News in brief:

[neodragon0l]

during that time and maybe until now we are still in the infancy stage...

Unless a multinational company join the bandwagon it will be a turtle pace improvement for this sector.

I agree and that's the sad part.

[mikey]

One topic not talked about much in the Philippines is guard dogs.Yes one can import guard dogs from Australia for your goats and sheep but I have a proven and cheap method.Some years ago we took the Philippine native dog and turned them into very good goat guard dogs.My relatives all laughed at me and gambled that it would fail but I had the last laugh.In order for this to work you must take puppies just weaned from its mother.Place the puppies in with baby goats  and make sure you feed the puppies well,we feed ours 3 times a day with their own bowls.You will start to see the puppies and baby goats sleeping together and the puppies will imprint on the goats and as the puppies grow believe they are goats.Once the puppies grow into grown dogs they will protect the goats.I have found the females to be more aggressive over the males.We have one female that is really aggressive and has to be tied up when the DA and vets visit the farm or she will bite any and all strangers to the farm.Imprinting works well and is a cheap way for any producer to have goat/sheep guard dogs around their farm if it is done right.

[mikey]

Seems to be a rash of goat deaths so far.We have lost 14 so far and counting.Goats are dead within 48 hours and seems to be some sort of cold or flu maybe.DA and vet claims its weather related but our goats are in confinement never outside in rainy weather.More females over males are dying and some are pregnant and seems to be more related to goats with boer blood in them in our cases.Did lose my pet white native female.Selling off a number of our other goats to lessen our losses.Hell of a way to end the year.Anyone else experiencing such losses??

[mikey]

Washington Dairy Goat Herd Part
of Summer Philippine Export

By Tim King 

Kim and Tony Puzio, of My-Enchanted-Acres near Snohomish, Washington, recently played a small part in a large project to export live dairy goats from the United States to the Philippines, during the summer of 2010. The Puzios have a herd of nearly 40 registered Nubians that are on DHIA milk test. They also do linear appraisal annually and participate in ADGA shows throughout the Pacific Northwest. When the annual National ADGA show is in the western states, they attend and have had prominent placing does at that level as well. Their Nubian dairy goat herd came into being when their children were young and in 4-H. Though the children are grown, the Puzio's continue to raise dairy goats and horses, with attention to top quality and improving bloodlines.

"We focus on producing animals that show well but can also milk well because, after all, they are dairy goats," Kim Puzio said. "I hate to say the goats are a hobby because this is our life now. Hopefully, when we retire from our regular jobs, the goats will become our regular job. Our dream is to open a Grade A dairy."

Although the Puzios have raised dairy goats for over 20 years, they have never before been involved in an export project until this year.

"We received a call in May from a gentleman from the livestock export company," she said. "The next day he and some gentlemen from the Philippines, who were apparently representing different regions of the country, came out to our farm."

The livestock export company handling the export deal was AM-CAN, Inc., Bloomington, Illinois. AM-CAN is owned by Effingham Embree, who said he has 39 years of experience exporting live animals and equipment from the U.S. to Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.


Offspring of Tony and Kim Puzio's Nubian buck, My-Enchanted-Acres Discover, were selected for Philippine export, presumably because of top quality milk and show genetics.
 

"They were on a buying spree," Puzio said. "They contacted quite a few of us in the Pacific Northwest. They were looking for Nubian, Alpine, Saanen, and Toggenburg does and breeding bucks between five and 24 months of age."

The buyers were interested in the overall health, pedigree, and registration of the goats the Puzios, and others, had for sale.

"They were looking for sturdy and healthy animals," she said. "They wanted real hardy stock that could stand not only the transportation but being over in a different climate."

There were other requirements as well. The goats had to be registered with the ADGA, had to have been disbudded (no horns), and had to be proven disease free.

"We showed them the tattoos and the papers," Puzio said. "At that time they were documenting who the sire to the animal was. When they were looking at the lineage I believe they were looking at whether does out of a particular sire were good milk producers. I got the idea that they were going to put these goats into commercial dairy goat dairies to help with milk production and to build up the genetics in the Philippines."

The Filipinos were also interested in the farming practices at My-Enchanted-Acres and toured the farm, taking notice of management practices.

"There were four Filipinos from four different regions of the country," Puzio said. "I believe one was a farmer himself and the other three were representatives of farmers from their regions. They were fascinated with the way we were set up. They were interested in how we pen our animals and how our hay feeding system is set up. They also wanted to know how and why we separate our bucks from our does."

Ultimately, the buyers selected three goats from the Puzio's herd, one buck and two does. The sire of the does was My-Enchanted-Acres Discover, a prolific sire who has two permanent Grand Champion daughters and many offspring with star milker awards from ADGA and DHIR milk testing programs. After selections were made, instructions for disease testing, quarantine requirements, and delivery plans were outlined. Payment for the animals was to be made upon delivery to the shipping facility.

