Milk Star Consumers Heard! Reasons why They Prefer Goats Milk over other types of milk
For the months of July and August, Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF) marketing team headed by Agnes Almeda, conducted a short marketing research on our Milk Star (MS) consumers. The main goal of the research was to find out the reason why our consumers choose to drink goats milk.
The marketing team interviewed Milk Star direct sellers and different consumers who visited trade shows we joined, as well as regular consumers every Sunday of the Milk Star booth in the Lung Center in Quezon City. Today we share with you our findings wherein we’ve grouped our consumers into different clusters.
The most common trend we’ve seen among our MS consumers is their choice of a healthy lifestyle albeit their choice to drink goats milk. This group of our consumers is more conscious of both their choices in food and drink. One thing they prefer about Milk Star is that it is fresh, unlike the milk widely available in supermarkets which although claim to be fresh, have actually been already processed and fortified with additives.
Some consumers of people in this group have family members who have been diagnosed with cancer and was advised to take fresh milk while some are being careful about getting sick and therefore prefer to take the necessary precautions which means switching to organic, healthy unprocessed food and drink. Some of the consumers in this group have put a creative spin to drinking goats milk – using it to make healthy shakes, adding it to their food while cooking and the like.
Second trend we observed is consumers who drink MS because they suffer from slow digestion and constipation. In this cluster, we found a wide array of individuals from middle aged people to those who belong in the older generations. They say that drinking goats milk regularized and has actually improved their bowel movement.
Third trend we found is the group we classified under the lactose intolerant. Here we found mothers switching the type of milk for their children who suffer from lactose intolerance after drinking cow’s milk but are more receptive when they drank goats milk. Some of them switched because of their doctor’s recommendations while others have done their own research and became aware of this particular benefit in drinking goats milk.
Fourth, we made a separate cluster for our Chinese market (which we’ve found in Binondo area, San Juan among others). The Filipino Chinese was easy to penetrate as we found that they are the most open to drinking goats milk. The elder Chinese who originally came from China before residing here in the country know the health benefits of drinking fresh goat’s milk (as this is widely available in provinces back in Mainland China).
They say that fresh goat’s milk is a good natural food complete with the essential vitamins and minerals that the human body needs to stay healthy. We also found that a common reason why this group drinks goats milk in is that they like the taste of goats milk and prefer it over other types of milk.
We also have a classification of MS consumers who have various other reasons for buying goats milk. Some use the milk for culinary purposes. They use milk as an ingredient to make cheese and yogurt. Some have expressed their interest in making products for personal care such as goats milk soap, lotion and body wash. Also, we have consumers who feed goats milk to their pet dogs – something which we’ve done in Alaminos Goat Farm to nurse our puppies.
Finally, we also came up with a group which we’ve significantly classified as the CURIOUS group. We personally come across this type of consumers weekly through the Sunday Market and also when we join trade shows. They are those who try the milk because they’ve heard about it vaguely or because they’ve seen other people try it.
From this group, we often receive a variety of feedbacks which we take into consideration to analyze how to further penetrate the market. Often, this group asks us the advantages of drinking goats milk over other types of milk such as carabao’s, soy and cow’s milk.
From the findings of our research, we realize that we are still left with the big sphere of those in the market who are not informed about the benefits not only of GOATS milk but also of buying natural, fresh products.
Ever since Milk Star entered the market in 2007, we have always searched for the health benefits of goats milk, reading materials from the internet as references and also reading studies, journal articles on the matter. The data and information that we’ve gathered through researching will only get us so far because most of these claims are still presently being debated upon.
The value of the marketing research we conducted this past few months is that we are able to collate data of actual Milk Star consumers and drinkers who have personal experiences of drinking goats milk. We find that these testimonials are priceless as we can share with other consumers what Milk Star Patrons like about goats milk.
Furthermore, in our personal encounters with people who have bought our milk along with the variety of their feedback and comments, we realized that even the not to positive comments like "Lasang kambing" shouldn't bring us down.
