↧
How to Raise Inland Ducks Varieties
↧
Backyard Duck Raising for Meat and Eggs
↧
↧
Milking Profits from the Carabao
↧
Use of Yeast to Reduce Antibiotics Use in Broiler Raising
↧
How to Raise Frogs for Meat
↧
↧
Food Supplement for Cows, Goats and Carabaos
↧
How to Start a Poultry Farm Business
↧
Quality breeders for a bountiful egg harvest
↧
Darag Native Chicken Business Opportunity
↧
↧
Family Backyard Poultry Project
↧
Raising Native Animals
↧
Vitamin C Makes Pigs Grow Faster, Bigger
↧
How to Improve the Native Chicken Breed
↧
↧
Philippine Mallard Duck egg production soon to increase
↧
Simpler Way to Find Out Feed Deficiency
↧
Diagnosing Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) in Minutes
↧
DA to import Braunvieh cattle semen from Switzerland
The importation of semen will enable crossbreeding of the Braunvieh Swiss breed with locally available cattle breeds. It will bring down the cost of producing offspring of superior breeds.
It can replace the more expensive system of importing cattle for breeding or for dairy use. Importation of dairy cattle can cost P150,000 to P180,000 per animal.
Direct beneficiaries of the program are cattle raisers of the Camiling Cattle Association (CCA) of Camiling, Tarlac. It has around 50 cattle-raising members.
“We have the capability for breeding this Swiss animals with the cows and other resources we have,” said CCA President Rene G. Abad.
“We never had a vision to develop cattle both for beef and for dairy production. We followed a model that is not appropriate to our situation.”
The concept that the country adopted separated breed for dairy production and the animal for beef production. But Braunvieh is a breed for this dual purpose—dairy and beef production.
The project “Commercialization of Braunvieh Crossbred Cattle for Dairy and Beef (Dual Purpose) Production” by the Camiling Cattlemen Association (CCA) is being funded by the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) with almost P1 million.
The CCA members will provide their cows for breeding, collect the data, manage the project, and grow the resulting crossbred F1 calves.
The project is importing 1,320 straws of elite Braunvieh bull semen from Switzerland coming from proven progeny tested bulls.
“We’re able to get the semen straw at an affordable landed price of only P250 per straw,” said Abad.
The government should invest in a breeding program for cattle which would uplift the lives of smallholder farmers, according to BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar.
“There are stakeholders in the cattle raising business who are small farmers. It is our mandate to look for possibilities in enhancing their competitiveness through technology,” said Eleazar.
Filipino cattle raisers who own just one or two animals represent the big bulk of the country’s live cattle inventory, according to Abad.
“Small cattle raisers account for 92 percent of our cattle population. Big ranchers represent less than eight percent. But it’s unfortunate that in the past government has not adequately consulted with the needs of the smallhold sector. It’s good we’re getting this attention and help from BAR under Director Eleazar,” he said.
The commercialization of Braunvieh is tapping the expertise of the Philippine Carabao Center in artificial insemination (AI).
PCC technician fee is presently at P500 per successful AI. PCC is also expected to provide the liquid nitrogen which ensures preservation of semen straw for AI.
Importation
This BAR-funded program may perhaps in the long term enable substitution even a small amount of what the country imports. The Philippines imported $105 million (2) (P4.2 billion) worth of beef and beef products as of 2005 based on a United States agriculture/" title="View all articles about Department of Agriculture here">Department of Agriculture report. This was mostly carabao meat (carabeef) from Brazil and India.
For dairy and milk, the Philippines imported as of 2006 $457.3 million worth of products. Imports come from New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.
For dairy cattle, the National Dairy Authority (NDA) is also importing 700 dairy animals from New Zealand up to February 2014. This is for a total of 2,100 heads with a total cost of P294 million at an estimated P140,000 per head.
Available cattle
The Philippines has locally available cattle breeds that can be crossed with Braunvieh. Some of these are native breeds, while some animals are crossbreds of the native and Brahman and other Zebu (generic for cattle that have hump) breeds of Indian origin.