"They gave my husband a list of tests that we had to run," Puzio said. "We had never heard of some of the diseases but this is what the Philippine government wanted. Our vet had to draw the blood. The vet labeled two tubes with the registration number and the tattoos and sent it to two different labs. Later, they sent me an email saying all the animals were negative for all the diseases so we were ready to go."

Even the Puzio Nubians were ready for the next step in their adventure; there was a long wait for shipping construction to be completed for their journey across the ocean.

"I believe there were 1,100 animals signed up for this shipment," Puzio said. "Once all the testing was done, the money was released from the Philippine government, and the pen construction that would hold all the animals in the cargo planes was started. It was a long wait for that. We were under the impression it would be weeks, but it was actually months. It was more than two and a half months that we had to hold our three goats in quarantine."

Finally, in early August, the Puzios were told to take their three goats to a livestock facility in Roy, Washington. "We got the call saying to have them at this facility at 6:45 on Saturday morning," Puzio. "We loaded them into our little truck and my husband took them. When he got there, there were a thousand animals there that had been transported from all over the country, some from as far away as Florida and Texas. They looked good. It was obvious there was plenty of feed and water on board the semis they were hauled in. Upon arrival to the Seattle (Roy) area they were unloaded to an outstanding facility with more fresh water and feed. We were quite impressed with the care the animals were given."

All that was left was for the Puzios to get paid.

"My husband signed off on the papers and got a check," Puzio said. "The goats were shipped out of Sea-Tac (airport) on Monday morning."

Puzio said the price they received for the goats would have been fair if AM-CAN had delivered on its promise to ship the goats by mid-June.

"A few of us thought that by the time the animals were actually sent it may not have been worth it because of the quarantine and the extra feed," she said. "But I would do it again. I felt good knowing our goats were well cared for and going to do the job they were bred to do. I felt like we were helping a country out. That made it worthwhile. It was better than selling them to somebody down the street and not knowing what would happen to them."

The AM-CAN export to the Philippines is part of a larger Filipino effort to improve small ruminant genetics in that country, according to the Australian embassy in Manila, Philippines. Late in the last decade the embassy assisted with an export from Australia, to the Philippines, of 3,000 Anglo-Nubian and Saanen goats.

"The imported goats will be primarily used for cross-breeding to increase meat production and to capitalize on the rising demand for goat milk," the Australian embassy representative said. "The Anglo-Nubian and Saanen dairy goat breeds are farmed for their higher milk production capacity and adaptability to tropical environments."

In 2007 the Philippine goat herd was estimated to be approximately four million goats, the representative said. Canada has also been involved in goat exports to the Philippines.

 

[alaminos_goatfarm]

Alaminos Goat Farm Website Down

AGF website has been down the past days since last Sunday. I don’t know what our web designer have been doing the past months to reach this point of seeing the website down. Friends have been emailing asking us what the problem is why our website is down.

This year marketing decided to rebrand our Milk Star brand, focusing on redesigning the label, logos and website. We asked our former web host and web designer to redesign our website but he declined so we got a new young web designer to do our website, logo and label of Milk Star. Part of the package is the transfer of the website to a new web host. The problem started when our new web designer was not able to transfer on time to a new web host as time expired last November 4 with our former web host.

Our website is our life line with our friends in the goat industry. It has reach the four corners of the Philippines as seen by the visitors who have come to visit us in our farm in Alaminos , Laguna. The website is the window for our awareness campaign that indeed you can make money milking dairy goats under the tropical condition of the Philippines. We have made giant steps this year in promoting goat dairying culminating in a very successful seminar at AgriLink Show at the World Trade Center entitled Success in Goat Dairying, The AGF Experience.

Please bear with us sooner or later our website will be back as our web designer resolves the problem.

[nemo]

Ask your web designer to first renew your host name . Some company will allow only 1 month for renewal and after that the name/website address will be "FREE FOR ALL" who ever register it first will be the new owner.

[mikey]

2010  is almost gone and 2011 is almost here.It has been another exciting year for the goat in the Philippines.There appears to be a high interest in goats and this will help the industry along with the first goat show at the agri link this year will push the industry to new levels.Congrads to all the winners in the goat show as this means the value of all the winners increases due to what is known as replacement value.Also this allows the breeders to ask for a higher breeders premium also known as the stud fee.In turn these breeders will produce even better foundation stocks for future breeders.Once the movement of breeding stocks from the north is allowed to other areas of the country this will help those of us who wish to introduce new bloodlines into our herd(s).

Reports are coming in from different areas of the country relating to the numbers of goat deaths which we are told is weather related.Many fine animals have been lost so far and this loss affects all of us who have lost animals so far.With no loss insurance we are out of pocket for our losses.But these things do happen from time to time as farming is not a perfect business operation.

