It looks like its a go for the lifting of FMD Tag for Luzon after so many years. Had a short talk with LDC Director Manuel Jarmin and he said LDC is funding the documentation to be presented to the OIE meeting in May, 2011. After so many years and the FMD tag for Luzon is lifted by OIE in May  would be big for breeders of ruminants and swine. Ths would create a smooth flow of breeders from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao. Alaminos Goat Farm is excited for the possibilities it would create in helping develop the goat industry in the Philippines. We hope the Bureau of Animal Industry would come out with a guideline for the seamless shipment of breeder goats from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao.

This would be great for AGF breeder operation and would pave the way for us to invest more in better genetics. Next year we are looking at  the possibility of importing frozen semen from quality breeders of dairy goats from the United Staes.

Why Only Now  with the Alaminos Mitra Saanen (AMS) Cross ?

Three years ago in 2008, it entered our mind to cross our Mitra Line and Saanen goats to produce a cross bred Alaminos Mitra Saanen (AMS) milking goats. Consulting our friend Dr. Synan Baguio of PCARRD, we were encouraged to proceed. The initial progenies of the AMS cross were very fast growers showing signs of heterosis. At that time a lot of things were in our mind, with the huge investment in goat raising, we have to make a business decision which would give us faster return on investment; the Boers, Saanen, the Mitra line or the AMS cross.

In their first lactation the AMS cross were just average doing 2.2 liters of milk daily. We sold most of them to friends. One satisfied customer was Nestor Non of Oyibo Goat Farm in Lian, Batangas, he was very happy with the performance of the AMS cross he got from us. This year Nestor was again looking for more AMS cross but we have to say no because we have committed to Mr. Cecilio Pedro of Hapee Tooth Paste. He is setting up a dairy project for his foundation in Laguna. His foundation is geared to help the deaf mute by providing them with education and livelihood opportunities through trainings in their school facility in Laguna..

This year an outstanding prototype for the AMS cross, AMS 001 was placed in the milking line for daily recording of milk produced. The past 30 days,  AMS 001 has been averaging over 3.5 liters per day. For a first lactating dairy goat it is quite impressive.
 
The decision to delay the full time breeding of the AMS cross in 2008 was a business decision based on the following reason:

1. The buckling produced out of the AMS cross would be sold for the slaughter market which   
    commands a lower price compared with the breeder buck of the Mitra Line.
2.  Need time to test milk performance and length of lactation period

Displaying the meat type  Mitra Line buckling at  the Agri Link Show in 2008 created a big break  for the Mitra Line. Zac Sarian, the Philippines  top agricultural writer  saw the Mitra Line on display at the Agri Link Show. It started his fascination with the Mitra Line. He started writing about it  regularly in his column in the Manila Bulletin and Agricultural Magazine. This created a lot of media exposure for the Mitra Line and push the demand for ML breeders at an all time high. Every where we go people were asking us ” ano ba yong Mitra Line na lagging sinusulat ni Zac Sarian sa column niya ?”

In 2009, we decided to prioritize the Mitra Line breeding program over the AMS program. The decision was well taken and proved to be very good for AGF in terms of profitability with the MITRA Line bucks being sold out every year. As a breeder the bench mark of a successful breeder operation is how fast you sell your bucks.

This year we have decided to include the AMS program in our priority. To address the problem  of economic viability we will put a premium in price for the AMS doelings sold. The AMS doelings that would pass our criteria for dairy milkers would be  tagged with an orange AMS tag and priced at Php 20,000 pesos per head. For pregnant AMS doelings an additional P 1,500 pesos would be charged. This would compensate the selling of the AMS buckling as slaughter goat for the meat market. The AMS doelings would be available on a limited basis during the last quarter.

To our friends and customers we request for a little more of your patience. It is taking us a little more time to come up with the commercial numbers of dairy milking goat for sale. The longer it takes us to start selling in commercial numbers gives us more time to test which family is better suited to the tropical environment of the Philippines.

Come 2012 we will start selling dairy goats which comes from the very same family  of dairy goats that have given us good returns in our dairy goat operation. They have provided the Metro Manila market with the highly successful Alaminos Milk Star Fresh goat’s milk for the past  three years.

Crossroad......  Meat or Milk  for the Mitra Line

Breeding the Mitra line the past several years have brought us a lot of success. The Mitra Line is basically  an Anglo Nubian breed of goat. Being an Anglo Nubian it is a dual breed both meat and milk type goat. Who can question the meat type attributes of the Mitra Line in the Philippines?

