Dairy from East Java: Interview with PT. Greenfields

PT. Greenfields Indonesia is one of the region’s leading dairy providers, processing 40,000 tons of milk per year in its facilities in Desa Babadan, East Java. The company’s pasteurized milk, UHT milk, fresh cheese, and whipping cream, are available in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar, the Philippines, and other countries.

In this article, we learn more about the company from Head of Dairy Manufacturing, Darmanto Setyawan.

What made Greenfields choose Desa Babadan as the base of operations?

Desa Babadan in East Java is home to almost 8,000 Greenfields Holstien cows – the best dairy cows. The 60-hectare land located at an altitude of 1,100 – 1,200 meters above sea level, with an average day time temperature of around 24-25⁰C and 13-14⁰C at night time, is the best location for raising and milking dairy cows.

How is quality maintained at the facilities?

Our farm is certified to ISO 9001:2008 and we own modern milk processing that’s certified to ISO 22000:2005 & FSSC 22000. This guarantees that our activity is standardized, and hygiene is maintained at all times. We are the only company in Southeast Asia, and indeed in Indonesia, that operates modern integrated farm with processing facility. Our end product complies with international standards for milk, CODEX Alimentarius and regulations in the countries where our products are sold.

Please describe how the feeding system contributes to better milk.

The cows are provided a balanced diet under the supervision of veterinarians and animal nutritionists. All cows consume a diet that is suitable for their age and physical condition. Typically, the feed is a mixture of corn tree (silage), grass, alfalfa hay and good quality grain. By matching the cows’ physical condition with food composition, we not only maintain their health, but also the quality and quantity of the milk they produce.

Does Greenfields follow trends like “free-from”, low-fat, low-sugar, etc?

Our products are naturally and absolutely able to meet these trends, because our fresh milk is free from preservatives, additives and sugar; it is just 100 percent natural pure milk. For consumers that require less fat milk, Greenfields offers Low Fat milk with only 1.1 percent fat content, and Skimmed Milk variant with only 0.1 percent fat whilst still naturally maintaining high calcium available in fresh milk.

Is fortification part of your product development? 

If what you mean by fortification is adding vitamins or minerals which will increase the nutrition level into our formulation, the answer is a big NO. As explained, we do not add vitamins, minerals or other elements to support product claim. If we should add something, it is only to make certain variants, i.e. Strawberry Milk or Choco Malt milk.

PT. Greenfields Indonesia dairy – from Holstien cows – are exported to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Myanmar, the Philippines, and other neighboring countries

Is Indonesia’s milk consumption increasing?

Yes, especially in the liquid milk categories. We see an increase in dairy product consumption, which is in line with economic development. There is also a switch in consumption pattern from sweetened condensed milk, to powdered milk to liquid milk.

While lactose intolerance is prevalent in Asia, the market is still doing well.

There is no valid data study on lactose intolerance in Asia, while basically lactose is sugar form that is only available in milk (just like fructose which is a sugar form in fruits), and that includes breast milk. Humans can produce lactase, the enzyme that helps to digest lactose, but if we stop consuming dairy our body will stop producing this lactase. But don’t worry about it, because as soon as we consume dairy again, after around a week, our bodies will start to produce lactase enzyme again, and we are able to digest lactose again.  Some people that cannot produce the lactase enzyme belong to a very small percentage of the population.

Has the company introduced innovations recently?

We invested in technology that lowers the carbon footprint of our state-of-the-art milk processing. We are also improving our Dairy Farm operation to increase the cows’ comfort level (this is actually the main goals of any dairy farm operator). We utilize cow’s manure to generate electricity for our dairy farm.

Studies say that factory farms for dairy have a negative impact on the environment.

We understand this issue has popped up in the community recently. Some studies say animal agriculture puts a strain on natural resources like land, water, and fossil fuel. All activities have impact on the environment but we have to remember, the community needs meat and dairy products, and actually our life depends on them.

How is sustainability a part of your agenda?

At Greenfields, we maximize all resources and minimize waste. We recycle cow manure to power plants that will supply our farms with electricity. Don’t forget that cow manure is good organic fertilizer that can restore the fertile soil. It is distributed to the company which uses this natural fertilizer for growing Kings Grass that we use back to feed our cows.

Are you involved in activities that help raise awareness on the benefits of dairy consumption?

We constantly promote the health benefits of consuming dairy products. Each year we raise awareness by celebrating World Milk Day and World School Milk Day.