Israel truly land of milk, honey

New Zealand and Israel have been sharing an agricultural history of small beginnings.
In Sharona, a small village where I lived, in the Galilee region, I have seen how my country's communal (kibbutz) farms have grown and evolved to become international enterprises.
During my stay in New Zealand, I have admired how its dairy industry has in a relatively short period of time emerged to become a world leader in its field, and I hope to see a close co-operation between the two countries in the future.
In the 1960s, Israel didn't even own a single cow grazing its pastures. Now, and especially in Sharona, the dairy cattle are known for producing high amounts of milk, thanks to advanced breeding technologies and research. On average, the cows in Sharona produce 12,000 to 13,000 litres of milk a year, but in Sharona we have also seen cows producing 15,000 litres. The Israeli Dairy Board says Israel produces 1217 million litres of cow milk every year and exports account for 9 per cent of the total agricultural products market.
Using advanced breeding techniques from centres such as the Ministry of Agriculture's Volcani Research Institute in Beit Dagan, near Tel Aviv, the Israeli Holstein cow has been developed to suit the local climate. This breed is well adapted to the long summer and short winter and today gives the highest national yield in milk volume and solids in the world.
But in keeping up with the world market, Israel is not only working to produce as much milk as possible, but to expand in niche markets that include organic milk and cheese.
Cool cows produce better In Israel, dairy has gone high-tech, thanks to decades of agricultural expertise and a passion for entrepreneurship and an eye for the environment.
Consider the research of Dr Micha Ron from the Volcani Research Institute near Rehovot. He has found that a cow gene, the ABCG2, can affect the amount of protein in milk production, boosting protein concentrations by 10 per cent.
Boosting milk production involves more than genes; cows, like people, are affected by the weather. Two Israeli scientists have turned their research into the so-called CowKool misting system to raise summer milk yields by 10 per cent.
When herds number in the thousands, monitoring bovine health is a serious concern. The kibbutz-based company, Afimilk, located north of the Sea of Galilee, has created the Afimilk monitor, which uses a pedometer to determine when a ``stomping'' cow will be best suited to breed. Other components of the system take stock of managing milk production, and the overall health of the herd. This means fewer interventions such as antibiotics are needed.
AfiMilk also produces large-scale milk management technologies, including one system that can check for online contamination _ which results in a minimum of milk spillage.
Do cows get enough fibre?
Israel's Vocal Tag provides vital data for dairy-cow feeding quantity and quality and provides measurements which can indicate the health of the cow and the effect on production.
Another company, Netanya-based SCR Engineers, has developed the Heatime infrared sensor system to monitor where the cows are roaming, and another system which claims it can increase milk yield by 20 per cent.
Like New Zealanders, Israeli dairy farmers are mindful of environmental accountability. There, a new segment of the dairy industry is emerging _ one producing technologies and solutions to prevent dairy waste from polluting the environment.
In the start-up arena, we have Agrobics founded by Dr Isam Sabbah, an Israeli Arab from the Galilee region. He wanted to create a solution for the olive oil production waste he had seen polluting the region's groundwater. Sabbah's new bioreactor is in advanced testing stages and reduces the bacterial load from farms and dairy farms. The bioreactor is easy to install, can be scaled to work with existing systems and offers an affordable tool for dairy farmers whether they're involved in large operations or boutique cheese-making.
Take it from someone who lives close to the industry: I've seen first-hand the up-to-the-minute technologies that advance dairy management and milk production in Israel. I am proud to say we can call Israel the land of milk and honey for a good reason.