Agriculture Business Week

Not many agribusiness people realize that dairying with goats has a tremendous potential. But one fellow who does is Rene Almeda of Alaminos Goat Farm in Alaminos, Laguna.

In 2004, Rene decided to go into, goat farming, using a 16 hectare property where he used to fatten cattle imported from Australia. The cattle fattening project was a money-maker for several years but it went sour with the decline of the value of the peso after the Asian financial crisis in 1997. It came to a point where the cost of importing became too high in terms of Philippine pesos that it became a losing proposition to go on with the business. He is thankful though that he quit the fattening project on time. With his savings, he was able to venture into goat farming in 2004 in a relatively big way.

At first he specialized in producing meat-type goats. He bought purebred bucks of Boer (a meat-type breed) and Anglo Nubian (for both meat and milk) to upgrade the 50 native stocks he initially purchased. The upgrading of meat-type goats goes on with Rene’s son Art mainly taking charge of managing the animals that have multiplied to more than 300 head, selling some as breeders and as slaughter animals.

What excites Rene more these days is dairying with goats. In May 2007, he imported from Australia some one hundred purebred Saanen goats, including a few bucks. Saanen is a breed principally for milk production. Within just one year, the number of Saanens has virtually doubled. He is not selling the females because he intends to increase his dairy herd.

“People might say that we are crazy or being boastful if we cite them the figures,” he quips. Here are his figures. With the right animals (Saanen), right nutrition and housing, one mother goat can give an average of two liters of milk a day. (Actually, during our visit to the farm, the 40 goats on the milkline each gave an average of 2.3 liters). The goat can be milked for a period of 10 months or about 300 days after it has given birth. At two liters a day, one will produce 600 Liters of milk in one lactation. Right now, Alaminos Goat Farm sells its fresh milk at P125 per liter. That will mean a gross of P75,000 per head.

Rene explains that they sell their milk at a much higher price than that of cow’s milk because it is something special. It is often mentioned that it is the milk that is closest to a mother’s milk and that it is the only fresh animal milk that is given to infants whose mothers don’t have milk of their own. It is recommended for people who suffer from lactose intolerance.

One might say that during the lactation period of the animal, there is a time when the milk yield is less than two liters a day. That is very possible. But even if the average milk yield during the 10-month lactation period were just one liter, that will still mean a gross value of P37,500 per head. An added income from the milkers is the couple of kids produced each year.

As of now, Alaminos Goat Farm sells its milk mostly as bottled fresh milk in one liter and 250-ml bottles. The 250-ml bottle or one-fourth liter is sold at P40 each. A small portion is also made into white cheese. These products are sold mainly in Metro Manila and some in Laguna and Batangas. Rene’s younger son, Toti, is in charge of marketing the dairy products. More regular buyers from Metro Manila are expected as these products become more known. During the company’s participation in the recent International Food Exhibition at the Mall of Asia, a lot of visitors, many of them Chinese, showed interest in the fresh milk and white cheese, according to Toti. In fact their stocks were sold out at the end of each day.

There are other niche markets for goat milk besides milk drinkers. One is the beauty soap makers. A number of entrepreneurs are now using goat milk as one of the ingredients in specialty soaps. Another use is as material for facial treatments in beauty parlors and in spas. One lady veterinarian who went for a facial with goat milk in a parlor said she was charged P2,500.

Of course, to achieve the potentials of milk production in goats, Rene emphasizes not only superior genetics but also proper nutrition for the animals. Proper housing, too. At the Alaminos Goat Farm, the Saanen breeders as well as the kids are raised in confinement. They are raised in a house with elevated floor. Four animals are usually placed in a compartment measuring about five feet by five feet.

The animals are fed with commercial ration (concentrates) which Rene mixes in his own feedmill. The feed consists of ingredients that provide carbohydrates for energy, protein, phosphorus, calcium, etc. in balanced form. In addition, the goats are given napier grass and leaves of leguminous trees. Rene notes that the leaves of Indigofera, a fast-growing leguminous tree, are particularly relished by the Saanen goats.

Rene stresses that one has to study the feeding habits of his farm animals. In the case of goats, you should not dump all at one time the feeds required by the animal in one day. The concentrate requirement of an animal at the Alaminos Goat Farm is usually given four times. One fourth is given early in the morning, followed by grass couple of hours later. The next one-fourth is given a couple of hours later, followed by leafy greens, and so on. In the hot summer months, feeding is recommended during the cooler parts of the day.

Goat raising has its own advantages compared to raising bigger ruminants such as cattle or buffalo. For one, goats reproduce much faster. Goats can be confined in elevated quarters, making it easier to prevent outbreaks of parasites and diseases. Goats also require less feed than bigger animals. And their milk sells at a better price.

Superior breeds, like selected purebred Saanen, may also cost a small fortune but then the investment could be recovered in due time. What’s important is to be hands-on goat entrepreneurs like Rene and his two sons, Art and Toti.