Professor Lu presented academic reports at three universities and visited goat and sheep breeding farms and industrial technology demonstration bases.
Christopher Lu, professor of animal science at the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, presented academic reports to the faculty and graduate students at three universities in China in May-June 2014. The trip was at the invitation of Sichuan Agricultural University, Hebei Agricultural University, and Anhui Agricultural University.
- See International Goat Association website, Aug. 21, 2014: Dr. Christopher Lu visits Sichuan, China, May 11 to 23
Lu also visited goat and sheep breeding farms and industrial technology demonstration bases, part of comprehensive test stations sponsored by ministries in China.
Professor Zhang Yingjie of Hebei Agricultural University, Professor Zhang Zaijun of Anhui agricultural University, and Professor Xu Gangyi of Sichuan Agricultural University discussed extensively with Professor Lu pertaining to research, development and future cooperation in sheep and goats and exchange of visiting scholars and students.
During the visit, Lu, accompanied by Yingjie, visited the Hengshui Comprehensive Test Station of National Sheep industry Technology System and Zhihao Livestock Technology Company.
Accompanied by Zaijun, they visited Anshin Livestock Company at Guoyang, one of the largest intensive meat goat operations in the world. Currently the company holds 200,000 goats at this location and supplies 100,000 goats to the market per year. It is expected to reach one million in 2017. The intensive goat operation utilizes corn silage and soybean meal as major feed resources.
Lu expressed admiration for the development of China’s goat and sheep industries and its achievements. He hoped that scientists in China agricultural universities would continue to strengthen their relationship with University of Hawaii at Hilo and find new areas for cooperation and expand the international impact by Chinese goat and sheep industries.
Li Ting, a doctoral student that Lu co-directs with Zhang, will be spending a semester at UH Hilo as a visiting scholar in 2015.