We sell goats milk. It is not unusual to find traces of this taste the first time after trying it. Maybe it's because of one's preconcieved notions or one is looking for goaty taste. But from a personal point of view and coming from someone who was initially hesitant to drink goats milk and who is always dubbed as picky eater/drinker, goat's milk has become like water for me. It tastes neither goaty nor like any animal. To me, it's just milk - a very delicious and yummy kind I drink everyday.
Join us at the Seminar in AgriLink Show, October 7 from 3:30 to 5:30 PM August 7, 2010
The month of October brings Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF) in the forefront in its pursuit of its Corporate Social Responsibility program . It has chosen to help promote and create awareness for the PCARRD Rural Enterprise Development (RED) Upscaling Project in goat development. Making a move in its CSR program, AGF is sponsoring a free seminar on October 7, 2010 from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM at the AgriLink Show in the World Trade Center, Manila.
The seminar will focus on the developmental effort of PCARRD Upscaling RED project in goats .Dr. Edwin Villar, Director of the Livestock Research Division of PCARRD will guide the participants about their successful RED Upscaling project.
The success story of Alaminos Milk Star brand of fresh goat’s milk will be integrated to the seminar program to focus on the importance of science and technology in goat dairying. Alaminos Goat Farm, being a Science Technology Based Farm, is part of the PCARRD family . The transfer of doable technology like the AGF Salad Garden in goat dairying is the goal of the presentation. The Line Breeding program of our famous Mitra Line goats will also be discussed.
Small Ruminant Center Director Dr. Emilio Cruz of CLSU will share his practical experiences in small ruminant feeding. His extensive experience in raising goats will show goat raisers the important role nutrition plays in successful goat raising.
PCARRD assisted Science Technology based Farm goat research project in Artificial Insemination in semen collection and preservation using powder extender at Isabela State University will also be presented. Doing the presentation is ISU Dr. Jonathan Nayga.
Join us for the seminar on October 7 at the AgriLink Show from 3:30 to 5:30 pm at the World Trade Center, Manila. The seminar targets developmental officers of NGOs, LGUs, DA officials and goat enthusiasts as participants. Help us create a strong advocacy for goat development with the PCARRD Upscaling Rural Enterprise Development (RED) project in goats as center piece.
AgriLink Show 2010 Seminar Schedule October 7, 2010 Thursday 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm World Trade Center
Kambing SAGOaT sa Kahirapan, the Milk Star Experience 3:30 to 3:50
First part will be about genetics; Second will be about nutrition; And the third part will be about marketing to sum up the formula of a profitable goat dairy enterprise. Focus on Indigofera as main legume in the SALAD GARDEN developed at AGF will be presented. The line breeding program for AGF Mitra Line will also be discussed.
Rene Almeda, Consultant, Alaminos Goat Farm Magsasaka Siyentista, Science based Technology Farm (SBTF) of PCARRD
Making The Goats RED 3:50 to 4:20 pm
A pilot project of PCARRD in Region 1, 2, 3, 8 in goat raising called Rural Enterprise Development (RED) Project. The progress of the Upscaling Red Project in Region 1, 2, 3 and 8 will be presented. The implementation of the Rural Enterprise Development project for goats is a bold move to develop the entrepreneurial capabilities of our farmers in the countryside.
Learning about the livelihood opportunities which the RED projects give to make the farmers self reliant. This is the way to go for government and NGO’s implementing corporate social responsibility projects for farmers in the countryside.
The PCARRD RED project can be a good blue print for goat development in the Philippines with the farmers in countryside in mind.
Dr. Edwin Villar, Livestock Research Division, Director , Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Developmet, PCARRD
Goat Nutrition , The Central Luzon State University SRC Experience 4:20 to 4:50 pm
The role of nutrition specifically the use of low cost forage grass and legume combination in feeding goats will be presented. The different modules tested at Small Ruminants Center at CLSU with the farmers in mind to be profitable and sustainable in their goat enterprise.
Dr Emilio Cruz, Central Luzon State University, Small Ruminant Center, Director
Artificial Insemination in Goats 4:50 to 5:20 pm
Isabela State Univeristy AI research project in semen collection and preservation sponsored by PCARRD . The success in the use of extenders will be presented by Dr. Jonathan Nayga.