Pl 480 still seems to be clouded in mystery and to who or whom will receive any of these animals.What is this a state secret??I think it was Alaminos who stated 99% of the goats are in the hands of the SILENT MAJORITY aka provincial farmers and in some cases like district 1 of Negros Oriental seems to get passed over time and time again.Seems to fall on deaf ears in Manila the Govt. to apply more help to the rural areas no matter where the region is in the country.A few quality bucks will go along ways to help the silent majority with rebuilding the national herd.In truth,its the Visayas and Mindannao that ship between 4-6000 live heads monthly of 99% native goats to a handful of goat meat vendors.In truth the silent majority is doing more than their part to help build up the goat meat industry not the Federation who seems happy that we supply while they build up their own herds,talk about a double standard.Just think if we stopped suppling those heads who will pick up the slack,the federation,I do not think so.The federation seems happy with the status quo.Those who need the help the most are the ones who get the least amount of help because the silent majority is unorganized meaning disorganized and having no one to speak on their behalf.Good people like Alaminos are few and far between who have come out in the support of the silent majority and the pearls they face trying to fit in with the goat industry.Lets see what happens with PL 480 and hope the politicians do what is just and right for the industry not for a few select.

We will begin 2011 with a smaller breeding herd and start rebuilding the herd again as we have carried line breeding to our limit and will select a new nubian buck for the future but our selection for the new buck is limited with the FMD ban still in place and the breeder on Cebu supplies most of the stocks in the Visayas so our search will take us further away.We continue with our snubian breeding and hope to breed some fine animals for the future.The heat wave of 2010 was hard on all of us and lets hope this is now behind us and lets look to the future.

The very best to all of those involved in the goat industry and keep up the good work all.Best wishes to all in the industry for 2011 and lets take this business to the next level.

Farmers Feed The World:
Support your local farmers:
Mustang Sally

[mikey]

The benefits of yeast in ruminant nutrition 08 Dec 2010
Some 300 delegates went to Lille in France to attend the first European symposium organised by LeSaffre Feed Additives on “Yeast solutions – the benefit of using live yeasts in ruminant nutrition”. Five renowned speakers talked about the latest developments in this field.
Related

A number of strategies have been used to enhance ruminal fermentation. Antibiotics and ionophores have been effective but were banned in the EU at the beginning of 2006 for safety reasons.
 
Direct fed microbials
To substitute these questionable ingredients biological additives have been introduced, including microorganisms, enzymes and plant products. “None of these manipulating additives has been introduced in a rational way until now”, said John Wallace, group leader of the Microbial Metabolism group at the Rowett Institute in Scotland. “Their effects were discovered only after overall benefit had been observed.”
 
Wallace believes direct fed microbials arguably offer the greatest potential for manipulation of ruminal fermentation. “They offer a huge spectrum of metabolic activities and enzymes as well as metabolites. They also enable selection of strains or mutants best suited for particular applications,” Wallace said.
 
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Wallace thinks the yeast species of Saccharomyces serevisiae is an especially attractive organism in ruminants. “It is metabolically active in the rumen but does not grow, which means that its construction and activity can be readily controlled by its dietary inclusion level, ensuring maximum efficacy.”
 
The yeast does not grow in the rumen due to the high concentration of volatile fatty acids, but remains biochemically active. Its suggested mode of action is, amongst others, scavenging oxygen, which needs to be absent in the anaerobic environment of the rumen. “As a result we see increased bacterial viability,” Wallace said.
 
Redox potential
Reduction potential (also known as redox potential, oxidation / reduction potential or ORP) according to Wikipedia is a measure of the tendency of a chemical species to acquire electrons and thereby be reduced.
 
Reduction potential is measured in volts (V), millivolts (mV), or Eh (1 Eh = 1 mV). Each species has its own intrinsic reduction potential; the more positive the potential, the greater the species' affinity for electrons and tendency to be reduced.
 
Emilio Ungerfeld of Lethbridge Research Centre (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) elaborated on the biological significance of the measurement of redox potential.
 
In the rumen, the main electron donors are carbohydrates and some important electron acceptors are CO2, formate, oxaloacetate, fumerate, pyruvate, and others.
 
The main electron sinks (uptakes) are |NH3, propionate and microbial mass, and the carbon sinks are acetate, propionate, butyrate, CO2, NH3 and microbial biomass.
 
Ruminal competition
“Ruminal fermentation pathways compete for electrons and carbon,” Ungerfeld said. “It is of interest to understand how that competition is controlled.”
 
After the theoretical discussion of Ungerfeld, Corine Bayourthe from the National School of Agronomy in Toulouse, France shared more practical experiences with redox status as a promising new way to explore live yeast metabolism in the rumen.
 
