In December, a group of Irish farmers and beef industry leaders visited China to see how the industry is faring, understand the dynamics and see what kind of technologies are being developed in China, particularly in the areas of robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machinery.

The trip started with a dinner in an ancient courtyard in Beijing, which highlights the history and included some very interesting dishes including the iconic Beijing duck.

The next morning involved a high-speed train journey and a bus to visit a brand-new state-owned farm in the southern province of Anhui, where the beef industry is being actively developed.

The group was met by a happy farm manager who greeted the group with a song from the grasslands.

The group had a tour of the farm to see the lovely imported Angus cows (from Australia) from a viewing area and a visit to the sheds to see some high-tech robotics in action.

The farm, however, was enormous and about 20% full. The huge screen showed the number of animals – lots of smart technology being used.

The group was treated to some steak and local beef dishes before moving on to the next region, which is called YangXin county in Shandon province, and it is the slaughtering capital of the beef industry.

Due to its central location, this area has a staggering 400 slaughterhouses.

The group went together to visit a large Angus operation with excellent cattle and genetics and a centralised total mixed ration (TMR) kitchen, smart weighing systems, organic fertiliser.

Having visited this farm earlier in the year, I could see that the organic fertiliser was stockpiling and the numbers of animals seemed not to be growing.

The company in question – Yiliyuan, one of China’s larger beef companies – won the contract to hold the strategic national beef reserves and had splurged on an enormous warehouse with the help of government subsidies.

Chinese beef farmers have had a brutal year as landed costs of beef from Brazil and Argentina are close to their own costs, due to both the competitiveness of South America and the inefficiencies of Chinese production.

China is a stunning place for technological advancement and evidence of the progress is visible all around.

However, as the Irish farmers discussed over a few Chinese Qingdao beers, they are trying to replace innate experience – the knowledge of animal husbandry and the training that makes our own farmers so top notch with technology.

Clearly, the right model is to strengthen the training and knowledge of animal husbandry (which the Chinese have done on their dairy farms) and then find the right types of practical technologies to complement and reaffirm the knowledge.

Then again, the Chinese beef industry has grown very quickly and is trying to adapt to meet demand and now compete against the cheapest beef on the planet.

While a number of the robotic technologies, machinery and AI technologies offer good price competitiveness for Irish farmers, there is much hope that the China Irish beef relationship will flourish in many different areas.

There is a lot that Irish experience, Irish beef and Irish know-how can offer.