After the rains in June our goats returned to heat in big numbers. We have bred over a hundred does in June. We should have bred only 60 heads to match the numbers of kidding pens in the farm but because of the long time the does were returning to heat we decided to breed every does that return to heat. By November when they start kidding, I could just imagine how busy our farm workers would be taking care of the kids and looking for kidding pens for the does.
But I guess that's how it is, you adapt to the animals you take care and find ways for solutions.
Alaminos Goat Farm: “There’s no show like the Agrilink”
Agrilink is set to feature good farm practices and small ruminants in its show this October 7 to 9, 2010 in the World Trade Center in Manila. This year’s theme of the Agrilink could not have been more in sync with Alaminos Goat Farm’s (AGF) advocacy of promoting their own good husbandry practices in dairy goat farming.
From the time AGF started its goat operations in 2005, AGF has always believed in the importance of both GOOD NUTRITION and GOOD GENETICS towards successful goat dairying. Good farm practices are necessary in nurturing healthy small ruminants such as the goats in Alaminos Goat Farm.
As a Magsasaka Siyentista of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), AGF owner Art Almeda is actively involved in a couple of initiatives driven towards the development of goat dairying in the Philippines such as the small farm research giving focus to nutrition in the care of its Saanen Dairy Goats and the on-going Science and Technology Based Farm (STBF) Milk Recording Project which began in September 2009.
Experience gained from the small farm research indicates that feeding legumes and forage grass such as indigofera, centrosema, and 45-day napier grass, in addition to concentrate feeds, increase the milk production of its Saanen Goats. This is reflected in the daily milk records from the STBF project which show that AGF's milking line has produced an average of 2.42 Liters of milk per day for the past 270 days. Moreover through the same daily milk records, AGF foresees the potential of its top performing milking goats to produce 3.7 Liters of milk per day.
Alaminos Got Farm has set a 305-day lactation period and 2 Liters per day as a benchmark for a successful dairy goat farm here in the Philippines. Past experiences of AGF show that the 305-day lactation period is feasible with good husbandry practices.
Seeing the number of agriculture enthusiasts who visit the Agrilink Show every year, AGF is looking forward to sharing its experiences to those interested in this exciting and profitable business. The Agrilink Show is the most cost effective trade show that AGF has joined in the past three years towards creating awareness for the goats and value added products produced by AGF. In its 4th year participating in the Agrilink, AGF plans to showcase the outcome of their good farm practices through its Saanen Dairy Goats, Mitra Line, Alaminos Mitra Saanen Line to Boer Bucks to its Quality Products such as Goats meat, Milk Star Goats Milk, Goats Cheese and the famous Goat’s Milk Ice Cream.
So come visit the 2010 Agrilink Show and the Alaminos Goat Farm booth. Agrilink may still be in October 7 to 9 but be sure to mark your calendars. This will surely be one of the events to look forward to this 2010 in the agriculture industry.
Increase in Milk STAR Goat’s Milk Production in 2011 Foreseen
Milk Star goat’s milk is gearing up to increase its milk production in 2011 to 72,000 liters. A two-tiered approach will be taken to attain our goal. Success in goat dairying means a system efficiently producing goats milk and selling the milk produced within 7 days to translate it into solid profits. Marketing and Production are working hand in hand to meet the target for 2011.
Seeing the importance of marketing in the overall picture, the Milk Star Family welcomes fresh graduate Agnes Almeda as its new Marketing Manager. She will be in charge of coming up with the Marketing Plan to move 72,000 liters of Milk Star goat’s milk to the market in 2011.
As an initial project, the marketing department will be a conducting a survey to find out why the patrons of Milk Star Goat’s Milk drink our milk. To our Milk Star customers and milk drinkers who are interested in participating in our research, please email us in milkstargoatsmilk@gmail.com.
