Next was a 290km drive into the desert in three beefed up cars. Comments on the road: " this is an interesting 2.5 lane highway". "Lots of spare parts here fellas for Mercedes trucks". "Did he say petrol is 8 cents a litre!" . "Where are all the camels".
Arrived safe and well at our destination in a surprisingly short period of time .....
Facts on the farm:
- 75kms long by 5kms wide. Pivot irrigated and lots of them.
- water about 80m below surface. Pumping for forty years and level not dropping.
- wheat is yielding 7 mt / ha in rotation with Alfalfa (Lucerne) and Rhodes grass.
- 65,000 Holstein milking cows making it one of the largest dairy farms in the world.
- milk production is 1.5 million litres per day! Processed on farm into a range of products including milk, cheese, yoghurt. Other products produced include fruit juices.
Key learnings from today:
- NADEC have a huge demand for raw materials including grains, hay, fruits.
- reducing their wheat production as the 2016 deadline approaches.
- interested in partnerships and investments overseas.
- hospitality of Saudi people is incredible. We were made to feel very welcome .....like Saudi princes.
- investment of USD1 billion per year for last 5 years into their infrastructure and expansion.
No comments:
Post a Comment