Minister of Agriculture in Kaluga, Russia: 'We respectfully acknowledge and embrace valuable lessons learned'

"I am confident that I have discovered the most crucial secret behind the resounding success of TH Group. We acknowledge that Vietnam has brought that essential element - a cutting-edge global technology combined with modern management science - to our homeland through the investment project in Kaluga. I believe in the scale and quality of TH's dairy farm and plant in Kaluga will be at the forefront in Russia. This is the reason for my visit to Nghia Dan district, Nghe An province, Vietnam."

Mr. Efremov Alexander Viktorovich, Minister of Agriculture of Kaluga, enthusiastically shared his stance during the official visit of the regional government leadership in Kaluga, Russia to the high-tech dairy farming complex with the world's largest closed-loop production process (according to the World Record Union certification in 2020) belonging to the TH Group in Nghia Dan, Nghe An province.

The Minister of Agriculture of Kaluga also expressed his surprise at the rapid development in the 15-year history of TH Group's development. With profound love for the country and the tireless efforts of the Founder - Ms. Thai Huong, and all TH Group employees, Nghia Dan district, which began as a remote rural area, has risen to become the dairy capital of Vietnam with one of the world's largest closed-loop farming complex, in addition to region-leading modern processing facilities for milk, purified water, wood, etc., in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Ngo Minh Hai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TH Group, shared about the TH project in Vietnam with the Minister of Agriculture of Kaluga: "We lack the vast expanses of fields in Russia. However, on each of our precious rice paddy, we try our best to achieve the highest efficiency and productivity. For example, we can only grow one crop of corn per year in Russia, whereas we can grow up to three crops in Vietnam. Similarly, although we can only we can only cut a maximum of two crops of fodder for cow per year in Kaluga, we can cut six to eight crops per year in Nghia Dan District."

As the former CEO of a dairy farming company in Russia, the Minister of Agriculture of Kaluga showed great interest in TH Group's management over a dairy herd of 70,000 cows, utilizing the Perometer chip attached to the cows' legs. All information regarding the health of the cows is transmitted directly to the signal reception box at the Milking Center and updated on the system's database. Mr. Viktorovich is also highly impressed by the closed-loop milking process, followed by immediate refrigeration, and other modern procedures within TH's extensive operational system at the farm.

At TH's Feed Center 2 in Nghia Dan district, Mr. Efremov Alexander Viktorovich expressed admiration for the scale and technology applied by TH Group in the processing of feed for the dairy herd.

TH Group's farming complex features two large feed centers, each capable of fermenting a considerable volume of raw feed per harvest. Accordingly, over 2,000 tons of feed are mixed and separated into different rations with under specific menus for each individual group of cattle including lactating cows, dry cows, calves, pregnant cows, weaned calves, and transitioning cows.

The feed centers also feature departments for ration formulation, processing and mixing, and automatic feed delivery for dairy cows, guided and operated by Israeli nutrition experts using the NDS Professional (Nutritional Dynamic System) software for ration formulation and 1-ONE software for mixing and distributing feed.

During his visit to TH Group's Microbial Manure Processing Plant, Mr. Efremov Alexander Viktorovich was impressed by the scale of its recycling process. Accordingly, by-products from livestock production are efficiently reused in agricultural production as part of this process. Organic waste is collected and processed into biological bedding materials for livestock farms and organic fertilizer production through expensive and modern technologies imported from leading global companies in the livestock industry, which received strategical investments early in the farm operation.

TH Group's Greenma organic fertilizer product officially entered the organic fertilizer market in Vietnam in late 2022, after being certified for meeting the QCVN 01-189:2019/MARD national technical standards for fertilizers.

"After observing how TH Group organize high-tech agricultural production on a large scale in Nghia Dan district, I have great confidence in the company, and I see that your current achievements are just the beginning, with bigger successes ahead, thanks to the extensive investment process that you have undertaken," noted Mr. Efremov Alexander Viktorovich.

Regarding the dairy farming industry in Kaluga, Mr. Efremov Alexander Viktorovich noticed similarities in terms of agricultural land area between Kaluga and Nghe An province. Dairy farming is also a prioritized industry for investment in Kaluga. The dairy herd in Kaluga currently consists of approximately 52,000 cows. The Kaluga government expects that this figure will increase to 72,000 with investments from the TH Groupin the near future. The average milk yield per cow in Kaluga is approximately 27 liters per day. Subsequently, the minister expressed admiration upon learning that TH Group's average milk yield per cow in Nghe An province is 33 liters per day, and the average milk yield per cow on TH Group's farms in Russia is 40 liters per day.

Mr. Efremov Alexander Viktorovich expects that the success achieved by the TH Group in Vietnam will quickly be replicated in Kaluga, whereby TH Group is actively deploying the construction of a high-tech dairy farming complex and a large-capacity fresh milk processing plant.

TH Group's investment project in Kaluga, including all components previously implemented in Nghia Dan district, Nghe An province, is an essential part of the comprehensive investment project for the TH high-tech dairy farming and fresh milk processing complex in Russia.

As of the end of 2022, Phase I of the TH farm in Ulyanovo district, Kaluga, has been completed. The second farm in Khvastovichi district is being designed and will commence construction after the completion of the farm in Ulyanovo.

In January 2023, TH Group imported 2,400 purebred high-yield cows from the United States to Kaluga and officially began farm operations. With modern technology, scientific management, and a strict operational process, TH Group's cow herd in Kaluga has quickly adapted and produced one of the highest milk yields in Russia.

TH Group recently acquired 20,000 hectares of arable land in Kaluga, and commenced land clearing and production on an 8,000-hectare area with high-yield crops for livestock such as wheat, barley, corn, alfalfa, and ryegrass.

A significant number of local residents in Kaluga, who previously traveled to the city in search of work, have returned to work for TH Group's project and lead comfortable lives in their hometown. TH Group also places significant emphasis on community activities, regularly sponsoring local festivals, providing gifts to underprivileged children during Russian holidays, and supporting road hygiene equipment, road repairs, and more.

To date, in addition to Kaluga, TH Group's projects in Russia have made remarkable progress in Moscow, Primoskiy (Far East), and the Republic of Bashkortostan. Namely, TH inaugurated Phase 1 of a dairy farming complex with a scale of 12,000 dairy cows in Moscow. This area currently houses nearly 3,000 dairy cows, bringing the total number of TH Group's dairy cows in Russia to nearly 6,000. The project has become a highlight in the economic cooperation between Vietnam and Russia, promising significant success in the future.

Furthermore, TH Group's largest milk processing plant in Russia has began construction in the Kaluga Industrial Zone, which is located 100 kilometers away from the center of Moscow. The plant's design and machinery supply partners consist of leading global companies in the industry, and renowned contractors with extensive experience in industrial construction in Russia. The completion of Phase I of the plant is expected by the end of 2024.