her country’s dairy industry, she quickly turned to the University of Wisconsin–Madison for help. UW–Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) answered her invitation with experts from the Departments of Animal and Dairy Sciences and Biological Systems Engineering who, with financial support from Thailand, recently put their boots on the ground to start an exchange of ideas that will benefit both nations.
While dairying began in Wisconsin in the mid-1800s, it was not practiced widely in Thailand until the 1960s, when the government under late King Rama IX began promoting dairy for good health and new careers. One of the king’s daughters, Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn, met with UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin last summer and expressed a need to review and improve Thailand’s dairy systems.
The burgeoning partnership will enable Wisconsin experts to lend valuable knowledge while bringing back insights to support Wisconsin farmers, particularly in areas such as heat stress abatement, as extreme weather becomes more frequent.
“We always get better at what we do by learning how things are practiced in another country,” says Jennifer Kushner, director of CALS Global, which supports the college’s international collaborations. She notes the existing relationship with Thailand can further strengthen the state’s global reputation and aid Wisconsin-based companies that provide high-quality animal genetics, and agricultural and food products, such as cheese. Concurrent efforts by Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Thailand also aim to strengthen the relationship and provide opportunities for Wisconsin businesses.
In February, Kushner led a team to Chiang Mai and Bangkok to visit farms and dairy cooperatives with counterparts at Chiang Mai University, Chitralada Technology Institute (CDTI), and King Mongkut Technology Institute Thonburi (KMUTT). The Wisconsin team also met with Thai and U.S. Embassy officials, engaged with an enthusiastic UW alumni chapter, and participated in a conference on climate-smart agriculture.
The group included Victor Cabrera, a professor of animal and dairy sciences and extension specialist in dairy farm management; Luiz Ferraretto, an assistant professor of animal and dairy sciences and extension specialist in ruminant nutrition; Brian Luck, an associate professor of biological systems engineering and extension specialist in machinery and precision agriculture technologies; and David Jaramillo, a grazing system management specialist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
Thailand, a country of almost 72 million people that is about three times larger in size than Wisconsin, has 15,800 dairy farms that milk an average of 36 cows per farm. The number of farms is decreasing at a significant rate, officials there say, and cows produce about a third as much milk as cows on the average U.S. dairy farm. Heat is one of the biggest challenges Thai dairy farmers face, and Cabrera and Ferraretto say daytime temperatures were in the 90s during their visit. Temperatures are significantly higher in the summer.
“The cows we observed were experiencing heat stress,” says Cabrera. “There are ways to mitigate it, including fans, misters, showers, and diets that help cows better cope with extreme weather conditions,” Cabrera says. “The temperature doesn’t cool that much at night, so the cows don’t have an opportunity to recover from the heat.”
Cabrera says Thai farmers have already improved their herds by using imported genetics, but there is room for further advancement. Genetics is an area in which CALS faculty and Wisconsin businesses excel. The cattle CALS faculty saw during their visit were mostly Holsteins, but Brown Swiss and Jerseys are also prevalent in the country, along with a mix of local breeds and crossbreeds.
Ferraretto says Thai officials also identified feed production and nutrition as a potential area for improvement. The types and quality of feed are considerably different in Thailand compared to Wisconsin, Ferraretto says. Napier grass, also known as elephant grass, is one of the staples in the dairy diet, and Thai farmers sometimes use agro-industrial byproducts from vegetables and fruits, such as cassava, almonds, citrus, soybeans, and potatoes.
“They are in need of good extension work, and I see a lot of opportunities,” Ferraretto says, noting he plans to offer strategies for feed storage to preserve quality.
“With their dairy cooperatives, there is a structure in place to do this extension work quickly and efficiently,” says Cabrera, who expects to offer milking protocols that reduce mastitis.
Luck made preliminary visits to farms in northern Thailand to begin understanding air quality issues stemming from post-harvest management practices.
All were impressed by the robust involvement of WAAT, the Wisconsin Alumni Association of Thailand.
“The alumni chapter helped organize our on-the-ground experience, and it was fantastic,” Kushner says. “There are more than 2,000 UW alumni from Thailand. A fair number of them are highly placed in government and industry positions, and they’re a very active chapter. A small group of them facilitated many of our meetings and developed our agenda. The lead of the technical team, Siwat Sangsritawong, is an animal and dairy sciences alum.”
“These are people who came from Thailand to study in Madison,” Cabrera says. “Most of them completed graduate programs at UW. They are all back in Thailand but very proud of being Badgers.”
Ferraretto was also impressed with the interactions he and his colleagues had with the Thai group coordinating the information exchange.
“They put in so much effort to host us and showcase everything,” he says. “We had the opportunity to meet with Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn; that was the kind of thing I never expected to do.”
The team anticipates returning to Thailand, perhaps later in 2025. In March, DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski led a trade mission to Thailand, with animal and dairy sciences professor Guilherme Rosa accompanying to attend meetings on further collaborations.
“This was a first step,” says Cabrera. “We have different cultures, and we have much to learn.”