Lastly, if you have Facebook, become a fan of Milk Star Goats Milk page which we regularly update to let you know about our daily news on latest outlets and fresh deliveries. We also post articles on goats milk and Milk Star. Click this link! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Milk-Star-Goats-Milk/128615040490525?ref=ts
With our goats returning to heat this June we expect them to kid in November to meet our target of milk produce in January 2011.
Continue drinking fresh goats milk from Milk Star! Here in Alaminos Goat Farm and Milk Star Goat’s Milk, we offer you nothing but the best.
Start of the Rainy Season, Does it Impact on Goats Returning to Heat ?
The start of the rains also marked the start of the breeding season at Alaminos Goat Farm. For the past several months during the El Nino phenomenon, our breeding does were not returning to heat at an alarming proportion. We were trying to blame the poor forage available because of the prolonged dry spell.
The cool spell after the rain showers did wonders as the breeding does started returning to heat in big numbers. We would like to call the attention of our friends from the academe if we have a valid observation that the rains in addition to the cool weather resulted for the does to return to heat.
Is it the heat or the poor and insufficient forage being fed that led to this phenomenon? Hope we can get an answer so we can prepare when the next El Nino comes around.
STBF Project Culminates with Field Day at AGF May 1, 2010
Alaminos Goat Farm hosted the field day for the Science Technology Based Farm project of PCARRD and National Dairy Authority last April 30, 2010. The big bosses at PCARRD Executive Director Patricio Faylon and NDA Administrator Orkhan Usman lend their presence to the event.
Graphical presentation of live milking of the the top performing Saanen dairy goats, AGF 1076 and AGF 6184. For the past thirty days in April record shows that AGF 6184 gave a total 134.5 kilos of milk and AGF 1076, 133.1 kilos of milk. True to form the two milkers gave a combine 5 liters of milk to the delight of the guests.The goats are milk twice a day, morning and evening at AGF.
The potential of using milk record as basis for selection for goats to be bred to produce the next generation milkers was emphasize in the presentation. The importance of nutrition was also discussed to be successful in dairying goats under tropical condition.
Dr. Gigi Salces mentioned genetics plays an important role to improve milk yields in dairy goats. Selection based on record and standard is an important factor for a breed plan to be successful. For cross breeding the best performance can be obtained from first felial generation because of hetorosis or hybrid vigour.
Dr. Edwin Villar, Livestock Research Director of PCARRD said that guests should take advantage of the presence of Dra. Gigi Salces and ask her question about genetics and breeding.
Alaminos Goat Farm Issued License to Operate by BFADMarch 2, 2009
Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF) became the first commercial dairy goat farm in the Philippines to be issued a License To Operate (LTO) as manufacturer of dairy products by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD). It was issued LTO No RDII-RIV-F-2966 last February 23, 2009. Getting the LTO from BFAD opens the door for Milk Star marketing to open more outlets in Mega Manila.
AGF have worked hard to comply with the technical and documentary requirements of BFAD. We would like to acknowledge the guidance of BFAD head for Region 4A Josephine Padilla RPh, MPA and inspector Helen Jariel. They have guided us by sharing their expertise and wisdom for us to be able to comply and improve our system in producing clean, safe and delicious fresh pasteurized goat's milk
The Year That Was, 2008 For Alaminos Goat Farm and Beyond
As the year comes to a close, we look back at our performance in 2008 as we lay down our plan for 2009. In 2008 we made steps forward in our goat raising operation and in 2009 we will make giant steps to make it a sustainable economic undertaking, anchored by our goat dairy operation.
In 2008 Milk Star fresh goat’s milk made history in Philippine Agriculture, it set the record as the first fresh goat’s milk to be sold at SM SuperMarket, SM HyperMarket and Robinson SuperMarket in Mega Manila. The introduction of Milk Star fresh goat’s milk in the super market trade is a big boost in creating awareness that goat dairying can be done in tropical Philippines. We achieved our target of 150 kilos of goat’s milk per day in July but we scaled back to 130 kilos at year's end as we fine tune production and sales.
For 2009, our production target is 200 kilos of goat’s milk per day by May, as our milking goats start to freshen late April and slowly increasing it by 10% in the third and fourth quarter. We will be happy to end 2009 with 250 kilos per day production.
