You can start cattle fattening with little or no capital at all

"Food for every ones table and every homes"

Rizal Philippines
March 25. 2016

                              Hacienda Verde uses the miracle grass for its organic cattle fattening
                                 It says the crude protein content of the miracle grass is 16 to 18%
                                  which is rather high for fattening and milk production

After analyzing the incredible increase in the number of heads in the herd of my uncle, I concluded that any one who loves animals and who has vision can start and achieve what he did.  Capital and operating expenses are of no concern.  He can borrow a breeder under the BAI EBCLOP, or take care of the cattle of somebody else, get his share, and start on his own.  As for the feeding, he can do a free ranging grazing or govt or public land, find the miracle grass and use this for fattening.

Info for tropical forages

The miracle grass can grow on fertile land.  One of the best variety is the one that comes from Thailand.  It can be grown from seeds but cuttings with 2 or 3 nodes grow best.   Free grazing is not recommended.  The grass can be cut, when fresh and young to be eaten by cattle in shed, when between 2 to 3 feet in height.  The grass can grow in 60 days to same height for another cycle of cutting..  Weight gains can be as much as 1 kg per day, and for milk 11 kg per day.  CP (crude protein content, depending on fertilization of the soil ranges from 9.5 to 17.9%.  It has DM equivalent to that of  corn.

Your food security is your concern

"Food for every ones table and every homes"

Rizal Philippines
March 24, 2016

Survivalist

From NY times - self reliance

Food security is every body's concern.  In an event of a war, catastrophe, typhoon, earthquake, you must be able to survive the catastrophe for at least a week;  therefore you must be ready:

1.  Have a store of bottled water, candies, sugar, biscuits and canned goods.

2.  Plant camote for its tops, malunggay, and other vegies which can be source of your food and nutrition. Even if you live in urban jungle, you can plant in pots, empty cans and basin.

In an event of catastrophe, your credit card and cash cant do you a thing.  They are useless.  In most probability, the markets have been looted dry of goods.    Better still, if you can invest in livestock and vegie farms.

The ants are better than most of us in food security preparation.  Go to the survivalist site and learn more from them

"For the next several minutes, Douglas talked about emergency preparedness, sustainable living and financial security — what he called the three pillars of self-reliance. He detailed the importance of solar panels, gardens, water storage and food stockpiles. People shouldn’t just have 72-hour emergency kits for when the power grid goes down; they should learn how to live on their own. It’s a message that Douglas is trying to move from the fringe to the mainstream."

HIgh weight gains is possible using the wonder grass

"Food for every ones table and every homes"

Rizal Philippines
March 23, 2016

                                      Delivery of cattle from cattle dispersal program of BAI

Food security and livelihood need not be problem with the resources available to an ordinary farmer:

1.  Free food from wonder grass;
2.  Cattle on loan from BAI (all you to do is to repay with with two offsprings of not less than 150 kg. under the Cattle Dispersal Act RA 4096 of 1964.  Why is this not being widely utilized?

         Some are using taking advantage of this more than others?
         Some have problems with access or knowledge?

But high weight gain can be achieved as much as 0.85 kg per day using the wonder grass:

Table 8. Influence of Gliricidia and Leucaena on DM intake and weight gain of zebu steers fed on Napier grass

Experiment 1	Level of Supplementation (g/kg 0.75)
DMi (kg/day)	0	7.5	15	22.5	30
Napier (CP=76)	5.2	4.7	4.5	4.3	4.2
Gliricidia (CP = 210)	0	0.4	0.7	1.1	1.5
Total	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.4	5.7
Gain (kg/day)	0.31	0.36	0.43	0.37	0.48
Experiment 2
DMi (kg/day)
Napier (CP = 79)	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.1
Leucaena (CP = 220)	0	0.5	0.9	1.3	1.7
Total	5.2	5.8	6.2	6.6	6.8
Gain (kg/day)	0.54	0.71	0.72	0.79	0.85

Thus Jen Jen (Martial) or a typical farmer can be wealthy and prosperous just like my uncle, For as long as you love raising animals.  And help solve our food security, and poverty.  Farmers need not be poor

                                    These cattle came from a 30 day quarantine in Milagros Masbate of JADECO Farms
                                     BAI National Feed Resource Research and Development Center

                                 

                                   The cattle originated from Wellard Farm in Darwin Australia. AGIP acquired

                                          1367 heads of purebred Brahman, Red Dairy, pregrant heifers, and Waygu bulls under

                                          EBCLOP  (Expanded Breeder Cattle Lease Ownership Program)  The payment is outright

                                          of a cattle and will raise the cattle level up to 6275 heads with total value of P258 million to

                                           the livestock level

                                              From DA BAI - AGIP conducts cattle selection program

                                     

                                    High mineral and nutritive value

                                             Grow easily under all weather, all year round feed

                                 Higher nutritive value if cut and dried and mixed with molasses

Important inputs for cattle production

"Food for every ones table and every homes"

Rizal Philippines
March 23, 2016

                                    Wonder grass ideal for cattle fattening

The important inputs for the cattle growing:

1.  The stocks/breed
2.  Food
3.  Medicine

Cattle can be grown well in areas that are cool and has plenty of grass

For the stocks, my uncle buys from the farms with blood line. He even imports semen for AI and lets consultants from DA do the job. He has some of his breeders loaned from the Department of Agiculture Bureau of Animal Industry, which implements the cattle dispersal program under RA 4069 of 1964.  It provides for that the breeder borrowed shall be repaid by two calves preferably female of not less than 150 kg.  The said repayment shall be relent to other farmers and cascade down the line.   Each cattle loaned is priced between P20, to 45t.  The cattle loaned to my uncle is reportedly priced at P200,000. and originated from Welard farm in Australia.   He complains though, that they send pregnant cows and he lost one which was distressed by the long travel..  It is made available to farmers who has no cattle and where is sufficient feed supply

