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  Katsushi Nakayama

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  Taisuke Nakayama

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By introducing cutting-edge technology, responding to accelerating social change

In 1959, soon after the end of World War II, we began feeding three cows in Betsukai, Hokkaido, the area with the country's largest producer of raw milk, which was the origin of Nakayama Farm. In 1996 we switched from a family-owned business to a corporation-owned business. At the same time, we expanded the scale of our operations and introduced machinery. The cowsheds, which installed cutting-edge machinery, are automatically ventilated 24 hours a day to regulate temperature and humidity. We also measure the amount of activity of each cow with tag attached to the cow's neck, and check their health status on a tablet at any time.

The reason why we are rapidly digitizing our cowsheds is because we have a sense of crisis that "dairy farming must also change to sustain itself" in response to the changes in society, and we have continued to capture and recognize the trends of the times.
Katsushi Nakayama, chairman, says, "Dairy farming has now entered the high-tech age. From now on, the digitalization will progress increasingly, and unless we advance innovations that match the times, we will be left behind."

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  A cow entering the milking robot.
  The machine reads an information tag attached to the cow's neck and identifies the individual information.

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  A calf drinking milk from a nursing robot.

We are also contributing to the development of a sustainable community by launching the SDGs Promotion Council together with companies in different industries in eastern Hokkaido. One of these initiatives is the biomass business. "The automation of the cowsheds has certainly improved productivity, but at the same time, the cost of energy is increasing dramatically. Therefore, in the future, our goal is to create an energy-circulating farm where 100% of the farm's energy is supplied by biomass power generation using manure," says Chairman Nakayama.

• We are promoting self-sufficiency on our farms without relying on imports of corn and grass for feed from overseas. This advanced dairy farming style has a greater impact on the local community.
  "We believe that by working together with local stakeholders, including dairy farmers, distributors, agricultural producers, and government officials, we can create a model for improving profits, which will give new farmers a dream and revitalize the entire local community," says Chairman Nakayama.

  In the near future, if hydrogen gas can be separated and purified from biomass and used as fuel for farming machinery, it will be possible to build an energy circulation system on farms.

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In the near future, if hydrogen gas can be separated and purified from biomass and used as fuel for farming machinery, it will be possible to build an energy circulation system on farms.

The Need for Organizational Strength Faced and Recognized by Farms in the Midst of the Transformation

MDA was a match for us in our search for a new style of farming, a major innovation of our farm.
"What we really appreciate about MDA is their support in helping us build our organization. First, we set up a team structure with different responsibilities, such as training and individual management. Each team has its own leader, and the staff is entrusted with the tasks they are responsible for. The officers look over with a bird's-eye view of the entire farm. MDA has offered us such a system," says Chairman Nakayama.

• With the support of MDA, we have reviewed and improved our meeting management methods. In addition to monthly meetings held by officers, we also hold a “technical meeting” attended by consultants, veterinarians, and the Meiji Group, and a “leader meeting” attended by team leaders, the president, and the Meiji Group.
  In addition, once a year, all staff members gather to report on annual activity results and plans.
  We assigned a role to each meeting, and created an environment where communication and consultation can be done as needed to determine the farm’s business plan. The Meiji Group also participates in improvement activities.

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  Leader meeting held regularly

〈Relationship between MDA and the organization of the Nakayama farm〉

Three years ago, the baton was passed to Mr. Taisuke, the third president, and he says that he felt the need to strengthen the farm as an organization in the midst of the transformation.
"There was an image of dairy farming as working day and night. However, the development of automation and organization allow us to work fully when one should work, and have sufficient leisure time after work. I believe that such a balanced work style will become the new style of dairy farming in the future," says President Taisuke.

In searching for new ways of working, MDA proposed a personnel assessment system. "I wanted to evaluate each staff's target using the same criteria. I also wanted to create an environment in which each staff member feels being watched and cared by the company," says President Taisuke.

In response, MDA conducted job hearings for staffs. We have created a standard for personnel evaluation that includes the opinions of President Taisuke and leaders. While making each staff aware of numerical performance targets, we set items that evaluate their skills and abilities, and we also evaluate their intangible aspects such as a willingness for challenges.

This approach allows us to appropriately evaluate the "effort" of individual staff members, and thus, we expect to respect their voluntary and raise their motivation.
By clarifying goals, we can train highly specialized staff.
"Through interviews, each team leader learns the skills that each staff member want to improve, which also inspire the leaders. I believe that an environment in which we can grow through friendly competition with each other will strengthen our organization" says President Taisuke.

"Meiji Group's staff thinks about the farm from a third-person perspective, not just about the cows on the farm. What I am thinking about now is creating sustainable dairy farming through circular agriculture. To achieve this, I would like to accumulate information that dairy farmers need to know and make changes. I hope Nakayama Farm could be a model case for such a change." The innovation that started in Mr. Katsushi's generation was passed to Mr. Taisuke, and together with the Meiji Group, we will explore new forms of dairy farming.