Our target for 2009 is a balance growth of production with our outlets' requirement. This gives us time to plan the construction of the facilities that will house the dairy goats. We have scaled down our growth target, experience have taught us that the short shelf life of fresh goat’s milk requires that growth of production in terms of milk volume should match what your outlets can sell within 7 days.
AGF Boer breed improvement program got a big boost when AGF 1407 emerged as Supreme champion in the First Boer Goat Show at the Agri-Link Show in October 2008. With the breed improvement program in place in 2009, we will be culling imported Boer does that have not performed within the standard we have set based on our breed improvement program. For 2009 onwards, we would focus on quality boers produce rather than quantity.
As we bring in replacement doelings coming from the top 5% of our breed improvement program in 2007 and 2008, we will cull the same number of imported Boer does. By the last quarter of 2009, we will come up with a commercial Boer line that will be priced at affordable prices for farmers and the more expensive Boer Stud line for stud breeders.
The sale of pregnant does and does with kids will be pursued in 2009. It proved to be a very successful marketing tool in selling our goats in 2008. Value for money promotion would be pushed in 2009, to make Boer goats more affordable for goat raisers. We will continue to come up with sales promos in 2009, following the line of our very successful March Double 10 promo in 2008 and the on going Holiday Promo which runs up to February 2009.
The experience we have gained in raising Boers in the area of nutrition and animal husbandry practices have served us well in our dairy goat operation. The system we have developed is well suited in raising dairy goats under extreme tropical condition. Our good performance in 2008 have shown that goat dairying in the Philippines can be done. The additonal cost of feeding concentartes can be justified with the production of milk, breeders and meat from the dairy goats. This technology is being shared to all those who are interested in helping develop the dairy goat industry in the Philippines.
In 2009, we expect to sustain the performance of our milking herd and improve it as they mature. Experts says that as the milking goats enter their third freshening, they tend to increase milk yields on the average.
In 2008, we took note of the exceptional performance of AGF 1605 Louca Darwyn, a purebred Anglo Nubian buck. He is prepotent and kids coming from him are showing a lot of length, height and his prominent features. We are happy with the performance of AGF Darwyn and his solid contribution to our breed improvement program. He is the cornerstone in improving our Mitra line which we are crossing with a Saanen buck to develop a Philippines commercial dairy goat in 2009. We have named the product of this crossing Alaminos Mitra Saanen (AMS) cross.
In 2009, our goal is to improve the quality of milk produce from does selected for our dairy from this AMS cross. The AMS cross is expected to adapt better under tropical condition, capable of producing 2 litres of creamy milk per day for 300 days.
For 2009, research work with a government agency is being targeted to come up with a study entitled development of a commercial dairy goat in tropical Philippines. We look forward to close this deal and do colloborative work to see the completion of this research work by 2010. We will use the result of this study as centerpiece in creating an awareness campaign in the viability of goat dairying in the country.
Alaminos Goat Farm is grateful for all the support and patronage it has received in 2008. We would like to say Thank You to all our customers, goat raisers, government officials and friends. We hope you continue supporting us in 2009. It is our commitment to help the goat raising industry by creating awareness with the sharing of our experiences in raising goats. Help us show that goat dairying could be a center piece for a doable agricultural development program for the Philippines in 2009 and beyond.
Visit us at http://alaminosgoatfarm.com to learn more about what we are doing.
The performance of Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF) the past several months has achieved a lot of milestones in dairy goat farming which we share with you today:
· The first in the history of Philippine agriculture for fresh goat's milk to hit the Metro Manila supermarket trade · Consistently producing 2.3 kilos of goat's milk per head per day average for 300 days · Creating awareness of the possibilities in goat dairying in tropical Philippines · Discovered the potential of producing commercial dairy goats by crossing our Mitra line and Saanen line
The development of commercial dairy goats suitable to the extreme weather condition of the Philippines is something we are embarking on that would have a social relevance for Philippine Agriculture. In every successful dairy program in tropical setting, the major component of success is their ability to develop dairy animals which are adapted to the conditions in their country and research work fully back by government.