The Mitra line is noted for its fast growth rate and is very prolific. The breeding program was focused on the meat type qualities. The introduction of AGF Darwyn as our herd sire in 2007 furthered cemented the meat type features of the Mitra line. This was what the customers wants, an Anglo Nubian buck that can upgrade their herd. The physical features of ML buck was perfect for their requirement to produce a fast growing meat type slaughter goat.

After successfully venturing into goat dairying with the Saanen breed in 2007, we slowly built a name for Alaminos Milk Star fresh pasteurized milk in the supermarket trade in Metro Manila. In 2008, it made history in Philippine Agriculture as the first fresh pasteurized  goats milk to be commercially available in the supermarket trade in Metro Manila. In February, 2009 the Philippines Bureau of Food and Drug issued Alaminos Goat Farm  a license to operate as a dairy producer.

In 2009, together with PCARRD and National Dairy Authority we undertook a milk testing project to measure daily milk volumes and quality produced by dairy goats at AGF. Milk were tested for protein and solids in the laboratory. The Saanen produced more milk and were consistent with the 305 days lactation period compared with our Mitra Line. One striking discovery we made was, the Mitra Line produces milk with more solids compared with the Saanen. When sensory testing were done the milk of the Mitra Line tasted sweeter.

This led us to the idea of adding 20% Mitra Line dairy goats in the milking line would enhance the taste of Milk Star fresh pasteurized goats milk we are producing. With the higher solid content it would be ideal for cheese making.

AGF is moving a family of the Mitra Line (ML) towards a dairy line and it is starting to gain momentum this year. Selection are now centered on milk records, udder size, big barrel and bone type structure with angular features of a dairy type  Mitra Line. Based on the records that we keep, we are trying to train our eyes to spot conformations of a high performing dairy milking  goat.

Records were very useful in tracking down pedigree of Mitra line does produced which have milk type features. This led us to use AGF Edgar as herd sire for the production of dairy type Mitra line goats this year. Dairy type bucks were also acquired, AGF Hercules and Smooth Alex from Braveheart Farm of Tito Manny Pinol to add new family to our Mitra line..

As a final stroke after we produce a dairy type Mitra line does we will cross them with our top Saanen herdsire AGF Ricky and AGF Dorian to take advantage of heterosis. Producing a hybrid Alaminos Mitra Saanen (AMS) cross capable of producing  more  than 2.5 liters of milk per day is on the pipeline. The only thing we have to answer is, can the AMS cross do a 305 days lactation period like the Saanen under the tropical condition of the Philippines?

This looks very interesting for us at AGF and  holds a lot of promise in helping develop goat dairying in tropical Philippines. Join us in our advocacy that goat dairying is a sustainable and profitable undertaking for the Filipino farmers in the countryside.

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

WE await the public presentation of the results of the goat meat standards we did more than a year ago with the Animal Product Development Center of BAI in Valenzuela City. AGF participation is providing boer goats, saanen and crosses for the study to determine the difference between the breeds in terms of bone to meat ratio. Data with native goats collected will also be compared. Because of the big sacrifice we did in slaughtering purebred goats we requested APDC to do some value added products for us like fabricating choice goat's meat cuts and vacuum sealing them in plastic bags for better presentation. They also did meat processing to come out with smoked hungarian sausages  and longaniza. For the goat  skin they had it made to hair on leather and leather.

For the choice cuts and smoked sausages we sold it to the A,B and C market and the manufacturing grade cuts we sold it to the C and D markets. For the shows we joined like the AgriLink Show we cooked caldereta using part of the manufacturing grade to showcase what can be done with the manufacturing grade cuts. There are still a lot to be learned and we need all the help we can get in goat meat fabrication, setting up the standard weights for slaughter and marketing.

PCARRD's Livestock Research Division  have commited to host the presentation of the results of the study this year but because of their busy schedule it hasn't happened. I suppose early next year would be reasonable to expect the results to be presented to the public.

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.

Thanks Mikey... all these will not be possible had I not read the very informative  article you place in this site about line breeding. True,I was being encouraged by friends at PCARRD about line breeding our Mitra Line because they saw its potential, being very prolific and being adapted to the tropical environment. The clincher was when I repeatedly read that line breeding article which convinced me that this can be done with our Mitra Line.

