Friday, September 04, 2009

812 Dairy Animals From NZ Arrive


Some eight hundred twelve (812) dairy animals from New Zealand that arrived in the country last month have opened greater opportunities for dairy farmers.

The animal infusion is spearheaded by the National Dairy Authority (NDA) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to augment local dairy production and to address milk sufficiency in the country.

This year’s animal procurement is the first time for NDA to acquire a multi-dairy breed for animal loan dispersal. Of the 812 animals, 600 are Holstein Friesian-Sahiwal crossbreeds, 199 are Kiwis (cross between Holstein-Jersey), 8 brown Swiss, 2 Jersey bulls and 3 Holstein Freisian bulls.

The animals were shipped thru MV Hereford Express. It arrived at Cagayan de Oro port to unload 383 animals allocated for Mindanao and Visayas regions. After which, it proceeded to Batangas port to deliver the remaining 429 animals for the Luzon farmers.

The 383 animals for Mindanao and Visayas are now quarantined for 30 days at the Del Monte Philippines, Inc. Feedlot Project in San Miguel, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon while the Luzon animals are quarantined at San Simon, Pampanga.

The 30 days quarantine is a mandatory requirement of the Philippine govern-ment to ensure that the said animals are free from any disease or abnormality that may manifest during the quarantine period. It also allows the animals to acclimatize to tropical conditions and adopt to local dairy management practices. Around 212 of these animals will be dispersed to Mindanao dairy farmers, while 171 will be shipped to the Visayas region after the quarantine.(NDA Information Division) /MP

No comments: