Dairy Production Program Focuses On Feeds, Silage

There is a joke among the country’s Cattlemen which says that if you have a grudge against anybody and you would like to see him lose his pants, convince him to get into Dairy Farming.
With an average daily milk production of 10 liters for dairy cows, 4.5 liters for buffalo, and 1.5 liters for goats, Dairy Farming is indeed a big risk for small farmers.
Compare that to the world dairy cow daily average of 28 litres over a period of 10 months and 30 to 40 liters average dairy production in Brazil.
Aside from the issue of the appropriate breed for a tropical country like the Philippines, Dairy Cow Nutrition is the most critical factor which determines milk production.
Over the years, the National Dairy Authority, an agency under the Department of Agriculture had distributed so many Dairy Cows to farmers most of whom ended up broke because of one very simple reason, they were not ready with the right feeds and nutrition.
In a recent engagement I had with the new NDA Administrator, Marcus Antonius Andaya, he admitted that Dairy Cow Feeds and Nutrition is an area in Dairy Farming which had been neglected by the NDA.
“We will now focus on Feeds and Nutrition and target an average of at least 15 liters a day,” Administrator Andaya told me.
In support of his new direction in improving the country’s Average Daily Milk Output, I presented to Administrator Andaya the on-going Sorghum and Soybeans production program in Mindanao as primary materials in the production of the Total Mix Ration and Silage.
Since Mindanao produces crops needed for feeds, I proposed to Administrator Andaya a program where farmers will supply the raw materials needed for the production of the Total Mix Ration and silage which NDA, a government corporation, could buy and distribute to the different Dairy Farms all over the country.
Consistent feeding with highly nutritious rations is expected to improve daily milk production average and increase the income of Dairy Farmers.
This will not onlysustainably provide Dairy Farm Operators of nutrients-measured Feed Mix and Silage but also ensure grains farmers a ready market for their production.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
(First photo downloaded from public website, Dairy Cows fed with roughage instead of fermented Silage and feed mix. Second photo shows NDA Administrator Andaya, fellow Mason Agustin Chiu and me taken during a recent meeting in the NDA Office.)