Zebus originated from India and Africa and are suitable for tropical climate as the Philippines.
The country also once received the French white Charolais cattle as a gift from France. Charolaise is used solely for beef, and the cow is not used for producing dairy. Charolais grows at a fast 1.7 kilos per day.
“The French donated Charolais bulls to us in the 1960s that was used for crossbreeding, but it’s unfortunate we were not able to maintain and develop it,” he said.
Crossbreds with Braunvieh inherit superior traits such as fast growth, good beef quality, and higher milk production. This is perhaps eight liters or more per day instead of just two liters or less from the non-crossbred. For beef use, fattening calves can be slaughtered at an earlier two years of age with adequate feeding.
Cost Effective
It will be cost-effective for the Philippines to conduct its own breeding program considering some factors. The country with its tropical climate with high rainfall level and long sunlit days has abundant source of feed and forage.
Large grazing land may no longer be much available, but natural feed like grasses and those from ipil-ipil trees and other forage trees are easy to grow.
New jobs in rural areas can be created for grass and forage collectors. There also existing feed concentrates from agricultural by-products that have been proven to increase animal growth and achieve desired objective such as good milk production.
Coordination
Given its mission for smallhold cattle raiser, other government agencies have come in to aid in other aspects of breeding. For one, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is already engaged in genomics program for identifying and breeding good traits in native animals, particularly swine.
“We will not be inseminating native cows to conserve the already low number of the Philippine cattle,” assured Abad.
BAI is supporting the project by maintaining the viability of the Braunvieh cattle semen at its National Artificial Breeding Center until it is used in the AI of the cows.
The CCA is also coordinating with the Tarlac College of Agriculture (TCA) in the analysis of the data collected. This data can be used by TCA students for their theses.
It is likewise coordinating with the local government units of Tarlac province and municipality of Camiling that commit to working on AI activities.
The BAR-CCA project has a capability-building component as the farmers are continuously trained on cattle raising specially in health, feeding, housing, and milking, among others. The project is experimenting on the use of ICT in its training activities and has collected a large amount of materials that can be used by other farmers.
The National Dairy Authority is assisting the project in the area of training for dairy production via seminars. Abad is hoping that the NDA will become a buyer later of their Braunvieh crossbred cows.
Braunvieh cattle are known for their good beef quality and higher milking quality. The male crossbred becomes ideal for fattening, and the female crossbred, for milking.
CCA expects a 30 percent efficiency in AI. Its expects the generation of around 400 calves from its semen straw import volume.
Needed policy
Crossbreeding of imported dual purpose breeds and local animals to produce more productive cattle for beef and dairy production should be the major program of government for cattle, according to Abad.
The DA’s Livestock Development Council could initiate the policy changes necessary to implement this, together with greater participation of the smallhold sector.
“Smallhold raisers nationwide can do massive crossbreeding with government assistance to produce more productive cattle to reduce our 99 percent dairy and 28 percent beef importation rates” said Abad.
This will result in job creation and increased income among smallhold farmers in the rural areas, and have multiplier effect on the whole economy.
“We don’t crossbreed, we’re just importing beef, milk and breeding animals. We can complement the old US model where there is a distinction between the dairy and the beef industry, with the dual purpose European and Latin American model.” Abad added.
Average rate of fattening of purebred Braunvieh is 1.3 kilos per day while the local cattle grows at only 0.3 kilos per day. If there is crossbreeding (the foreign at 1.3 kilos plus the 0.3 local), the resulting cattle can have higher average growth at 0.8 kilos or more per day with adequate feeding.
Earnings
Farmers who can care for three cows used to produce dual purpose calves can earn an annual gross income of P150,000 to P180,000. This is at a slaughter weight of 500 to 600 kilos per animal at an average price of P120 per kilo.
Cost mainly involves feeding.
“The person caring for the three cows has the time for other agricultural activities. Feedstuff like grass and forage that is readily available and suited only for ruminants like cattle are free,” said Abad.
CCA is looking forward to applying for a grant with the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or ACEF to expand its breeding work to benefit other smallhold farmers. CCA expects a 30 percent efficiency in AI. Its expects generation of around 400 calves from its semen straw import volume.
