Huaxia: Building a U.S.-Style Dairy in China

In 2015, Charles Shao, chairman of Huaxia, considered the alternatives to ensure sustainable growth of Huaxia and rebuild the overall health of China's dairy industry. He came to China in 2004 and set up Huaxia dairy farm with the goal to build a world-class dairy farm in China. In 2015, Huaxia had three farms in operation with approximately 20,000 cows (including 7,200 milking cows) and a daily production of 220 tons of raw milk. It sold most of its raw milk to top dairy brands in China while selling a small volume of dairy products under its own premium brand Wondermilk. Besides running his own dairy farms, Shao had been providing free training in dairy farm management to industry peers, developing a milk-traceability system, and setting up a consulting firm to offer dairy management services. Should he continue to invest in these initiatives that benefitted the whole industry or focus resources on growing his own business?