BAODING, China — An international dairying magazine based in Fort Atkinson, Wis., has launched its inaugural issue in China.

Hoard’s Dairyman China debuted at the First International Conference of Calf and Heifer in Baoding, located in the Hebei province 99 miles southwest of Beijing, on July 17.

The CN Agri Science group will lead the publication efforts in China with Dr. Cao Zhijun serving as the editor-in-chief and Jiaying Ma as managing editor. Affiliated with the China Agricultural University and the greater Chinese dairy industry, they noted that that foundation will support Hoard’s Dairyman’s longstanding guiding principle to provide the best fact-based insight on dairy research and practical farm solutions to the world’s fastest-growing dairy sector.

Cao serves on China’s Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle Committee, as deputy secretary general of the Calf and Heifer Association in China. He said that latter experience provided the ideal setting to launch Hoard’ s Dairyman China at the First International Conference of Calf and Heifer.

The well-attended calf and heifer gathering featured speakers from seven countries. Dr. Cao; Jiaying Ma; Corey Geiger, managing editor of Hoard’s Dairyman and co-editor of Hoard’s Dairyman China; and Christopher Bielecki, deputy director of the United States Embassy’s Agricultural Trade Office in Beijing, presented the first issue of Hoard’s Dairyman China to 350-plus Chinese attendees.

At the onset, Hoard’s Dairyman China will be published quarterly in print with electronic articles delivered weekly on the WeChat platform. WeChat is the leading mode of electronic communication in the world’s most populous country, used by more than 900 million Chinese. A website at www.hoards.com.cn also will assist Chinese readers in finding dairy information.

“This is a historical opportunity to transform the Chinese dairy industry,” said Dr. Cao. “We can send a new wave of information to guide the development of the dairy industry. It is with these high ideals that we will work with our industry colleagues.”

“For 133 years, Hoard’s Dairyman has been a friend to dairy farmers by providing practical information on science, technology and cow care,” added Jiaying Ma. “We plan to bring this unwavering support to our Chinese readers and dairy farmers, too.”

Hoard’ s Dairyman China will include carefully selected content from the English edition, which is published 20 times annually. Cao and Ma also will work with Chinese specialists to report in-country research.

Jennifer Lu, international economic development consultant with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, facilitated efforts to create the Hoard’s Dairyman China.

“This publication also will help promote Wisconsin and the U.S. as the global leader in dairy production in China,” Lu said.

“This magazine has a rich tradition in the United States,” added Bielecki. “In reviewing the first issue, Hoard’ s Dairyman China mirrors that science-based narrative grounded in practical on-farm application.”

Brian V. Knox, president of W.D. Hoard & Sons Co., said that Hoard’s Dairyman China increases the magazine to four editions.

“It has been proven that when countries grow their dairy industry, domestic dairy product consumption grows, too,” said Knox. “With that in mind, we are pleased to add the Chinese edition to our family of publications that include English, Japanese, and Spanish.”

Geiger noted that China’s first goal is to produce a glass of milk for every child.

“It’s been estimated that there are 7.2 million dairy cows (Holsteins and local breeds) on commercial dairy farms in China,” he said. “Those cows must serve nearly 1.4 billion citizens.

“In contrast, the U.S. has 9.4 million cows providing for 325 million Americans,” Geiger added.

Hoard’s Dairyman’s roots go back to 1870 when William Dempster Hoard, founder of the Jefferson County Union, published a dairy page in his weekly newspaper.

The dairy page grew extremely popular, so Hoard, who played a lead role in Wisconsin becoming “America’s Dairyland,” spun it off into its own publication, Hoard’s Dairyman magazine, in 1885