China’s Desert Ulan Buh into a Farm

The Chinese company created an organic milk farm in the desert. Ulan Buh is one of China’s largest deserts stretching over 14,000 km² in Inner Mongolia. The Ulan Buh desert, where both Shengmu Forage’s growing fields and the organic dairy farms are located, offers a number of benefits compared to conventional farming environments in China. These benefits include cool and dry weather preferred by dairy cows, limited human activity, and little pollution as well as very low levels of bacteria, viruses, and pests. In addition, according to the F & S Report, there are abundant water resources and rich soil underneath the sandy surface. It has been seen as inhospitable to humanity but started in 2009. Dairy company ShengMu has transformed a landscape into a farm of 80,000 cows. The soft and breathable desert sand provides comfortable lying ground for the cows to rest and reduce their chances of developing the limping disease. The Ulan Buh desert has an average of almost 3,200 hours of sunlight annually with an average solar radiation intensity of 6,280 square meters, compared to an average of 1,800 to 2,000 hours of sunlight annually with an average solar radiation intensity of 4,250 to 5,000 square meters in central and southern China. The intensity and the long hours of sunlight in the desert help forage crops grow and cows produce higher levels of calcium in their milk. ShenMu planted 97 million trees, converting them into the forest of more than 200 km² of the desert. The farm collects the cow’s manure and uses it to grow 150 km² of organic pasture. The new vegetation has even created its microclimate reducing wind speeds and increasing rain fourfold. The farm had some help from Ulan Buh’s hidden reserves. Cows prefer relatively cool temperatures and dry weather. The Ulan Buh desert is located within the latitude zone generally considered ideal for dairy farming and known as the Golden Raw Milk Belt. The temperature range from 0°C to 15°C is a favorable range for dairy cows and the Ulan Buh desert has an annual average temperature of 7.8°C, and annual average precipitation of approximately 103 millimeters. Compared to some cold and humid regions in China, the climatic environment in the Ulan Buh desert is more suitable for dairy farming. In addition, the temperature difference between day and night in the desert helps to improve the quality of forage crops. Unlike other large deserts in China, the Ulan Buh desert is the product of alluviation of the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the second-longest river in Asia, which has formed a thick layer of rich soil under the sand surface of the desert conducive to the plantation. The lateral seepage of the upper reaches of the Yellow River also provides abundant shallow underground water. According to the survey conducted by Inner Mongolia Hetao Irrigation Administration, the desert area has an aquifer holding an aggregate of approximately 5.7 billion cubic meters of water under the sand surface. The water of the upper reaches of the Yellow River is very clean and is purified as it percolates through layers of rock, fine sand, and gravel to form the desert lakes and aquifers.  It’s located at the latitude of 40°N, in the world’s ‘golden dairy belt.’ ShenMu employs local nomads and farmers whose traditional way of life was changed by overgrazing and industry. “Seizing business opportunities in China's business transition towards a nature-positive economy” is one of the case studies highlighted in the new report from the World Economic Forum’s Nature Economy report series. 65% of China’s total GDP is at risk of disruption from natural loss. More than a quarter of its land area is threatened by desertification.  For China to reach its economic and social goals, the country must invest in nature while fighting climate change and biodiversity loss. By marking 15 nature-positive transitions, China could add 1.9 trillion dollars in annual business opportunities and create 88 million resilient jobs by 2030. What are other business opportunities towards a net-zero and nature-positive future?