Agriculture Business Week

Farmers in Ubay, Bohol consider themselves lucky as the pregnant dairy buffalos loaned out to them in 1998 by the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) at Ubay Stock Farm (USF) have already given lots of benefits, which could not have been possible from other endeavors.

What’s more, the female buffalos have already multiplied, giving the farmers more milk to collect and more hope to have a better life. After tasting the benefits from the dairy buffalo, the farmers would keep their female calves for more benefits.

True enough, the buffalos delivered their first calves a few months after the members of the Ubay Dairy MultiPurpose Cooperative (UDAMCO) got them. And sooner than the members thought, they were already collecting milk that gave them additional income.

One of those farmers is Felixberto “Dongdong” Orjalesa, 56, who was singled out as an outstanding dairy farmer in 2005 by the PCC at USF, which is headed by Dr. Caro Salces. Right now, this farmer from Brgy. Tuburan in Ubay, who started with one pregnant buffalo in 1998, has already four Murrah buffalo dams.

The original buffalo gave birth in March 1999 to a female calf, which Dodong turned over to the PCC at USF as his first payment but he took it back as a new loan. According to the pregnant dairy buffalo module, a recipient has to give back the first two calves to the PCC.

LEARNS TO MILK
Dongdong, who is a member of the UDAMCO board of directors, milked the buffalo for a year and collected a total of 1,372.5 liters worth P24,705. However, it took him three months to learn how to collect milk efficiently.

Except in January to March 2000 when the monthly milk yield dropped to 90 liters and eventually to 75 liters, he got 120 liters a month from July to November 1999. At the start, monthly milk collection was 100 liters in March, 108.5 liters in April, and 105 liters in May and June.

The second calf, a male, was also given to the PCC at USF as his second payment. In eight months, he collected 863 liters of milk that earned for him P17,140. For six months, the monthly milk yield was 105 to 120 liters.

The third calf was also a male, which Dongdong intends to raise as a breeder for native carabao upgrading. Actually, the young bull is already mounting native carabaos at the time of our visit. Dongdong milked the buffalo for 11 months and collected 1,261 liters worth P26,533.50. For two months, he collected 297 liters.

Although the fourth calf died two days after birth, Dongdong milked the dam for two months and collected 210 liters worth P4,620: After that, he stopped milking the dam because it got pregnant by the Bulgarian Murrah bull in his herd.

Recalling how he started milking his buffalo, he said that at the start, he had to stop and rest for a while when his wrist got tired and then continued later. He was almost discouraged at the start because it took him some time before he was able to collect some milk. But Dr. Salces and his staff encouraged him, almost forcing him to try and continue milking his buffalo.

“When I had already learned the technique, I found out that milking is so easy,” Dodong said.

Dongdong mentioned that at the start, his wife was processing 4 liters of milk a day into choco milk for their consumption. Right now, however, she simply pasteurizes the milk that they consume.

In 2001 he got a new heifer, which has already given birth twice. In the first lactation, Dongdong collected in 11 months 1,212 liters of milk, which earned for him P25,332. Except in the last month when he earned only a little over P1,500 as the milk yield was just 75 liters, his monthly income in 10 months ranged from P2,205 to P2,520 a month.

The second lactation period lasted only for five months and gave him 564 liters of milk worth P12,168. For four months, the milk yield was 120 liters a month.

TAKES OVER LOANS
For two times, Dongdong took over the loans of other UDAMCO members who claimed that they were having difficulties in feeding their buffalos. But the truth is the quitters are not as industrious as those who persisted.

First, he took a buffalo in 2002, which gave birth to a male calf, which he is raising as a bull. Actually, he initially gave the male calf to the PCC at USF as his first payment, but took it back as a bull loan. In seven months, Dongdong collected 472 liters of milk from the dam and earned P9,912.

Unfortunately, the succeeding calf died after birth. However, this did not dampen Dongdong’s spirit because he was able to milk the dam in three months. He collected 162 liters of milk worth P3,564.

He also acquired a second dam, which gave birth later to a female calf. Although the calf died a week after birth, Dongdong was able to collect 104 liters of milk in two months, which earned for him P2,288.

In a period of less than three months between November 2004 and January 2005, Dongdong collected 800 liters of milk from four dams, which were being milked at the same time. This earned for him a total of P17,600.

Asked how many buffalos he would like to take care, he said he really wants to have many buffalos since he has helpers to take care of them.

Dongdong emphasized that the income he derived from buffalo milk was a great addition to the income he got from his 100 fruit-bearing mango trees. At one time, he produced 3,052 kg of bagged fruits. The large fruits were sold at P 18 a kilo, while the second class fetched P14 a kilo.

All taken together, his income now enables him and his wife to send their two children to the Leyte State University in Baybay, Leyte where they are taking up nursing and veterinary medicine.