Backyard farmers to benefit in P167B program for ruminant industry

BY PAUL ICAMINA
WHAT may look like obstacles are opportunities.

All that’s needed is a well-coordinated push for the ruminant animal industry to be a vibrant agribusiness, according to the Ruminant Animal Industry Road Map 2010-2034.

The government will spend P167 billion starting last year until 2034, or P7 billion annually, to kick-start the country’s moribund dairy and ruminant industry.

The aim is to increase the 3.9 million ruminants in 2010 to 6.9 million by 2034.

The output: increase in breeding stocks every generation of about five years, with corresponding increase in the production of milking animals for distribution to small farmers.

One of the perceived opportunities – instead of obstacles – is the ever-increasing demand for milk and meat due to the high population growth rate, urbanization and rising income.

Ruminants – dairy cattle, carabaos, goats and sheep – can produce high-value products such as milk.

But each year, the country imports 99 percent of milk and dairy products worth $712 million (in 2008). About 84 percent of that is in powdered form.

While it is rising ever so slowly, domestic milk production is only about 35 percent of total liquid milk supply.

With meat, local ruminants contribute only about half of the carabeef and beef.

All these because of the small local herd: less than 30,000 heads of dairy buffaloes, cattle and goats.

Ruminants are also raised basically in smallholdings; nearly all of beef cattle are raised in backyards – 98 percent of the beef cattle and 99.9 percent of buffaloes, cattle and goats.

The formula to correct the dire situation, as charted by the road map, is simple enough: raise more ruminants by using crop by-products and idle lands. More.

Scientists discover how FMD virus begins infection in cattle

WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have identified the primary site where the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) begins infection in cattle. This discovery could lead to development of new vaccines to control and potentially eradicate FMD, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease of cloven-hoofed animals that is considered the most economically devastating livestock disease in the world.

The discovery was made by scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center at Orient Point, N.Y. ARS is USDA’s principal intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security. More

The Philippines Beef Cattle Farming Sector: A Briefing for Canadian Livestock Genetics Suppliers

This is a very good article on the current status of Beef Cattle Industry in the Philippines.

1. Introduction
This briefing has been prepared by Stanton, Emms & Sia for Canadian exporters of livestock genetics, the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines and the Southeast Asia Regional Agri-Food Trade Commissioner, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

The objectives of this briefing are to provide exporters and the Canadian government with:

* a snap shot of conditions in the Philippines market for beef;

* an update on the government policies covering the beef cattle farming industry and its future development;

* a review of the state of the beef cattle farming industry and its operations;

* A SWOT analysis on the beef cattle farming industry;

* an assessment of the future strategic direction of the beef cattle farming sector; and,

* insight into potential opportunities for Canadian exporters of breeding animals and genetic materials in the Philippines in future.

The research supporting this briefing was performed in February and March 2010.

2. The beef market in the Philippines, a snap shot

The beef market is the smallest of the mainstream meat markets in the Philippines. Beef is not a staple food. While it is extremely popular, beef is more a luxury item because of its high retail price, when compared to pork and chicken.

Beef supply currently amounts to about 240,000 tonnes per annum. Additionally, around 140,000 tonnes of carabeef is produced from buffalo, known as Carabao in the Philippines.

According to the government, imports comprise around 20% of beef supply and are needed mainly to deal with shortages in supply of manufacturing beef and bovine offal for use by the Philippines processed meat industry.

Beef is a secondary meat within Philippines agriculture. The supply of pork is much larger at around 1.8 million tonnes in 2009. More

My Cattle Calendar

What is Diatomaceous Earth?

 I've received this article on one of the mailing list and became interested with it as another supplement for backyard cattle raising.

According to Wikipedia - Diatomaceous Earth (pronounced /ˌdaɪ.ətəˌmeɪʃəs ˈɜrθ/) also known as diatomite orkieselgur, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micron to more than 1 millimeter, but typically 10 to 200 microns.^[1] This powder has an abrasive feel, similar to pumice powder, and is very light, due to its high porosity. The typical chemical composition of oven dried diatomaceous earth is 80 to 90% silica, with 2 to 4% alumina(attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5 to 2% iron oxide.^[1]

Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insecticide, as an absorbentfor liquids, as cat litter, as an activator in blood clotting studies, and as a component ofdynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulator. Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Farmers hang burlap bags full of diatomic earth for the cattle to rub against and keep themselves dusted, which eliminates flies and other pests that land on them.

Food grade diatomic earth is a healthy non-toxic alternative to chemical contamination of stored grain. When the grain is to be used, food grade diatomic earth can be easily removed, but need not be. Since it is food grade, makes no difference in taste or cooking quality, and adds 15 trace minerals. Suggested grain storage use: 1 cup of DE will protect 50 lbs. of grain -- 5 cups of food grade diatomic earth will protect 300 lbs. of grain -- 7 lbs. of DE will protect 1500 lbs. of grain or seeds. One source advises only 1 to 2 lbs. of DE per ton of grain. 
Dust barns, coops, after mucking and throw on top of manure/compost piles.

Feed it daily to all dogs, cats, fowl, and livestock, so it comes out in the manure of each animal as well and prevents flies from growing in the manures.

Natural food grade diatomaceous earth contains 15 trace minerals: calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, copper, zinc iron, phosphorous, selenium, etc. People note shinier coats, better overall health, better production, etc. in their animals who are fed food grade diatomaceous earth regularly.
A small amount of food grade DE applied to livestock waterers keeps algae from growing on hot summer days.
Daily recommended food grade diatomaceous earth feeding rates:

Dosage for Animals:

Kittens - 1/2 teaspoon
Cats - 1 teaspoon
Puppies - 1/2 to 1 tsp.
Dogs under 35 lbs. - 1 teaspoon
Dogs over 35 lbs. - 1 tablespoon
Dogs over 100 lbs. - 2 tablespoons
Cattle, Dairy Cows, & Hogs - 2% of dry feed ration
Chickens - 5% in feed
Goats & Sheep - 2% in grain
Horses - 1/2 to 1 cup in daily ration

This is also applicable for Humans at 1 heaping tablespoon daily

Right now it's available in Davao City - Scotts Enterprises. 

I am interested in trying this out and looking for a supplier in Luzon Area.

Korea Grants DA $3-M Livestock Project

The Korean government through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will provide a $3-million grant to the Department of Agriculture through the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) to implement a three-year project aimed at further increasing the production and propagation of upgraded carabaos.


In a report to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, PCC director Libertado Cruz said the project — called “Enhancing livestock sector performance in the Philippines” — aims to establish an institutionalized electronic data capture system that will hasten genetic data evaluation and analysis, and create a unified web-based genetic information system. More . . .

Cattle Naming Convention

Ever since we started investing into backyard cattle raising we're into Paalaga or Paiwi system in which it allows us to help small time farmers to have the opportunity to own a cow by taking care of other people's cow.
As we all know Paalaga or Paiwi system is all about sharing the siblings. Say if a farmer takes care of your cow the first sibling would be the farmer's share then the next one will be the owner's and so on and so forth.
Now the issue that I encountered lately as a cow owner is that I lose track of whose share would it be and the naming convention of the cow on whose taking care of it. So what I did is create a spreadsheet naming the cow to the farmer or previous owner. Say for example the name of the care taker is Manuel Sales. So the name of the cow will be Manuela and the siblings of Manuela will be named as Manuela 1, Manuela 2 etc. As of now this method seems working and it's easier to track the cattle.