The proto type of a Philippine commercial dairy goat is taking shape.We have selected two doelings AGF 1032 and AGF 1304 to test them for a year for their milk performance. The female line comes from our prolific Mitra Line and the male line from our farm tested Saanen line which have been consistently giving us 2.3 kilos of milk per day for 300 days.
We have named the product of this breeding program Alaminos Mitra Saanen cross or AMS cross. Alaminos represents the breeder, Art Almeda of Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF). We intend to produce them in commercial numbers in the next three years to meet growing demand for dairy milking goats adapted to the tropical condition in the Philippines.
The heterotic effect of crossing the Mitra line with Saanen is shown in terms of length, height and general appearance. They have exceptional growth rates which makes them very ideal. We are excited with the kind of progeny this crossing is producing. We intend to see the successful conclusion of this program in two to three years time with results fully documented in terms of milk yield and adaptability to the extreme weather condition in the Philippines.
The huge success of Milk Star fresh goat’s milk in penetrating the supermarket trade puts us in the limelight. The awareness about the possibilities of producing milk and meat at the same time has created a lot of interest in goat dairying. Sourcing a Saanen milking dairy goat at the moment is the problem because of very limited supply. We are addressing this problem with the introduction of our AMS dairy goat line late next year.
We at AGF see the opportunities in dairy goat farming. As the events are unfolding in our pioneering work in dairy goat farming, it would be an opportune time to capture the data we are generating in our undertaking. We feel the need for solid research work in the development of a locally adapted dairy goat. We knock at the door of PCARRD if it will be possible to get funding support for research work to document the development of a Philippine commercial dairy goat. We would love to partner with PCARRD on a formal basis if it will be possible.
Next year in October 2009 we will join the Agri Link Show and launch our AMS dairy goat line together with the initial results of the program in producing a commercial dairy goat in the Philippines. We have decided to sell our first Saanen doelings and AMS dairy goats at the Agri Link Show,giving priority to all those who bought Saanen bucks from our farm.
With our vast experience in grain feeding ruminants we are often ask questions by goat raisers, and the most frequent question asked is what do we do when our buck and buckling cannot urinate who are on a concentrate diet? I answer by saying that there are stones in the urethea. I advice them to review their calcium and phosphorus ratio, the ideal ratio is 2:1. Always remember that rice bran is 1.7 phosphorous and copra is .7 phosphorous.Diet heavy with these feedstuff would shift the ratio closer so we advice them to add limestone instead of dicalcium phosphate. If it is case already we advice to use lasic tablet and if this does not work we advice them to use a catheter.If the problem is not address the buck or buckling will die.
Guys watch Kapuso Jessica Sojo GMA 7 at 8:30 PM, a segment of the show will be about goats. They took footage of my farm in Alaminos, Laguna and Elmer Rivera in Nasugbu Batangas
My father Rene Almeda who was among the biggest importer of feedlot cattle from Australia in the nineties would tell us story about the Austalian Fresian Sahiwal cross (AFS). He saw it first hand in the border of Northern Territory and Western Australia around Konnunura with tropical climate ,minus the humidity in the Philippines delivering milk above 10 litters. He wanted to buy some AFS heifers but the owners said they were all reserve, he ended up bringing to the Philipiines 100 heads of the young bulls for fattening. They performed very well in the feedlot with average daily gain of over 1.2 kilos per day.
This inspires me with our Saanen dairy goats which have adapted to the tropical condition of the Philippines. We are now milking 14 heads and we are getting 30 kilos of milk a day.There are a lot of things to learn and see about goat dairying in the tropics but we are moving ahead very nicely.
Thanks Mikey for your welcome. Creating awareness and commercialization of proven technology in goat raising are our goal. This is the only way, successful goat farmers would result to a sustainable industry and create more demand for our breeder goats. As a policy our farm is very open in sharing our experiences in raising goats, we welcome visitors to our farm with open arms to see first hand our operation . For those who are far fro Laguna, we invite you to visit our website at http://alaminosgoatfarm.com We frequently update the site with the lattest documented information in goat raising.
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