From Philstar - Cattle dispersal in Quezon

                                  Cattle raising is an opportunity areas because competition is low,
                                      and output is low, so there is room for growth


Feeds which posed to be a big expense is now solved with the wonder grass imported from Africa and Thailand.  It has high protein content, about 18% and ideal for cattle fattening.  He has a an area about 3000 sm planted to the miracle grass

The other is a waste product from the other livestock farm.   (Up to  15 weeks old waste product)

I told my uncle that there is 5 hectare farm available for consolidating his stock and has water source, has shade from mango and coconut trees, and has this miracle grass.  They can probably support a population of 1,000 cattle.

Imagine expense free feed for the cattle.

Corn is an important food for the cattle.  My uncle was unsuccessful in having corn grown at now site of Windmill farm.

From FAO, Characteristic, Chemical Composition, and Nutritive value of miracle grass

This can be a perennial food for cattle and can be fed or fresh to the cattle, with high DM (dry matter content) and high nutritive value.  Cattle can be held in corral, and not roam anymore so that they can be fattened faster. This wonder grass is widely used for cattle raising in Africa.  (Lessen dependence on corn, sorghum, alfalfa, and other grass type.

High weight gains can be achieved using the wonder grass:

Table 8. Influence of Gliricidia and Leucaena on DM intake and weight gain of zebu steers fed on Napier grass

Experiment 1	Level of Supplementation (g/kg 0.75)
DMi (kg/day)	0	7.5	15	22.5	30
Napier (CP=76)	5.2	4.7	4.5	4.3	4.2
Gliricidia (CP = 210)	0	0.4	0.7	1.1	1.5
Total	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.4	5.7
Gain (kg/day)	0.31	0.36	0.43	0.37	0.48
Experiment 2
DMi (kg/day)
Napier (CP = 79)	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.1
Leucaena (CP = 220)	0	0.5	0.9	1.3	1.7
Total	5.2	5.8	6.2	6.6	6.8
Gain (kg/day)	0.54	0.71	0.72	0.79	0.85

Mineral composition of Napier grass

Minerals	Ca	P	Mg	K	Cu	Zn	Mo	Co	Mn	Fe
	(g/kg DM)					(mg/kg DM)
Concentration	3.5	2.0	1.7	8.0	7.1	50.4	14.4	2.0	33	40.4
Critical level	3.0	2.5	2.0	0.7	10.0	30.0	6.0	0.1	35	30.0

Low cattle population in the PHL compared with total PHL population

"Food for every ones table and every homes"

Rizal Philippines
March 23, 2016

The total cattle population in the PHL (not updated ) show this to be on a decline and only about 2/100 of the total population

Index Mudi

As of 2015, according to the Phil Stats Authority

The total cattle inventory in the country as of July 1, 2015 was 2.54 million heads. This was 0.82 percent higher than last year's record of 2.52 million heads. Of the total inventory, about 2.38 million heads or 93.44 percent were raised in backyard farms. The remaining 6.56 percent or about 0.16 million head were raised in commercial farms.

The backyard cattle production outstrips the commercial production.  The current farm gate prices (about a P100) and retail prices of P250.00 seem to be the current numbers.

My uncle is right in his opportunity scanning

We could increase the number cattle with little inputs

"Food for every ones table and every homes"

                                 US Brahman cattle, a full grown cattle can weigh 500 kgs
Rizal Philippines
March 23, 2016



My lecture to a agri business company made me close to an uncle who is a DVM and whose current passion is cattle raising.  What started as a hobby and experiment, I think is one of the solutions towards food security.  He started with 2 pairs of Brahman cattle and which he does not mind much really.  His main business is broiler and table eggs (their company has about 160t layers)

He has now about 100 cattle heads in 3 locations.   One is breeder farm where he gathers new breeders, the next one is the quality farm where he has the best stocks on display (even looking better than the newly arrived breeders) and the 3rd one is the fattening farm.  This all happened in the last 5 years.  His cattle farm he says is just like biking to me.  A recreation.

His goal is to have 500 heads and to be consolidated in one location (the pro for the 3 distant location is to promote order and as a counter measure in case of disease outbreak.

But his business model is an example of how to grow livestock.  The usual model of having cattle grown by a farmer and sharing the offspring does not work.  When there is a shortage of cash.

He pays his hands with money salaries and employs such scientific process as choosing bloodlines, observing animal behavior, cool places as location for the farm, selection of breeders, pest control (deworming)

He told me secrets on having lower cost of inputs.

Why is he doing this?

Well without knowing and without large expense on his part, his herd grew 20 fold.   And besides, there is a shortage.  Australia the nearest source of beef is only selling PHL culls at P100/kg live weight.  Other countries are paying much much more for younger stock.

He could not supply even  the local market. At a local town, and which he prices at P110/kg of live weight, he could not keep up with the 10 requirements weekly.  (Wow that is P55,000 sale per head for a 500 kg cattle)   Selling price of beef we know ranges from P250 to P350 for choice cuts

                                         Farm hands quarters

                                    One of the horses being used by cowboys when cattle are grazing

                                       Deworming operations

                                      Hybrid goats.  They are large