The importation of semen will enable crossbreeding of the Braunvieh breed with locally available cattle breeds through AI. It will bring
down the cost of producing superior performing cattle locally by smallhold cattle farmers.
It can replace the more expensive system of importing cattle for breeding or for dairy use. Importation of dairy cattle can cost
P150,000 to P180,000 per animal.
Direct beneficiaries of the program are cattle raisers of the Camiling Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) of Camiling, Tarlac that has more
than 50 cattle-raising members.
“We have the capability of breeding for crossbred Braunvieh animals with what cows and other resources we have,” said Abad.
“The country never had a vision to develop cattle both for beef and for dairy production. We followed a model that is not appropriate to our
situation,” said CCA President Rene G. Abad.
The concept that the country adopted separated the breed for dairy production and the animal for beef production. But the Braunvieh
is a breed for dual purpose dairy and beef production.
The project “Commercialization of Braunvieh Crossbred Cattle for Dairy and Beef (Dual Purpose) Production” by the Camiling Cattlemen
Association (CCA) is being funded by the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) with almost P1 million. The CCA members will provide their cows for breeding, collect the data, manage the project and grow the resulting
crossbred F1 calves.
The project has imported 1,320 straws of elite Braunvieh bull semen from Switzerland coming from proven progeny tested bulls.
“We’re able to get the cattle semen at an affordable landed price of only P250 per straw,” said Abad.
The government should invest in a breeding program for cattle which would uplift the lives of smallholder farmers, according to BAR Director
Nicomedes P. Eleazar.
“There are stakeholders in the cattle raising business who are small farmers. It is our mandate to look for possibilities in enhancing
their competitiveness through technology,” said Eleazar.
Filipino cattle raisers who own just one or two animals represent the big bulk of the country’s live cattle inventory, according to
Abad.
“Small cattle raisers account for about 92 percent of our total cattle population. But it’s unfortunate that in the past, the government
has not adequately consulted with the needs of the smallhold sector. It’s good we’re getting this attention and help from BAR under Director Eleazar,” he said.
Importation
This BAR-funded program may perhaps in the long term enable substitution even a small amount of what the country imports.
The Philippines imported $105 million (P4.2 billion) worth of beef and beef products as of 2005 based on a United States Department of
Agriculture report. This was mostly carabao meat (carabeef) from Brazil and India.
For dairy and milk, the Philippines imported as of 2006 $457.3 million worth of products. Imports come from New Zealand, Australia,
and the United States.
For dairy cattle, the National Dairy Authority (NDA) is importing 700 dairy animals from New Zealand up to February 2014. This is for
a total of 2,100 heads with a total cost of P294 million at an estimated price of P140,000 per head.
Available cattle
The Philippines has locally available cattle that can be crossed with the Braunvieh. Some of these are native breeds, while some animals
are crossbreds of the native with the Brahman and other Zebu (generic for cattle that have hump) breeds of Indian origin. Zebus originated from India and Africa and are suitable for tropical climate as the Philippines.
The country also once received the French white Charolaise cattle as a gift from France. The Charolaise is used solely for beef and the
cow is not used for dairy production. Charolaise grows at a fast 1.7 kilos per day.
“The French donated Charolaise bulls to us in the 1960s that was used for crossbreeding, but it’s unfortunate we were not able to
maintain and develop it,” he said.
Crossbreds with Braunvieh inherit superior traits such as fast growth, good beef quality, and higher milk production. This could reach
eight liters or more per day instead of just two liters or less from the non-crossbred. For beef use, fattening crossbred calves can be slaughtered at an earlier two years of age with adequate feeding.
Cost Effective
It will be cost-effective for the Philippines to conduct its own breeding program considering some factors. The country with its tropical
climate with high rainfall and long sunlit days, has abundant source of feed and forage.
Large grazing land may no longer be much available, but natural feed like grasses and those from ipil-ipil and other forage trees are
easy to grow. New jobs in the rural areas can be created for grass and forage collectors. There are also feed concentrates from agricultural by-products that have been proven to increase animal growth and achieve desired objective
such as good milk production.
Coordination
Given its mission for smallhold cattle raiser, other government agencies has come in to aid in other aspects of breeding. For one, Bureau
of Animal Industry (BAI) is already engaged in genomics program for identifying and breeding good traits in native animals, particularly swine. “We will not be inseminating native cows to conserve the already low numbers
of the Philippine cattle,” was the assurance given by Abad.
BAI is supporting the project by maintaining the viability of the Braunvieh cattle semen at its National Artificial Breeding Center until
it is used in the AI of the cows.
The Braunvieh crossbreeding project is supported by the Philippine Carabao Center in artificial insemination (AI). PCC-trained and supported
technicians are doing the AI of the cows . PCC is also expected to help supply the liquid nitrogen which ensures preservation of semen straw for AI.
The CCA is also coordinating with the Tarlac College of Agriculture in the analysis of the data collected. This activity can be used
by TCA students for their theses. It is likewise coordinating with the local government units of Tarlac province and the municipality of Camiling that commit to working on AI activities.
The BAR-CCA project has a capability-building component as the farmers are continuously trained on cattle raising specially in health,
feeding, housing, and milking, among others. The project is experimenting on the use of ICT in its training activities and has collected a large amount of materials that can be used by other farmers.
The National Dairy Authority is assisting the project in the area of training for dairy production via seminars. Abad is hoping that the
NDA will become a buyer later of their Braunvieh crossbred cows.
Braunvieh cattle are known for their good beef quality and higher milking quality. The male crossbred becomes ideal for fattening, and
the female crossbred, for milking.
CCA expects a 30 percent efficiency in AI. Its expects the generation of around 400 calves from its semen straw import volume.
Needed policy
Crossbreeding of imported dual purpose breeds and local animals to produce more productive cattle for beef and dairy production should
be the major program of government for cattle, according to Abad. The DA’s Livestock Development Council could initiate the policy changes necessary to implement this, together with greater participation of the smallhold
sector.
“Smallhold raisers nationwide can do massive crossbreeding with government assistance to produce more productive cattle to reduce our
99+% dairy and 28+% beef importation rates” said Abad. This will result to job creation and increased income among smallhold farmers in the rural areas, and have multiplier effect on the whole economy. “We don’t crossbreed,
we’re just importing beef, milk and breeding animals. We can complement the old US model where there is a distinction between the dairy and the beef industry, with the dual purpose European and Latin American model.”
Abad added.
Average rate of fattening of purebred Braunvieh is 1.3 kilos per day while the local cattle grows at only 0.3 kilos per day. If there
is crossbreeding (the foreign at 1.3 kilos plus the 0.3 local), the resulting cattle can have higher average growth at 0.8 kilos or more per day with adequate feeding.
Earnings
Farmers who can care for three cows used to produce dual purpose calves can earn an annual gross income of P150,000 to P180,000. This
is at a slaughter weight of 500 to 600 kilos per animal at an average price of P120 per kilo.
Cost mainly involves feeding.
“The person caring for the three cows has the time for other agricultural activities. Feedstuff like grass and forage that is readily
available and suited only for ruminants like cattle are free,” said Abad.
CCA is looking forward to applying for a grant with the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or ACEF to expand its breeding
work to benefit other smallhold farmers.