According to Bayourthe, “the redox reductions that prevail in the gut can have a major impact on the digestion, metabolism and assimilation of ingested nutrients. The oxygen status determines whether anaerobic fermentation or aerobic oxidation of nutrients prevail.”
 
Earlier research had shown that the rumen contents of dry and lactating cows had a markedly negative Eh varying from -220 to -115 mV. “If the level of dry matter intake could partly explain the variation between these values, then the type of diet fed could also influence Eh,” Bayourthe said.
 
Research by Julien and co-workers in 2010 focused on Eh in the rumen. It was found that a fibre-rich diet is characterised by low Eh values of the ruminal content, while a high Eh is observed with a ready fermentable carbohydrates0rich diet. According to Julien the Eh directly originated from microbial activity. It reflects an environment with strong reducing potential due to the quasi-absence of oxygen, favourable to strictly anaerobic bacteria.
 
Role of yeast in reducing Eh
Live yeast used as a dietary feed additive for dairy cows present an intrinsic capacity to reduce the Eh level studies revealed. “Live yeast supplementation via the modulation of ruminal Eh can be a good means to stimulate adequate microflora for better digestive efficiency of the diet,” Bayourthe said.
 
Furthermore live yeast influences the bacterial populations in the rumen, a subject Jamie Newbold of the Aberystwyth University in Wales in the UK presented in more detail. He is intrigued by the fact that feeding live yeast at non-nutritional levels (0.5-20g/d) effects the bacterial population in the rumen. “Doing so we see an increase in microbial protein and more fibre degradation, and above all in increase in bacterial numbers, even op to 130%,” Newbold said.
 
Oxygen scavenging capability
Newbold suggests that yeast stimulates oxygen removal in the rumen, because oxygen slows down bacterial activity. However, not all yeasts have the same scavenging capabilities. Also different levels of yeast give different levels of bacteria.
 “We have noted that not all strains of yeast are capable of stimulating digestion in the rumen. Certain strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can help prevent the decrease in rumen pH associated with feeding a cereal based diet and this appears to be associated with a decrease in rumen lactate concentrations,” Newbold said. “However, it is not clear yet how yeast prevents the post feeding decline in rumen pH.”
 
Newbold concluded that S. Cerevisiae can help prevent a post feeding drop in rumen pH in animals fed concentrate diets and thus reducing the likelihood of both clinical and subclinical acidosis. “This appears to be due to the ability of the yeast to selectively stimulate the growth of lactate utilising bacteria in the rumen,” Newbold said.
 
Field application
As Newbold already suggested, can yeast help in prevention of acidosis. Scientists around the world give their own description and definition of acidosis, which basically originates from an accumulation of strong acids in the rumen due to the consumption of a large proportion of readily fermentable carbohydrates by the cow.
 
Newbold also noted that both bicarbonate and yeast simulate bacterial growth, probably due to the rise of pH. But only yeast stimulates lactic acid bacteria.
 
Research at LFA
Jean-Philippe Marden of LeSaffre Feed Additives (LFA) considers redox potential a valuable tool in reducing acidosis incidences. “For seven years now, LFA Ruminant research team devoted much interest in the proper measurement and interpretation of such parameters that can be applied in the rumen environment,” he said.
 
After the setting up of a redox measurement methodology, the gathered Eh data proved to be complementary to pH in order to better approach rumen bioenergetics and the involved mechanisms.
 
“The redox and bioenergetic concept coupled with evolving bio-molecular techniques allowed a better understanding in the mode of action of live yeast in ruminants,” Marden said. As an example he said that in a comparison between two different buffering agents – live yeast and bicarbonate – showed different actions on rumen physio-chemical, fermentation and fibre degradation parameters.
 
Further research in developments is carried out at LFA. Marden said the objectives were to find new measuring redox probes for non-cannulated and pasture-fed animals along with modelling of Eh regarding diet composition and feed additives.

[mikey]

Asia drives global milk production growth 08 Dec 2010
World milk production is expected to reach 710.3 million tonnes this year, an increase of 1.6% on last year, according to the United Nation's latest figures.

The projected total represented a recovery from the low performance of last year the UN report says, but milk production remained below the average annual growth rate of 2.1% during the past decade.
 
"Additional output from China and India, the major contributors to the expansion of production, amount to 8.4 million tonnes, and account for 58% of the world increase," the report said.
 
"Brazil, the EU and the United States also play their parts by adding another 2.6 million tonnes."
 
Asia largest producer
According to the UN, Asia - with an output of 257 million tonnes - remains the world's biggest milk producer and boasts the highest rate of annual growth.
 
Lower production in Pakistan, where floods are expected to wipe off 8% of output, has led to a reduction in the initial 4% production growth forecast, to 2.6%.
 
Due to improved cow yields and lower slaughter rates, US production is forecast to increase 1.1% this year to 87 million tonnes. EU production is forecast to increase just 1% to 133 million tonnes.
 
