For 60 Years! Mindanao Pineapple Farm Keeps Cattle Program Alive

There was a time when South Cotabato and General Santos City were collectively known as the Cattle Capital of the Philippines, supplying the country with beef sourced from ranches and Cattle Feed Lots.
One of the most critical factors in the success of the Cattle Program in the South was the availability of an agricultural waste, Pineapple Pulp, which came from Dole Philippines Cannery in Polomolok, South Cotabato.
Pineapple Pulps actually are the outer cover of the Pineapple which are peeled off and literally just given away to ranchers and Cattle Feed Lot operators in the area.
A few years ago, however Dole Philippines experimented a new technology of using the Pineapple Pulp in a bio-digester where microorganisms turn it into energy in anaerobic condition.
The bio-digester program, which reportedly did not turn out to be as successful as it was projected, effectively deprived the Cattle Feed Lot operators the needed raw materials for Cattle Fattening.
Today, except for a few persistent Cattle Men like Joven Chua, most of the Cattle Feed Lots have shut down, including the popular Adelaide River Farm jointly owned by Outstanding OFW Arnel Corpuz and his partner Paul Alcoreza.
Up north, in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, another pineapple company, Del Monte Philippines, keeps the fire burning by continuing its Cattle Fattening Program using Pineapple Pulp as its main feed material.
On Nov. 16, Arnel Corpuz and I took a long trip from Cotabato to Bukidnon to visit the facility to take a look at the Cattle Fattening Facility of Del Monte Philippines.
Dr. Jusa Banda, DVM, who heads the program said their current population of about 2,000 heads could only consume about 60 tons of the estimated 300-metric tons of Pineapple Pulp produced everyday by the company’s processing facilities.
The remaining pulp is either sold in small volumes to Cattle Raisers nearby or just simply thrown away in their dumpsites.
What makes the Del Monte Program very viable is the feed processing facility and cold storage which the company established.
Dr. Banda said the Cattle Fattening Facility was established about 60 years ago and had been kept by the company producing beef and steak for waiting customers nearby.
Thanks to Del Monte Philippines, the Mindanao Cattle Industry is still thriving and is expected to make a big comeback soon as the hog industry is being pummeled by the African Swine Fever.
This is a perfect example of corporate dedication to a food production program.

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