Dairy Breeding Farm Lined-Up to Meet Output Goals
PHILIPPINES – A 300 head dairy cattle breeding farm is to be established in the Malaybalay area as part of a policy goal of achieving total milk self-sufficiency by 2021.The announcement follows an agreement between the National Dairy Authority and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI). The holding will be similar to the NDA’s breeding farm in Ubay, Bohol, reports GMA News.
Kitted out with a milking facility, animal housing, feed silos and a water system, the holding will be situated on 83 hectares of BAI owned land.
Improvements in milk self-sufficiency have been growing by 7 per cent over the last five years in the locality.
Raw milk production increased by 12 per cent year-on-year from 16.45 million litres to 18.45 million liters in 2012, exceeding the agency's 10-percent growth target. The NDA intends to keep the growth rate at 12 per cent or more.
These increases have been driven by breeding stock imports of 10 bulls and 2,100 heifers with calves to repopulate farms with 700 more dairy cattle earmarked for procurement.
Current self-sufficiency estimates are at 40 per cent with 50 per cent the goal for 2016. If government targets are to be met, the country’s dairy animals are expected to increase from 40,696 to 1 million.
By 2014 the NDA targets a national milk output of 20 million litres.
TheCattleSite News Desk