Firm prices
On the price front, the UN's international dairy products price index has remained firm throughout this year.
 
While the UN said this was in contrast to the "swings" of the past two years, the index remains 20% below its early 2008 peak.
 
"Factors contributing to the sustained firm prices include strong demand from Asia, the Russian Federation and some oil-exporting countries and, more recently, a steady weakening of the US dollar against major currencies which increases dollar-denominated commodity prices," the report says.
 
"On the supply side, relatively weak growth in milk production from reduced cattle herds, particularly in some exporting regions, has under-pinned firm prices."
 
Feed prices suppress growth
It's expected higher feed prices would limit milk production expansion in the US next year, according to the US Department of Agriculture's Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook released last month.
 
"The upward movement in feed prices will pressure producer margins and will likely curtail the modest recovery in cow numbers that began early this year," the report says.
 
Australia ups production
The rains which are dogging Australia's grain growers present a boon to the country's dairy farmers – a ready supply of fodder at a time when peers in some other countries face a shortage.
 
Australian milk production, dogged by drought for much of the last decade, is to rise by 300,000 tonnes next year to 9.7m tonnes, as the benefits of the rains help lift yields per cow near to record levels, the US Department of Agriculture's Canberra bureau said.
 
Source: WeeklyTimes, Australia

[mikey]

“New Zealand's dairy farms may face a second year of drought” 08 Dec 2010
New Zealand’s largest dairy-farming region may face a summer drought for a second year, slowing the nation’s economic recovery and pushing up global milk prices.

The risk of a significant drought in Waikato, the largest milk-producing province, and Northland is “very high,” with little rain forecast for the next month, Agriculture Minister David Carter said in an interview from Christchurch.
 
“We are heading for extremely dry conditions, probably drought,” Carter said. “It’s not hard to get a significant drought in New Zealand making a difference to GDP.”
 
Lower farm production could curb New Zealand’s exports, which make up about 30% of the NZ$125 billion economy, and may push up global milk prices.
 
Price curb
Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., the largest dairy exporter, collected 4.3 percent less milk in the season ended May 31 than a year earlier because farmers halted milking early amid extremely dry conditions in Waikato.
 
“We’re monitoring the weather conditions closely,” a Fonterra spokesman said in a response to questions from Bloomberg. “While much of the country has had less rain than usual over the last six weeks, it’s too early to know what impact this will have on total milk production for the season.”
 
Farm profits
“We wonder if the weather risk is starting to be priced into the auction prices,” said Doug Steel, markets economist at Bank of New Zealand Ltd. in Wellington.
 
“The longer-term contracts well into next year are where the price rises occurred. I would suspect a little of that risk premium going into those longer-dated contracts now.”
 
As well as milk production, drought can disrupt livestock slaughter as farmers reduce stock levels earlier than normal, Steel said.
 
“If it doesn’t dent production itself it will put upward pressure on feed costs and profitability on farms is certainly going to decrease,” he said.
 
La Niña effect
New Zealand is experiencing a La Niña weather pattern, which is characterized by high early season temperatures, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
 
Its forecasts to January suggest below-average rainfall and soil moisture levels are likely on the nation’s South Island and average rainfall in the north.
 
“It’s certainly a lot drier than normal north of Taupo,” said Steel, referring to a central North Island lake.
 
“The risk of a drought “is starting to turn a little bit into reality and as for January, February it remains an unknown but the signs aren’t looking that good,” he said.
 
Source: Bloomberg

[mikey]

Yeast culture products boost cow health 08 Dec 2010
Vi-COR, a manufacturer of specialized yeast culture products for poultry, swine and dairy feed, has devoted the past 12 years to understanding yeast culture and why it offers health benefits to livestock.

This understanding has driven the company’s development of livestock products such as Celmanax, which is helping dairy producers and university veterinary schools boost the health of their cows.
 
"Celmanax is a non-antibiotic remedy with no fear of doing harm to the animals," says Dr. Sheila McGuirk at University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.
 
McGuirk and Dr. Keith Poulson use this yeast culture to treat calves and cows admitted to their teaching hospital for diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. It is an important part of their supportive care for these animals.
 
Use in working dairies
The benefits are also seen on working dairies. "We started adding the product to our calves' milk and noticed healthier, more aggressive calves," says Sutton Rucks, a dairy producer in Okeechobee, Florida.
 
"Our grower called and asked what we were doing differently. I told him, the only protocol change that we have made is the addition of yeast culture. His response was to keep using it."
 
"Celmanax is unlike any other yeast culture product on the market because it combines the benefits of yeast culture, yeast extract and hydrolyzed yeast," says Vi-COR CEO Mark Holt.
 