The BAR-CCA project also has a capability building part as farmers have to be continuously trained on cattle raising.
Needed policy
Crossbreeding of imported breeds and local animals should be the major program of government for beef and dairy, according to Abad. The DA’s Livestock Development Council should initiate this work.
“How do you expect small raisers to do the crossbreeding themselves?” said Abad. “We don’t crossbreed, we’re importing beef and milk. We still follow the old US model where there is a distinction between the dairy breed and the beef breed. The dairy breed is Hosltein and the beef, Brahman.”
Average speed of fattening of Braunvieh is 1.3 kilos per day. The local cattle grows at only 0.3 kilos per day. If there is crossbreeding (the foreign at 1.3 kilos plus the 0.3 local), the average growth will be higher at 0.8 kilos per day.
Earnings
Farmers who can tend three beef cattle can earn a gross income of P150,000 to P180,000. This is at a slaughter weight of 500 to 600 kilos per animal at an average price of P120 per kilo. Average retail price of beef in 2012 was P229.41 per kilo, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).
Cost mainly involves feeding.
“The person caring for the animals doesn’t have to be fully employed. Feed is only the natural feed around that are for ruminants like cattle,” said Abad.
CCA is also looking at applying for a loan with the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or ACEF for its breeding work.
Production
As of January 2013, the Philippines had a total cattle inventory of 2.497 million heads of cattle, according to the BAS.
Of this, 2.32 million heads or 93 percent comes from backyard farms and 174,547 (seven percent) comes from commercial farms.
The country’s cattle holding provinces are Ilocos Region, 292,545 heads; Central Visayas (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, Siquijor), 272,307 heads; Northern Mindanao (Bukidnon, Camiguin, Misamis), 271,700 heads; Western Visayas (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental), 254,573 heads; and Calabarzon (Cavite, laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), 253,376.
###
For any questions, please call Mr. Rene G. Abad, Camiling Cattlemen Assn president, 0917-514-0041; for interview requests, please call Ms. Analiza C. Mendoza, 09062392362.
↧
↧
Better livelihood opportunity for farmers promoted by the Goat Enterprise Management modality
Goat raising, a practical business venture requiring low initial capital, is not popular among farmers as a livelihood option due to their lack of proper skills and motivation to improve goat management.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]![goats photo]( "P1010293 by grongar")
Photo by grongar ![]()
[/caption]
To change farmers’ perception towards goat raising, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), together with its partners spearheaded the Farmer Livestock School on Goat Enterprise Management (FLS-GEM).
Designed by DOST-PCAARRD, the FLS-GEM is a six-month modality that teaches farmers how to integrate the science behind proper goat management and incorporate the concept of entrepreneurship into production.
The modality is currently being adopted by local government units (LGUs) in eight regions around the country specifically Regions 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). It has also been adopted by the Federation of Goat and Sheep Producers and Associations of the Philippines, Inc. (FGASPAPI) as its national training modality effective 2014.
Goat raising only requires a low initial capital and can provide high return on investment in just two years. In addition, goat is a healthy food alternative as it is high in iron and protein but low in calories, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
More than 3,000 families have benefited from the modality. Other than providing livelihood opportunities to these families, the FLS-GEM has improved individual and social competencies of participating farmers. The farmers who participated in the training were recognized as sources of quality goat stocks and were tapped as speakers by LGUs, the Department of Agriculture (DA), and were even interviewed on TV about goat raising.
The FLS-GEM involves a series of half-day trainings held for six months. The training module includes two volumes: Volume 1 for the session guides and 2 for the technical handouts.
A discovery-based scientific approach to agricultural extension adapting the farmer field school (FFS) methodology, the FLS-GEM is envisioned to encourage community participation on self-learning in the promotion of mature technologies in the countryside.
With the success of the modality, the Philippine Carabao Center of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is now developing its own FLS on dairy buffalo production using DOST-PCAARRD’s FLS-GEM as framework.