True enough as we continue to move forward we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
When we are done with the line breeding prorgram of the Mitra Line we have two options: one we pick the best ML doelings and breed them with our best Saanen Bucks to produced what you call a Snubian, we will call ours, Alaminos Mitra  Saanen cross.

The second option is to introduce a new family of Anglonubian blood of high producing Nubians. These option aim to improve the milking ability of the Mitra Line.

All these have a time frame of at least five years, that's how long genetic improvement is. Along the way meeting people, winning awards in shows, getting recognition from peers and the academe makes it worthwhile. The premium that we get in terms of prices when we sell the Mitra Line breeders from buyers is very rewarding and these keeps us going with our Mitra Line breeding prorgam.

More Blessings @ AgriLink 2010
October 11, 2010

I cannot think of the perfect words to describe how grateful the whole Alaminos-Milk Star Team is with the number of people who visited our booth last Thursday, Friday, Saturday  (October 7-9) in the World Trade Center in Manila. We knew that AgriLink is the biggest show we participate in every year but even while we were there, attending to all the inquiries, buyers, consumers, agriculture-enthusiasts, we still couldn’t believe it. Simply stated, it was an overwhelming experience for all of us.

Visitors beat the heat by eating our goats milk ice cream which was sold out by mid-day. Our goat’s milk plain and strawberry flavors were also a crowd-favorite. Many people looked for goat’s cheese and these interested consumers bought the kesong puti and our feta cheese which is goats cheese with olive oil and herbs. Our Hungarian sausages were also well received. After people tasted the half cuts we were selling, they immediately bought the frozen sausages (including longanisa and goat meat) to be brought home. On the first day, we also sold goats meat dishes such as Papaitan and Kalderetang Kambing.

We also displayed our top breeder goats and although we were not able to sell all of them, visitors were interested in our friendly and well-pampered goats, feeding them and taking pictures with them.  AGF 001, a full bred boer goat was one of the unsold goats but he was one of our favorites. We’ve nicknamed him Bubba because of his sweet attitude towards everyone who approached him. In the goat show, Mitra Line AGF 1454 won as the  Best Anglo Nubian doeling in the goat contest.

This year, we also made a last minute decision to sell indigofera seeds and mulberry plants. A lot of visitors were very interested in these plants and seeds. In AGF, it is no secret how much we advocate feeding dairy goats with the indigofera because of its practicality and its role in increasing our milk yield.

With the positive response we once again received, we are very hopeful that there is still a big portion of the market we can capture with goats milk. It is really a matter of creating awareness about our product. Ever night as we were closing, so many people were still looking for the goats milk but it was already sold out. I hope that everyone who was able to try our goats milk during the show will remember us and eventually switch to Alaminos’ Milk Star as their milk of choice for themselves and their whole family.

Once again, we thank everyone who visited us. Each one of you inspires us to aim higher and produce more quality products so that you will never get tired of drinking goats milk and accepting all the value added products we present to you.

Last week, we prayed to God that AgriLink be a success. We never imagined God will shower us with so much blessings. We feel very loved. Drink healthy, everyone and love goats milk! A VERY BIG THANK YOU to all of you.

Mitra Line AGF 1454 Scores at FGASPAPI Goat and Sheep Show at AgriLInk 2010
October 8, 2010
 
Mitra Line AGF 1454 scores as she wins in the goat and sheep show at the Agri Link Show. It was a rewarding morning for us, as  the judges saw and pick AGF 1454 as the best Anglo Nubian doeling of the show.
 
As a breeder it confirms our decision to choose AGF 1454 as our Top Mitra Line doeling produced in 2009. This only shows we are on the right track in our Mitra Line breeding program. We have line bred AGF 1454 with AGF Obama, her half brother. They share the same sire AGF Darwyn and kidding schedule is just before Christmas.
 
With the ribbon AGF 1454 won, we will vigorously pursue in propagating the line of AGF 481, AGF 1454 dam. We have bred AGF 481 with AGF Obama during the last breeding season, producing another outstanding kid AGF Clinton, the fastest growing kid this season.
 
This breeding season we have bred AGF 481 with AGF Edgar to give us more room in our Line Breeding Program. This will give us an option in our half brother, half sister mating. Next season we plan to breed AGF 481 with AGF Darwyn. We are excited with the possibilities which awaits  us in the future. Watch the Mitra Line story as it unfolds.
 