"When you buy this single product, you will see a much better return on investment than you would if buying and mixing multiple yeast products. "
 
Celmanax comes in three product forms:
- Dry is a granular product that is easy to handle and easy to dose for a variety of livestock.
- Liquid delivers the same benefits as dry yeast products and is specially formulated for liquid feed and milk replacer applications.
- SCP is the industry's first water-soluble yeast culture and is an ultra concentrated product.
 

[alaminos_goatfarm]

Alaminos Salad Garden, One of the Best Things that Ever Happened to Alaminos Goat Farm
 
Investing heavily in the Alaminos Salad Garden is one of the best business decisions Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF) has made in their goat business this year. The idea began in 2008 when friends from the academe would say that although AGF has a good system in place, their operations were too high end – meaning, it is not within the reach of the ordinary goat raisers. At the same time, the high production cost can be attributed largely with the cost of feed concentrate.
 
The development of the Alaminos Salad Garden became the solution to address these concerns on costs and feasibility. The salad garden would hit two birds in one stone. It would address productivity and help AGF in its corporate social responsibility program by doing a project that the farmers can replicate.
 
In the beginning, developing the salad garden in Alaminos was done without urgency. At that the time, the main priority was goat raising while working on the fields was done in their free time.
 
We asked Rene Almeda, AGF consultant on what pushed them to progressively pursue the Alaminos Salad Garden, this is what he said – “When AGF compared the 2008 and 2009 milking records of the goats, we observed that production was doubled from 24,000 liters in 2008 to 48,000 liters in 2009.  We can attribute this mainly to our decision to feed our dairy goats with highly digestible and young forage grass and legumes.”

Rene adds that they discovered the wonders of the plant indigofera as the legume preferred by the milking goats. More interesting is the fact that after feeding fresh indigofera (in addition to the concentrate feeds), there was a significant improvement in the goats’ milking performance. AGF also observed that they are able to harvest huge volumes of indigofera compared to their other plants.

This observation was supported by a research work done by Ngo van Man Nguyen van Hao & Vuon minh Tri of the Animal Nutrition Department in the University of Agriculture and Forestry in Ho Chi Min City Vietnam. According to their study, indigofera’s plant growth rate as well as its biomass yields are much higher compared to plants like leucaena, gliricidia (better known as kakuate, a. auriculiformis, a. manhium, desmodium, and flemeng

In selecting the tree legumes to be studied, they chose drought resistant species that will perform on poor soils. The soil was fertilized with goat manure and organic fertilizers during the study.
 
The raising milk yields of the AGF dairy goats after adding indigofera to their daily diet can also be attributed to the indigofera’s high protein level (24.8%),  the 84.8 % digestibility plus its 2.08% calcium content.
*Source from  UAF Animal Nutrition Department Laboratory


If you were to ask how one starts a salad garden, Rene has this to say, “We started pursuing this project seriously in early 2010 by purchasing a Bowa hand tractor. A full time worker was assigned for the planting of indigofera, mulberry and centrosema. During the dry spell in the time of El Nino, we installed drip irrigation and sprinklers in our pasture at great expense. The Alaminos Salad Garden has started to provide part of the forage requirement of our Boer breeders and the full requirement of our dairy goats this year.”
 
The Alaminos Salad Garden bannered by the tree legume indigofera has provided a positive outlook for AGF in 2011 when the garden is projected to be fully operational.

AGF has partnered with the Bureau of Animal Industry, Research Division to implement  a project funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research to commercialize the technology we have developed through our Alaminos Salad Garden. Peletized Total Mixed Ration using a mixture of indigofera and malunggay  plus feed concentrate will be fed to dairy goats in a controlled environment to show its positive effect in milk production.
 
Based on AGF’s experience with the Alaminos Salad Garden, this is one doable technology that can help the poor farmers raising goats in the countryside improve productivity.  Indigofera can supplement the feeding of forage and crop residue of low nutritive values to goats the farmers raise.
 
Watch as AGF gives focus on genetics and nutrition in 2011. The Alaminos  Salad Garden would be in the limelight as AGF commercializes the technology to improve productivity and help modernize the goat raising industry in the Philippines. Hand in hand with genetic infusion in the countryside through Artificial Insemination, there is no way but up for goat raising in the Philippine

[mikey]

Rene
I think it would be safe to say that a productive livestock producer today must also be a good forage feed producer.As time goes on the industry is learning by leaps and bounds.There is a better understanding of genetics,breeding and feeds needed to be a productive producer.With the limited information published for everyone to read the industry is growing all the time.For those willing to share their information this industry is better for it.We as a whole are learning more about forages and the different types that seem to work well for goats.It is hoped in time the agri. universities will help with providing more information about the formulation of the different forages grown in the Philippines that may help the provincial farmer.Off the shelf concentrates are still too expensive for the average provincial farmer to provide for their stocks.A forage leaf meal that meets the requirements needed and able to be harvested during the rainy season and dried and formed into a pellet form that can be stored for the dry season is a step in the right direction for the provincial farmers.