Goat enterprise management, among other programs, is one of the Council’s initiatives to improve the state of R&D in the agriculture, aquatic and natural resources sectors. This is in keeping with its commitment under DOST’s Outcome One: to provide science-based know-how and tools that will enable the agricultural sector to raise productivity to world-class standards.
By
Anna Marie P. Alo, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Service
Photo by grongar 
[/caption]
To change farmers’ perception towards goat raising, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), together with its partners spearheaded the Farmer Livestock School on Goat Enterprise Management (FLS-GEM).
Designed by DOST-PCAARRD, the FLS-GEM is a six-month modality that teaches farmers how to integrate the science behind proper goat management and incorporate the concept of entrepreneurship into production.
The modality is currently being adopted by local government units (LGUs) in eight regions around the country specifically Regions 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). It has also been adopted by the Federation of Goat and Sheep Producers and Associations of the Philippines, Inc. (FGASPAPI) as its national training modality effective 2014.
Goat raising only requires a low initial capital and can provide high return on investment in just two years. In addition, goat is a healthy food alternative as it is high in iron and protein but low in calories, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
More than 3,000 families have benefited from the modality. Other than providing livelihood opportunities to these families, the FLS-GEM has improved individual and social competencies of participating farmers. The farmers who participated in the training were recognized as sources of quality goat stocks and were tapped as speakers by LGUs, the Department of Agriculture (DA), and were even interviewed on TV about goat raising.
The FLS-GEM involves a series of half-day trainings held for six months. The training module includes two volumes: Volume 1 for the session guides and 2 for the technical handouts.
A discovery-based scientific approach to agricultural extension adapting the farmer field school (FFS) methodology, the FLS-GEM is envisioned to encourage community participation on self-learning in the promotion of mature technologies in the countryside.
With the success of the modality, the Philippine Carabao Center of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is now developing its own FLS on dairy buffalo production using DOST-PCAARRD’s FLS-GEM as framework.
Goat enterprise management, among other programs, is one of the Council’s initiatives to improve the state of R&D in the agriculture, aquatic and natural resources sectors. This is in keeping with its commitment under DOST’s Outcome One: to provide science-based know-how and tools that will enable the agricultural sector to raise productivity to world-class standards.
By
Anna Marie P. Alo, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Service
↧
Feed Source for Chickens
Photo by Craig M. Photography [/caption]
1. Watermelon rind
Researchers at UP Los Baños fed watermelon rind to chickens for 6 months. These were compared to chicken given ordinary commercial feed. They observed that commercial feeds can be replaced with watermelon rind up to 20%.
Method:
a. Boil the rind until cooked
b Dry in the sun
c. Grind and mix with ordinary feed
Source: Phil Farmers’ Journal Nov 1981
2. Sunflower Seeds
Researchers in India tried feeding 18% up to 26% protein (from the resulting cakes after oil has been extracted from the sunflower seeds) to growing chickens aging up to 70 days. These grew faster and consumed more feeds than those not given sunflower cakes.
They also observed that feeding the chickens with seed coats did not cause any harm.
Source: Phil Farmers’ Journal March 1981
3. Tobacco Seeds
In places where tobacco is widely planted, farmers know that every plant can yield about 30 grams. To save on feeds, researchers tried replacing 20% of the feeds with tobacco seeds. Nothing adverse was observed in the chicken, neither in taste nor in shape.
Tobacco seeds contain: 20% protein (38% if newly harvested), 15% crude fiber and 4% carbohydrates
Source: PCARRD Monitor June 1989
4. Banana Leaves
According to researchers in Southern Mindanao Agricultural Research in Kabacan, North Cotabato, broilers fed with 5% chopped banana leaves gained weight almost 1-1/2 kilos more than those fed with commercial starter mash ration or with 10% added banana leaves.
Source: Phil Farmers’ Journal June 1982
5. Banana Peels
Method:
1. Chop fine raw saba peels
2. Boil for one hour, drain and cool
3. For every kilo of dried banana peel, add:
4. 150 gms dried chicken manure
5. 100 gms rice bran (darak)
6. Mix well and dry in the sun
7. Pulverize further up to about 1 mm sieve
This can be mixed up to 15% commercial broiler starter mash and finisher mash.