AGF in the Forefront of Goat dairying in Tropical Philippines

One of Alaminos Goat Farm biggest strength is its openness in sharing information and in welcoming visitors from all over the Philippines to learn from their successful experience in dairying goats under the tropical condition of the Philippines. It is in the area of commercializing of technology in dairying goats in the Philippines that AGF has gained a lot of respect and credibility from industry players, farmers, government and the academe.

AGF made history in Philippine agriculture with its Milk Star brand of fresh pasteurized goat’s milk hitting the supermarket trade in 2008. Having Milk Star goat’s milk in the supermarket trade has created a lot of awareness that you can indeed milk Saanen dairy goats commercially in the Philippines.

Looking back, there has been skepticism about successfully milking Saanen dairy goats under the tropical condition of the Philippines. This pessimistic outlook can be traced back to a failed government program funded by the PL 480 program of the United States in 1997. This is the same PL 480 program that is the source of funds for the dairy goats imported by the Department of Agriculture from the United States this year. That program in 1997 for dairy goat development was under the late Usec Gumercindo Lasam. Before his tragic death in 2009, he led his DA Region II team in visiting Alaminos Goat Farm to see, first hand, AGF’s success story in its goat dairying operation. The visit of Usec Gumer Lasam and his team was a testament that AGF’s work in dairying goats was getting noticed by government.

In mentioning the failed PL 480 program in 1997, we appeal to the government to carefully study the shortcomings of ‘97 program. The incoming PL 480 sponsored program in the importation of dairy goats from the United States this year would be an opportunity to correct the mistakes committed in 97 to make the  2010 program successful. Alaminos Goat Farm fully supports the government program in its Dairy Goat Development Program provided they do it right. AGF wishes for the success of government program in dairy goats.

You are talking to both, if its about the business side of the business it's Art, for the awareness campaign like going out of town in promoting goat dairying and doing the partnering with government for research work then it's me Rene. We have done this arrangement so that the corporate social responsibility we do will not disrupt the business operation of Alaminos Goat Farm.

The research work that we do takes to much time plus the commercialization of technology developed even more. That is why we have divided the work load among us. For the visibility in media and interviews it will be Art's responsibilty since he is the face of Alaminos Goat Farm being the owner. Creating awareness in what we do is an important part in promoting goat dairying. If people see and  becomes aware of the success in what you are doing you become very credible.

In sharing our experiences in goat dairying we have established a solid name for Alaminos Goat Farm and for that alone its worth all the time, effort and resources we put into it. Hope it answer's your question.

Mikey
Thanks for the information you continue to post, they are very informative. We are using the whey we produce from our cheese making by spreading it to our malunggay and fruit tree areas in the farm. We have learned a lot from the line breeding topic you posted and we are deep into our line breeding program for our Mitra Line. Keep the info coming....thanks

AGF 22 Clinton: the Fastest Growing Kid Produced on Record at AGF

Breeding  goats at  Alaminos Goat Farm (AGF) always brings a lot of joy for us.  Once in a while  we are rewarded for all the hard work and time we put into our work with the arrival of an outstanding buckling like  AGF 22 Clinton. AGF 22 Clinton was born a single buckling kid with a  weight of 4.9 kilos on June 30, 2010.  At 60 days last August 30, he weighed a remarkable 20.8 kilos which translates to an average daily gain of 266 grams.

AGF Clinton is gaining a lot of muscle and this makes him an ideal candidate as herdsire for the line breeding program of AGF Mitra line. He is more on the meat type rather than a dairy  type of buck. The fast growing characteristic of AGF Clinton would be a big factor for the next generation Mitra Line to be produced in 2011. Fast growing goats would always be a big advantage in any breed improvement program.

AGF Obama, the sire of AGF Clinton has another interesting story. His dam is an imported purebred Anglo Nubian AGF 1458 Amera Asmara from Australia. These batch of Anglo Nubian does from Australia in 2007 were a total failure in our farm. They were not able to adapt to the tropical environment. AGF Obama was one of the few we have produced from this batch.

Ayie Alsua, our friend from Bicol was in the farm when AGF Obama was born. He committed to take AGF Obama when he is ready for sale. Like the rest of the batch of Anglo Nubian we imported in 2007 from Australia, AGF Obama was having a hard time adapting in tropical Philippines. Signs of difficulty adapting to the tropical environment are recurring colds and cough. This slowed down the growth rate of AGF Obama and Ayie decided not take his option.

