A cattle breeder’s dream

There have been great strides made of late in the country’s fresh milk production, with reported growth last year at double digit. Over the last five years, the average increase has been an impressive seven percent, thanks largely to a growing interest in commercial cattle-raising over the last decade.

While such local produce is still a pin drop compared to the overall demand for milk by a fast-growing population, this progress over the last few years indicates that our milk producers must have stumbled on a winning and sustainable formula.

One of our readers, Severino Flores, who is now a retired university researcher in Los Baños, tells us the story of Ka Emong, and how this person persisted in his dream of building a successful cattle-growing farm. It makes for some interesting reading and we are making way for parts of it in this column. Read on.

Practical breeding program

“Guillermo A. Castasus, an agri-businessman of San Pedro, Laguna, or Ka Emong to many of his friends, believes that to develop the local cattle industry, especially the dairy sector, there is an urgent need for a practical breeding program.

“What inspired Ka Emong are the studies conducted on many breeding attempts on dairy not only in the Philippines but also in Asia and in Europe. Not known perhaps to many is the experience of the late Perfecto dela Cruz, BAI stock farm superintendent, who was able to develop a dairy animal that produced a kerosene can or 15 liters a day in the early 70s. And this was the dairy type animal that Ka Emong wanted the country to produce.

“In his desire to help the distressed cattle and dairy industry, he organized then a more active cattle raisers organization, the Philippine Cattlemen Foundation, Inc., in 1989. This led to a multi-sectoral move for the first national cattle breeding program in the country, which was approved and launched by the Department of Agriculture in 1992.

“The proposed program was for the development of dual-purpose cattle both for beef and dairy. But to no avail and for some reason, the program was shelved.

“Ka Emong started his own breeding experiment in his own farm, the YGGACCHAI Farms. He infused selected local cattle with known top milk-producing breed bearing in mind not only productivity but also adaptability to the local conditions.

“He was after a blood combination that would not only match the milk production potential of the cattle which BAI was able to produce but also a kind of cattle that was very well adapted to the local conditions and existing production system.

“As Ka Emong’s experiment continued, the Philippine Dairy Corp. was replaced by the National Dairy Authority (NDA) so as to have a more vigorous body to spearhead dairy development in the country. Several key areas in the country were identified and a road map was drawn to serve as guideposts for an aggressive dairy development program.

“This time, NDA put more weight in its strategy on the active participation of the private sector, which is expected to be more efficient than small farmers.

Semi-commercial groups

“Ka Emong believes that it is only now that semi-commercial groups are being recognized to serve as catalyst for development as envisioned by President Aquino’s Public-Private Partnership Program. In the past, the focus was on the small hold sector, leaving the semi-commercial and the commercial sectors on their own.

“He then requested the President for his farm to participate in the PPP program. NDA Administrator Grace J. Cenas readily responded to the call, and a meaningful partnership agreement followed with Ka Emong’s own vision and plan to develop a dairy-type animal.

Long-cherished dream

“Ka Emong’s breeding experiment is a long cherished dream from his childhood as he grew in a farm tending cattle and carabaos for his relatives.  His love for cattle grew more when he was able to buy few head of cattle from his own savings as an accountant. When he had the opportunity to visit Europe, US, Asia and Australia he tried to learn more of the rudiments of cattle raising especially dairy farming.

“Today after some years he believe he has already come up with some blood lines which he believe is consistent with his breeding objective to develop a dairy-type animal that produces more milk under an ordinary semi-commercial management conditions and adaptable to existing tropical conditions and prevailing production systems.

“His cattle has exhibited good milking potential with a herd combination of Sahiwal, Brown Swiss, and Holstein Friesian blood. The farm is producing an average of 500 liters of milk daily, which is sold to the Katipunan ng Kooperatiba ng Maggagatas, Inc. Ka Emong believes he has already attained his objectives and he needs only some refinements.

“Ka Emong also believes that for an effective and meaningful dairy development program in partnership with a serious and dedicated private entity the government should play a crucial role especially in setting up policies, provision of technical and financial assistance.

“Today, NDA is now on the process of validating the right blood combination that does not only produce more milk but also compatible with the tropical conditions in the country.

Multiplier effect

“Later, the farm can go on expansion to produce more of the selected type of milking animals. This, however, requires good genetic resources and a fine-tuned breeding scheme which is NDA and the farm will pursue.

“Ka Emong looks forward having a multiplier farm to be located in a cool upland area in Siniloan, Laguna at the Sierra Madre ranges.

“NDA shall help in the infrastructure and most important in getting good genetic materials such as top breeding animals and top quality semen for this expansion. The Siniloan area shall be used to produce more dairy animals adaptable to both tropical conditions and the existing production systems in the country.”

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