Example:
850 gm commercial mash
150 gm banana peel and added mixture
1 kilo
For broiler feed, ration diet is starter mash from day 1 to day 42, and finisher mash from 42-49 days.
Chickens fed 25% with this in 56 days made no difference in weight with those fed with 100% corn.
Source: Completed R&D Projects (ISN 297) STII-DOST
6. Rabbit Manure
According to British Poultry Science Report (1981), for every kilo of broiler feed, 100- 200 gm dried rabbit manure can be added. Dried rabbit manure according to their research, contains 18.8% raw protein, 9% water, and 19.9% MJ energy in every kilo.
7. Seaweeds
Two kinds of brown algae can be mixed with the chicken feed in the following way:
a) dry algae in the sun until dry
b) pulverize and add to the feed at 5% amount
Every kilo of algae is 20 gms powder that contains:
8.76% raw protein
7.76% raw fiber
36.67% ash and
46.26% free nitrogen extract
Every kilo of this contains 2,452 calories.
Source: Technological Information Pilot System AgriBo 62/1 May 25, 1989 Mexico
8. Water Lily
According to UPLB Researchers, water lily is rich in protein making it suitable as feed for chicken.
Procedure:
1. Pulverize (grind) water lily leaves
2. Mix the greenish paste-like substance with water and stir well to dissolve protein
3. Screen the mixture to separate fibers
4. Heat the liquid to 80oC to coagulate protein components, dry and pulverize
The result is the water hyacinth leaf protein concentrate (WHLPC) which is an excellent substitute to ¼ soybean meals as feed for chicks aged 1-40 days-old.
WHLPC is also rich in calcium and potassium and contains 35% raw protein with 11% roughage.
WLHPC, although do not necessarily aid in growing chicks, it lessens the cost of feeding. It also lessens the risks of flooding due to clogging of waterlines as well as oxygen depletion in water bodies.
Source: Phil Farmers Journal, August 1980
Photo: small-farm-permaculture-and-sustainable-living.com
↧
Low-cost Goat Housing
Location
For good drainage, locate your goat house on a slight slope or on sandy soils; ideally, near the feed source. The goat house should be oriented in such a way that the greatest amount of sunshine and air enter the house.
Housing specifications
Use indigenous materials available in the locality, such as round Umber, bamboo and cogon or nipa.
1. Provide at least 15-20 sq. R. of floor space per adult goat. A separate housing is provided for the buck.
2. Raise the floor at least 3 feet above the ground to facilitate cleaning and removal of manure.
3. Do not nail the floor boards or slats closely; provide slits between the boards so that manure can fall through them. This will keep the flooring clean and dry.
4. The house should be well-ventilated. The wall around the house can be made of bamboo slats spaced 44 inches apart.
5. Provide a sack cover on the windside of the house. This can be rolled up when not needed.
Housing specifications
Note: For two does and one buck raised together, the size of the goat house will be 6' × 8'.
Ipil-ipil. Remove bark. Soak Umber in running water (river/stream) for 3 days to dissolve the carbohydrate content of the wood. Dry.
Bamboo. Mix 1 part crude oil: 2 parts kerosene. Paint this mixture on the split bamboo and season (sun-dry) for 4-7 days. Bamboo is more durable when harvested at the right time (mature, light green or yellow in color). Cut before the onset of the growing season, before the young shoots appear.
Feeding facilities
Provide the goat house with the following facilities:
1. Fodder rack. Elevate the feeder 1 1/2 ft above the floor and attach it to the goat house from outside.
2. Water container. Plastic basins or pails can serve the purpose. Place this outside of the pen to avoid contamination with urine or manure.
3. Salt container. A bamboo tube with 2 or more slits at the bottom can serve as container for the ordinary table salt for the goats to lick. Hang the bamboo tube inside the house.
4. Hay rack. Store the fodder/forage in hay rack under a shade or shed adjacent to the goat house.
Source: nzdl.org
↧
