Russian Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods has opened a diary mega-farm outside St Petersburg to ensure the quality of the whole manufacturing chain from raw milk to the final product.

The mega-farm complex has been built in the Volosovsk District near St Petersburg, on the base of the Trud collective farm, which was acquired by Wimm-Bill-Dann in 2005. The new farm is one of the most advanced livestock facilities in Russia.

The company has invested more than $12million (€8.1m) in the construction of the farm, which is designed for 1,200 Holstein milking cows. It is equipped with Swedish equipment made by the DeLaval company. Due to the method of maintaining cows in free stalls and the constant monitoring of the health of the animals with the aid of computer equipment, Wimm-Bill-Dann’s experts anticipate achieving productivity of 8,500 kilograms of high-quality milk per forage cow.