The country is still a major importer of milk products but at the same time the country is a exporter of dried milk products.With the growing interest in dairy goats this will help the country export even more products while importing less milk products over time.


The wild card here is China,China is poised to become a major importer of corn and grain products for livestock feeds.The extra pressure may force the cost of livestock feeds to increase which will affect us all.

[mikey]

Udders
Over the years there has been alot of interest in goat udders and what should the udder look like.Well if we are talking about show/breeders which are really foundation stocks then the udder has to meet certain standards.The foundation doe must have a high score of PTAs that will give the breeder of the doe the knowledge needed to make a decision on which buck to use.Some bloodlines can give alot of milk and score high on udders but the PTAs might be spotty,meaning the offspring might receive decent udders or not.Some bloodlines like Hallcienda (Frost Marvin) score high on PTAs and when bred to goats of lesser quality will make major inprovements in both milk and udders.

On large commercial dairy goat farms not every goat has the perfect udder and if the doe has a poor udder but milks well she is kept as long as she is productive.The offspring might be sold off to hobby farms or the meat industry not for future breeders.Just like with humans over time with age, things start to sag and hang and as the doe becomes older she will start to loose her upper attachments.

Udders on show stock becomes much more important over a goat in a commercial dairy setting which is used for the production of milk only.Knowing which bloodline to use for the best PTAs to improve your does udder is not easy and takes research into the sires background.Not all bloodlines are created equal.

I was told someone has imported some 3 M Galexy bloodlines.Galexy is known for high milk production and good udders but its a bloodline that is better known for breeding high quality to high quality and its PTAs on poorer quality goats is not good.Frosty Marvin was known to improve any quality of goat and he was one of those rare sires that comes along only so often.

PTAs- stands for Predicted Transmitting Ability,incorporating data from production and type data of the doe,ancestors,collateral relatives and progeny.The first 3 numbers are the estimate of the pounds of milk,fat and protein to expect from each lactation of a parents furure daughter when compared to a herdmate of breed average genetic merit.The last is the PTA of change to the type score.PTA expresses the level of genetic superiorty that an animal transmits to its offspring for a given production or type trait.This value is used to rank animals based on their genetic merit.

GCH +*B FRA-JAC'S AG SAMUEL
 N ****** "data removed,for information purposes only for this site". 
(no photo) SS: ++*B GCH Hallcienda Antony

Sire: GCH ++*B Hallcienda Gusto

SD: Hallcienda Gayleen 4*M


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DS: GCH *B Fra-Jac Mr Lee

Dam: GCH The Martin's Oregon Frosty Ann *M
4-0  305  2920  149/5.1%

DD: Pride of Delight

 
 Owner:" data removed for information purposes only for this site".

DOB: 3/31/86

Daughters are consistently tall, wide, dairy, and milky.

Use when stature and length of bone are needed. His traits tend to stay for generations.

Samuel works best on short, beefy does needing more milk, size, and sharpness.

Crosses well with linebred Frosty Marvin.



 
 

[mikey]

ADGA PERFORMANCE LEADERS: NUBIAN - VOLUME #56
 
ALL TIME MILK RECORD HOLDER
SG SKYHILL’S ELISHA 7*M PN0904515 1996 02-09 302 5940-303/5.1-216/3.6
Skyhill Farms, California
 
ALL TIME BUTTERFAT RECORD HOLDER
PACEM FAUN’S FOLLY 2*M PN0324844 1984 4-02 304-5160-384/7.4
Mr. & Mrs. Max C. Prinsen, Washington
 


  REG# DOE AGE DIM MILK F P OWNER BREEDER
MILK PRODUCTION
1 PN1366912* SGCH BLISSBERRY FM ROCKSTAR 3*M 2/11 304 3790 175 140 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
2 PN1361043* SG AJA-SAMMATI JB GRAND SOPHY 3*M 3/01 284 3740 170 125 COOPER, JANET L HEINO, MICHELLE ELAINE
3 PN1188453 GCH T-G-F CONQUEST ROYAL GODIVA 4*M 8/01 275 3580 174 134 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA GUCK, TANYA M
4 PN1401928 SG 2-G FARM SNOW ANGEL 2*M 1/09 305 3540 166 132 COOPER, JANET L COOPER, JANET L
5 PN1218919 SGCH LAKESHORE-FARMS JUST-TINA 5*M 6/11 305 3440 169 133 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA TREDWAY-CARTER, MEGAN
6 PN1335449 GODDARD FARM RASPBERRY 3*M 3/11 305 3400 161 127 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
7 PN1269846 GODDARD FARM BAMBI 2*M 5/10 300 3310 123 117 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
8 PN1415308 GCH BLISSBERRY FM VERA CRUZ 11*M 1/10 305 3210 149 122 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
9 PN1411160 GCH BLISSBERRY J ALIBI 4*M 2/01 293 3190 147 123 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
10 PN1379515 SGCH BLISSBERRY  FM INTANGIBLE 4*M 2/11 276 3180 154 129 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
10 PN1279602 SG SIX M GALAXY NOVA'S SONIA NOEL 10*M 7/01 263 3180 110 113 MCCLURE, MARTIN & LOUISE MCCLURE, MARTIN & LOUISE
10 PN1257674 JUST FAITHFUL RBH HALEY 3*M 5/10 305 3180 124 107 VAUGHN, VERNA J & ROGER E KOEHL, ROBERT & KIMBERLY
RECORDED GRADE
1 GN1265939 R R RESOURCES SABLE 2*M 6/01 305 1860 84 69 ROBERTS, YVONNE ROBERTS, YVONNE


