Fonterra has entered into an investment agreement with Yutian County in Hebei province of China to build two more large-scale dairy farms.
Construction is expected to begin in December 2012 and the double site is slated to open by October 2013.
The deal is part of the New Zealand-based multinational dairy co-operative's plan to set up a hub of five big dairy facilities through its subsidiary Fonterra China Farms and achieve a sustainable fresh local milk supply in the province.
Both the farms will operate with separate 50 bay parallel milking parlors and cow barns, but share common facilities such as workshops, feed mixing areas, effluent treatment and staff accommodation for increased efficiency.
Fonterra China Farms general manager Nicola Morris was quoted by chinadaily.com.cn as saying: "We intend to follow this farming hub with several more through China, with the ultimate goal of producing up to 1 billion liters of high quality milk by 2020."
Fonterra China and India president Kelvin Wickham said that the two farms would produce 65 million liters of milk per year, once fully operational.