In October 2009, AGF Obama, now looking good had a buyer, Camilo Velasco. Before closing the deal, we informed him about AGF Obama history of recurring colds and cough. We informed him it  slowed down his growth rate during his younger days. Camilo changed his mind so we decided instead to keep him for our Mitra line breeding program. AGF Obama comes with very good pedigree with our Top herdsire, AGF Louca Darwyn as his sire.  Based on pedigree and looks we opted to add AGF Obama as our herd sire to jump start the  Line breeding program for the Mitra Line (ML)  in January, 2010. His look is something different -  his color is mottle, with a prominent Roman nose, long legs and body which buyers loves.

We never doubted the decision in choosing AGF Obama to be a herdsire in our  Line breeding program for the ML in January,2010. AGF Clinton is a testament to that decision, he is the first kid born last June out AGF Obama mating. The next kid born is also  very good looking. We expect to see the rest of the kids out of AGF Obama mating in November and December. We have heavily used him in our ML  Line breeding program last June and July.

Last May, Ayie Alsua again offered to buy  AGF Obama when he saw him. We declined his offer since AGF Obama is now a big part of the ML Line breeding program.
 
Destiny seemed to have played a part for AGF Obama  to stay at Alaminos Goat Farm. Two times, buyers changed their mind to buy AGF Obama and the  third  time around  it was our decision to keep AGF Obama. Looking back we could not imagine  having sold AGF Obama and not seeing AGF 22 Clinton in Alaminos Goat Farm.
 
Life indeed is full of many surprises and along the way we were showered with a lot of God's many  blessings. AGF Clinton is one of them, and for that we are very thankful to the LORD

99% of goats of the more than 4 million goats in the Philippines are in the hands of the Filipino farmer who have no access to good genetic materials. AI can be a cost effective instrument for government to give the farmers in countryside an opportunity to improve their stock.

Always remember with the issue of adaptability the island born goats will always outperform the imported breeds from temperate countries under the tropical environment of the Philippines. In the context of genetic improvement, with the bigger base of purebred goats from the States and Australia, yes we need to get semen from quality breeders overseas to infuse new blood. AI would be ideal and address the health issues whenever you import live goats.

AGF Partners with BAI for Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) Work in Feeding Legumes to Dairy Goats

The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) has released the funding for the commercialization in feeding Malunggay for dairy goats to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI). AGF is partnering up with Remedios Acacio of the Research Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry in undertaking research work in feeding a total mixed ration of legumes and concentrate feeds to lower feed cost for dairy goats.

The commercialization of technology work aims to show and transfer the technology of replacing part of concentrate feeds with legumes in a total mixed ration in pellet form. Its goal is to show that the addition of legumes in the feed ration will lower feed costs and improve milk performance. The feeding program and daily milk recording will be an integral part of the project.

The commercialization work for the inclusion of malunggay in feeding dairy goats started in May 2009. At that time we were high in our expectation that malunggay would fit in our feeding regimen for our dairy goats. A similar project  for dairy cows by Ben Molina was also approved in Quezon  and it had very good initial results.

In September 2009, disaster struck while waiting for the approval from BAR when Typhoon  Ondoy hit Southern Tagalog. After the typhoon, the Malunggay was never the same again in our field. We asked Ben Molina and he said his Malunggay suffered the same consequence.

At the same time, we were also observing our Indigofera, mulberry, centrosema. In the small feeding trials we conducted, we observed that feeding Indigofera to our milking goats has a huge potential. Marked improvement of milk yields were observed. On top of this, among the forage we planted, Indigofera was the easiest to establish and it produced the biggest volumes of leaves. Today, Indigofera is our main forage crop in our Salad Garden. At the height of the El Nino phenomenon,  Indigofera did very well.

In our meeting with Remy Acacio we requested her to write  to BAR that we be allowed to switch to Indigofera instead of Malunggay as the main legumes in our research work. The experience of Alaminos Goat Farm pushes us in our belief that Indigofera would be a good replacement for Malunggay in small ruminant feeding. There is a huge potential of success in the commercialization of technology up to the grass root of over 2 million farmers in the countryside taking care of goats.

In closing we told Remy that here is a very doable technology ready for commercialization. If BAR does not approve this new direction we would like to pursue, it would be better to apply for a new project with Indigofera as centrepiece instead of Malunggay. It is BAR's call as we are just a partner of BAI pushing for our advocacy to help develop goat farming in the countryside through the sharing of proven technology to make it a viable and profitable industry.