BUTTERFAT PRODUCTION
1 PN1366912 SGCH BLISSBERRY FM ROCKSTAR 3*M 2/11 304 3790 175 5 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
2 PN1188453 GCH T-G-F CONQUEST ROYAL GODIVA 4*M 8/01 275 3580 174 5 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA GUCK, TANYA M
3 PN1361043 SG AJA-SAMMATI JB GRAND SOPHY 3*M 3/01 284 3740 170 4 COOPER, JANET L HEINO, MICHELLE ELAINE
4 PN1218919 SGCH LAKESHORE-FARMS JUST-TINA 5*M 6/11 305 3440 169 5 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA TREDWAY-CARTER, MEGAN
5 PN1401928 SG 2-G FARM SNOW ANGEL 2*M 1/09 305 3540 166 5 COOPER, JANET L COOPER, JANET L
6 PN1335449 GODDARD FARM RASPBERRY 3*M 3/11 305 3400 161 5 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
7 PN1379515 SGCH BLISSBERRY  FM INTANGIBLE 4*M 2/11 276 3180 154 5 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
8 PN1415308 GCH BLISSBERRY FM VERA CRUZ 11*M 1/10 305 3210 149 5 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
9 PN1410730 GCH BLISSBERRY SM VICTORIOUS 3*M 1/11 283 3050 148 5 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
10 PN1411160 GCH BLISSBERRY J ALIBI 4*M 2/01 293 3190 147 5 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
RECORDED GRADE
1 GN1265939 R R RESOURCES SABLE 2*M 6/01 305 1860 84 4 ROBERTS, YVONNE ROBERTS, YVONNE
PROTEIN PRODUCTION
1 PN1366912 SGCH BLISSBERRY FM ROCKSTAR 3*M 2/11 304 3790 140 4 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
2 PN1188453 GCH T-G-F CONQUEST ROYAL GODIVA 4*M 8/01 275 3580 134 4 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA GUCK, TANYA M
3 PN1218919 SGCH LAKESHORE-FARMS JUST-TINA 5*M 6/11 305 3440 133 4 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA TREDWAY-CARTER, MEGAN
4 PN1401928 SG 2-G FARM SNOW ANGEL 2*M 1/09 305 3540 132 4 COOPER, JANET L COOPER, JANET L
5 PN1379515 SGCH BLISSBERRY  FM INTANGIBLE 4*M 2/11 276 3180 129 4 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
6 PN1335449 GODDARD FARM RASPBERRY 3*M 3/11 305 3400 127 4 GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A GODDARD, NOAH L & SUE A
6 PN1410729 GCH BLISSBERRY SM NOTORIOUS 3*M 1/11 304 2980 127 4 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
8 PN1361043 SG AJA-SAMMATI JB GRAND SOPHY 3*M 3/01 284 3740 125 3 COOPER, JANET L HEINO, MICHELLE ELAINE
9 PN1410730 GCH BLISSBERRY SM VICTORIOUS 3*M 1/11 283 3050 124 4 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
10 PN1411160 GCH BLISSBERRY J ALIBI 4*M 2/01 293 3190 123 4 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
10 PN1363617 GCH BLISSBERRY WILD TOPAZ 3*M 3/01 284 2950 123 4 KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA KOEHN-WALBERG, SARA
RECORDED GRADE
1 GN1265939 R R RESOURCES SABLE 2*M 6/01 305 1860 69 4 ROBERTS, YVONNE ROBERTS, YVONNE

if you look under milk production you will see Six M Galexy but not under fat,it is a good bloodline but not the best as far as records go.Blissberry scored higher on milk production and fat .Lakeshore  also scored but Blissberry scored more.It is information like this that is important to have at hand when making decisions about which goat to breed to which goat.So many talk about milk production but really have very little understanding of data needed to make future decisions on how to fix the rest of their goat(s).Like I have said,not all goats are created equal.One needs to understand what is broken before they know how to fix it. A top breeder will tell you,breeding an unknown bloodline to another unknown bloddline will result in an unknown bloodline.