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- In Japan, the aging of dairy farmers is causing a shortage of successors and workers, and this is an issue that affects the sustainability of dairy farm management.
In order to deliver milk, which is an important source of nutrition, in a safe, secure, and stable manner, Meiji is working on MDA “Meiji Dairy Advisory”, a management support activity for dairy farmers.
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From philosophy to culture creation.
Supporting sustainable dairy farm management
"MDA(Meiji Dairy Advisory)"MDA is an activity that supports “sustainable dairy farm management" by focusing on human resource management on dairy farms.
For example, an expert team from the Meiji Group will discuss "what the farm should be (philosophy and goals)" with an owner of a dairy farm.
The team also provides an opportunity for farm staff to discuss “what is necessary to achieve the goals” and “how to achieve them”.Each farm is the main player.
In order to realize sustainable dairy management, we aim to establish a "KAIZEN culture" in which farmers habitually review their current situation and make improvements, and to create a system that enables dairy farmers to run on their own. We support the growth of everyone involved in dairy farming. -
Targets by FY2023
At least 400 times annually, accumulated total 2,150 times or more
<FY2023 Results>
Target by FY2026
Number of farms participating in Meiji Dairy Advisory
Total of 100 or more
MDA supports issues solving at dairy farming by "three KAIZEN*"
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Find problems with everyone and promote KAIZEN
- Instill problem mindfulness habits, improve continuous improvement mindset
- Improve ownership mindsets for stakeholders
- Create a culture of openness by promoting communication within the farm
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Draw a vision of what we want to be and promote KAIZEN
- Draw up a vision of farm management, formulate management philosophy and vision
- Cultivate the ability to ascertain current problems and derive solutions
- Set annual goals and conduct continuous improvement activities as a team
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Support growth of human everlastingly
- Clarify what kind of people the company wants (career program)
- Build a mindset of supporting growth of human resources in perpetuity
- Improve leaders' ability to train subordinates
- Cultivating management layer
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An example of MDA activities
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Held a "Kickoff Meeting" for managers to inform employees of the new year’s targets.
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Held a "Foreign Intern Study Group" to help foreign employees acquire necessary skills.
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Performed on-site "Improvement Activities" with dairy farmers to check the health condition and feeding behavior of their dairy cows.
- Our partners working on sustainable dairy farming
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Imamura Fureai Farm(Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture) -
Moimoi Farm(Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture) -
Shimizu Farm(Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture) -
Hamada Farm(Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture) -
Hokusho Farm(Nemuro City, Hokkaido) -
Nakayama Farm(Bekkai-cho, Notsuke-gun, Hokkaido)
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Finalist in the IDF Dairy Innovation
Awards 2024The Meiji Group's MDA (Meiji Dairy Advisory) activities have been selected as one of the finalists in Sustainable Farming Practices - Socio Economic category at the IDF Dairy Innovation Awards 2024 conducted by International Dairy Federation.
https://fil-idf.org/news_insights/2024-idf-dairy-innovation-awards-finalists-announced/
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The 3rd MDA Meeting
The 3rd MDA Meeting was held on February 7, 2024.This time, six venues (Hokkaido, Miyagi, Mie, Osaka, Kagawa, and Fukuoka) were connected to the main venue at the headquarters online. About 170 participants, including about 60 dairy farmers and farm-related people, attended the event and exchanged opinions on the themes of "realization of animal welfare (AW)" and "human resource retention," and shared examples, issues, and opinions discussed at each venue. It was a very fruitful meeting, with comments from the participating farms such as, “I was able to hear concrete examples of AW initiatives from other farms, and it gave me the idea that I could also try my hand at AW.”
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Kanto venue
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Kyushu venue
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Second MDA Meeting
The Second MDA Meeting was held on February 14, 2023. In addition to the on-line venue, we have set up a satellite venue at the Tokachi plant for this event. On the day of the event, about 200 people from inside and outside the company, including about 50 farm-related people from across the country, participated in discussions on the themes of Mid-term Plan, Technical Training, and Team Meeting. The farmers found the meeting fruitful, saying that they were able to have various people listen to their concerns and give them advice.
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Kyobashi venue
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Tokachi satellite venue
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First MDA Meeting held
The first MDA Meeting was held on February 2, 2022 to deepen partnerships with dairy farmers. Though we held the meeting, it was held online in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was attended by approximately 170 people from inside and outside the company, including about 60 people from farms across Japan. Attendees introduced MDA's initiatives and participated in a panel discussion. The MDA meeting was a very meaningful time for dairy farmers to discuss their concerns and help each other find clues to resolve problems they face.
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Head office meeting venue
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Dairy Farmer Panelists
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