Veterinary Interns at Hua Xia Dairy Farm
Five students from top US Veterinary colleges have arrived at Hua Xia Dairy Farm to spend their summer working as interns. Evan, Tom and Caitlin are students from Cornell University and Jessica and Rachel study at University of Pennsylvania. This is a really exciting partnership for all involved - not only is it a brilliant opportunity for the students who get to test their knowledge hands-on, on an American dairy farm in China, but it is great for Hua Xia Dairy Farm to test out the latest theories coming from top veterinary schools.
They will be working on up to 8 projects, rotating on a weekly basis. Projects include “calving operations and the birthing processes” and ‘fresh cow protocol’. (a fresh cow is one which has just given birth). The interns are asked to address specific problems, so they will typically observe, question, understand and often liaise with their professors

in the US on the best way to tackle the issues. They will then decide with the Hua Xia vets how to experiment and implement changes. Tom and Caitlin are currently working on calving operations which involves learning about what happens to a calf once it is born and how Hua Xia reduces the stress levels of calves and fresh cows to a minimum. As with all the projects lots of observation is required on the interns’ part before they seek the help of

their professors. All aspects of their projects will be documented for future reference!
In her first week, Rachel had been working on fresh cow protocol i.e. how to take care of cows that have just given birth. Cows only begin to be milked when they become fresh cows and as a result of this they undergo huge

hormonal and metabolic changes and so it is vital that they are observed closely to ensure health and happiness!

Hua Xia’s strict protocol focuses on nutrition which is key to prevention of diseases such a ketosis- a common

metabolic disorder among fresh cows.
Rachel also made an interesting point about the fact that we milk our cows thrice daily. While some criticize this method by saying it’s too intensive- research has now proven it to be healthier for the cow. More regular milking means that the udder does not fill up as much and there is less pressure build up- significantly decreasing the risk

of mastitis.
All 5 of the interns have been extremely impressed by Hua Xia’s high standards; the ultra-modern equipment

in place, the advanced methods employed and levels of cow comfort. Plus, they think the milk tastes as good as

it does back home and they just love Wondermilk’s sweetened yoghurt!
Look out for more updates from the interns in the coming weeks.

Wondermilk’s Marketing Intern- we catch up with Kirsty from England.

Say Hello to Kirsty from England- we ask her about her first impressions of China and what she has been up too at Wondermilk.

“Almost 2 months ago I arrived in Beijing to start a marketing intern placement at Wondermilk. I’d never been

to China before and I didn’t have much of a marketing background so everything was very new and exciting! It

didn’t take long for me to settle in at Wondermilk- in fact from day one it’s been a great experience and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself.

So what have I been up too?…Over the last 8 weeks I’ve spent a lot of time working on the English text on both the Wondermilk and Hua Xia Dairy Farm websites. Another little project was the Wondermilk Newsletter (the 1st

edition went out at the beginning of June) and I had a big input in that. Jazzing up Wondermilk’s power points

and helping out at events, I also created a Facebook page for Wondermilk with the intention to try and reach more

people through social networking sites.

Life in Beijing…I really wanted to come to China to see what all the fuss is about! At first it seemed a little overwhelming- a huge city, a totally alien language, the pushing and shoving on the subway and getting to

grips with chopsticks. But after a week or two I settled into my new life in Beijing- and I’ve not been disappointed!

It’s such an exciting city with so much to see and so much to do – I just can’t get enough of it. I soon became a

regular at Wondermilk’s frozen yogurt store, but I’m still exploring new districts and finding new hangouts with

my new friends.

I’ve only got until the end of July to enjoy everything that Beijing has to offer, but I would love to come back in

the next few years and who knows, perhaps I will be working at Wondermilk again soon."