Data Intelligence Powers Efficient, Sustainable Ranch Development | A Conversation with Linear Capital Portfolio Company "Yimu Technology"
Over the past 40-plus years, per capita grain consumption in China has declined year by year, while consumption of animal-based foods has grown rapidly and consistently. Per capita dairy consumption, in particular, has seen especially pronounced growth. Fueled by robust Chinese consumer demand, dairy farms have become increasingly large-scale and intensive, with 10,000-head mega-farms emerging one after another. The largest single dairy farm served by YIMU Technology houses 40,000 head of cattle. The real challenge these large intensive operations face is...
As YIMU Technology's North American market expansion took off and its digital-intelligent ranch solutions gained widespread recognition and adoption, the company was named one of the top 10 precision agriculture solution providers in the Asia-Pacific region by Agri Business Review in 2022. Recently, the magazine conducted and published an exclusive interview with Dr. Ma Zhifen, founder and CEO of YIMU Technology. The translated interview follows.
Full translation:
Over the past 40-plus years, per capita grain consumption in China has declined year by year, while consumption of animal-based foods has grown rapidly — dairy consumption in particular. Driven by strong consumer demand, dairy farms have become increasingly large-scale and intensive, with 10,000-head operations now commonplace. The largest single-site dairy farm served by YIMU Technology houses 40,000 cows. The real challenge these large intensive operations face: traditional management methods no longer work, and digital-intelligent ranches represent the inevitable future.
YIMU Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. is a specialized provider of digital-intelligent ranch solutions. Its self-developed precision dairy farming SaaS platform accelerates the digital transformation of ranches. The DBI index (Dairy Business Sustainability Index), proposed and built by YIMU Technology, has become a key driver of new industry standards.
"Our goal is to build a one-stop smart ranch service platform that continuously helps ranches improve profitability and achieve sustainable development," said Dr. Ma Zhifen, founder and CEO of YIMU Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
More and more smart devices and sensors are being deployed on ranches: automatic milk yield measurement, precision feeding, cow behavior monitoring, environmental temperature and humidity tracking, and more. Many of these sensors are highly accurate. Compared to manual data entry by ranch hands, sensors capture data far more efficiently and precisely. This data syncs in real time to "YIMUCloud," where mechanistic and empirical models analyze it and convert it into actionable intelligence for frontline production management — playing an increasingly vital role in daily operations.
For example, analysis can identify which cows need treatment, and IoT technology quickly locates them. This information is automatically pushed to staff smartphones or tablets, letting them approach their day like checking a schedule. YIMU Technology's DSmart "barn navigation system" dramatically improves worker productivity, much like GPS for driving. As production management processes mature, more and more real operational data gets collected.
How to sustainably improve profitability is the perpetual question for commercial ranches. "YIMUCloud" functions as the "ranch's intelligent brain." Building on this, we developed the DBI index to help ranches make more scientific decisions through data-driven analysis, enabling more efficient operations. We also aggregate and analyze ranch production data from an industry-wide perspective. Since 2020, we have published an annual Status of Key Production Performance in China's Large-Scale Dairy Farms. This has proven invaluable — many ranch managers use it for benchmarking, identifying gaps, and driving continuous improvement.
In the DBI ranch data intelligence analysis and decision system, we can see analysis across all production dimensions: feeding, breeding, milk production, health, genetics, and herd structure. All this data feeds into the DBI index. A higher DBI score reflects stronger sustainable profitability. Maximizing per-cow productivity means increasing total raw milk output without endlessly expanding herd size. Scientific data analysis is presented to decision-makers through intuitive "cockpit dashboards" displaying the most critical metrics to guide sound decisions. Among our clients, it's increasingly common to find a large screen in the executive office displaying real-time ranch KPIs.
More and more ranches are adopting these digital-intelligent solutions to free up labor. They're deploying more automation equipment alongside data intelligence solutions to genuinely improve operational efficiency and profitability. Meanwhile, YIMU Technology is expanding its use of computer vision technology — for instance, combining cameras with AI machine learning for automated body condition scoring (BCS) of dairy cows. This replaces manual daily BCS work by ranch staff. On the nutrition side, more precise feed formulation, mixing, and delivery provides cows with optimized nutrition while saving on feed costs. On the production side, it helps ranches continuously improve breeding efficiency and milk yield, generating more profit and greater sustainability. We estimate that scaling this solution across China would create over RMB 10 billion in annual value. At the same time, we see overseas opportunities: through partnerships with U.S. commercial partners, we have successfully entered the North American market. As of January 25, 2022, YIMUCloud serves over 1 million dairy cows, with that figure expected to exceed 1.2 million by year-end. Going forward, YIMU Technology will provide digital-intelligent solutions and services to more dairy and other ruminant livestock operations.
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