It has been reported that theVice Governor of Mindanao is importing prized show breeding Anglo Nubians and La Mancha breeds of dairy goats to his farm.The Vice Governor of Mindanao is a driving force behind the goat industry on the island of Mindanao and is doing alot of good for the goat industry as a whole.The Anglo and La Mancha breeds are coming from the U.S.A. which will help to diversify the gene pool of the Anglos in the Philippines as a whole as most of the Anglos in the Philippines were first imported from Australia.TheVice Governor is a man of vision.We wish him the very best with this new venture.It will take some time to see how the La Mancha breed adapts to the tropical climate of the Philippines.Looking good.
SUPPORT THE GOAT:

Sept.09/2007 The Goat Industry is a Billion $ Goldmine:
The most exciting prospect for our people in North Cotabato is the Small Ruminants Development Program that aims to achieve a goat population in the province that will be greater than our population of over 1 million.We have already started the program with the identification of the first 100 families who will recieve 20 heads of female goats and 1 boer buck through a private initiative that involves the business sector and the Braveheart Boer Farms.In 5-10 year,we should be able to realize the 1 million female goat population in the province.At an average birthing of 1.5 kids per doe 3 times in 2 years,the goat raisers of North Cotabato should be able to produce 4.5 million goats for the meat market every 2 years.Compute that by multiplying that number by P2,000 which would be the minimum price for an upgraded goat for the meat market and you have an average income of P9 billion for 2 years or 4.5 billion every year that will go to the pocket of the small goat raisers in the countryside.

By: Vice Governor Manny F. Pinol of Mindanao

New Horizon: Braveheart Farms to Breed Anglo Nubians
Braveheart Farms of Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, grandslam winner of the 2007 National Goat and Sheep Congress of the Philippines (NGSCP) Boer Goat Competition, is venturing into a new field – the breeding of outstanding Anglo Nubians and La Manchas.

The Anglo Nubians that Braveheart Farms will breed will come from top 2 dairy goat breeders in the United States namely the Kastdemur Dairy Goats of Redding, Northern California owned by Karen Senn and her daughters Krista and Erika, and the Lakeshore Farms of Kelseyville, Northern California owned by Megan Tredway-Carter and the Tredway family.


The move to get involved with the breeding of dairy goats was spurred by persistent requests from the smaller goat farms all over the country for access to good breeding materials to upgrade their existing Anglo Nubian herds.

This November, the first batch of Anglo Nubians and a few La Manchas (for experimentation) will be arriving from the United States. The initial shipment comes from different Anglo Nubian goat breeders in California who acquired their breeding materials from  the Kastdemur Dairy Goats  and the Lakeshore Farms.

Among the breeders who have agreed to share their prized Nubians to Braveheart Farms is Fernando Velazquez of VelazqzFarm of Palmdale, California who acquired his breeding stocks from both Karen and Megan and is a friend of Karen Senn.

Starting this year, with the arrival of the first batch of outstanding Anglo Nubians from California, Braveheart Farms will be producing breeding materials to be made available to Filipino dairy goat farmers.

The first group of Anglo Nubians and La Manchas that will come directly from Kastdemur Dairy Goats and Lakeshore Farms will arrive by March of 2008. The young goats are part of the 2008 production of both farms which were reserved for Braveheart Farms.

Kastdemur Dairy Goats has reserved four (4) young bucks and six (6) young does of Anglo Nubians and four (4) La Manchas while Lakeshore has reserved two (2) young bucks and six (6) young does of Anglo Nubians and a pair of La Manchas for Braveheart Farms.

On top of this, both Karen Senn of Kastdemur Dairy Goats and Megan Tredway-Carter committed to ship to Braveheart Farms all of their excess production for 2008 which may not be covered by reservations made by other breeders in the US.

Fernando Velasquez has also earmarked his production of Anglo Nubians for 2008 the Braveheart Farms.

Braveheart Farms will be importing about 100 Anglo Nubian breeders for 2008 and a few La Manchas. The La Manchas will be bred on a limited scale and studies will be made on its adaptability to Philippine conditions and their milk production capacity before they will be produced extensively.

The spread of the Anglo Nubian breed in the Philippines is attributed mainly to the pioneering work of American Baptist Missionaries who started the Mt. Carmel Baptist Rural Life Center which introduced the Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT) and goat raising to Filipino farmers.

Over the years, however, the Anglo Nubian blood has been diluted because of constant crossbreeding to the local goats thus the need to infuse new blood to improve their milk production capacity.

Braveheart Farms hopes that with the importation of outstanding Anglo Nubians from America’s top goat breeders, the Philippine Dairy Goat industry will literally receive a shot in the arm and attain full development.

Saudi Arabia to buy goats from North Cotabato


By Edwin Fernandez
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 03:35pm (Mla time) 08/03/2007


COTABATO CITY, Philippines -- The North Cotabato provincial government has intensified its goat-raising program after the Saudi Arabian government expressed interest in buying live animals from the province.

North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol said that with the new market for goats, farmers and backyard raisers are now assured of higher incomes.

"This program will not only intensify goat production in the backyard level and improve the quality of goats in the province, it will most definitely assure our goat raisers and small farm families have better income," Piñol said in a statement.

Under the program, pure-bred Boer bucks will be distributed to goat farms with a minimum population of 20 heads Serving as multiplier farms, these farms will then supply upgraded doe stock that will be purchased by the provincial government for distribution to various beneficiaries.

"We need the goats as an alternative source of income for our high-value crop farmers who are waiting for their farm produce," Piñol said.

A few years ago, the provincial government pushed the production of high-value crops, including rubber, but Piñol said it would be a while before farmers make money.

While waiting for their crops to yield money, farmers will receive other forms of livelihood -- including the goat-raising project -- to tide them over.

He said news that Saudi Arabia was interested in buying goats from Mindanao for its meat requirements during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca has made the program all the more exciting for local goat raisers and small-time farmers.

A bulletin from the Department of Agrarian Reform sent to the provincial government showed that Saudi Arabia wants to import goats from Mindanao to ensure a reliable and safe supply of two million goats daily during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

This year's Hajj will take place in December.

Piñol said based on their estimates, each farmer in North Cotabato is likely to earn a monthly income of P40,000 once the deal is realized.

Land bank offers multimillion loan package
for goat projects 
by Vice Governor Manny F. Piñol - 10/18/07



Land Bank of the Philippines, a government financing institution focused on agriculture, has opened a new loan window for cooperatives and small entrepreneurs who would like to get involved in goat raising.


Delia Ladao, Land Bank Vice President for Mindanao, said that goat financing package offers a P565,187 loan payable in 5 years with a 21% counterpart from the proponent which could either be a cooperative or a small and medium scale entrepreneur.


The package involves 1 buck and 25 does to be raised for commercial purposes by the proponents. Given an average birthing rate of 1.8 per doe three times in two years, the loan repayment could be achieved on the fourth year of the operation of the project.


This is of course based on the assumption that the goats used in the project would either be high breed milk goats, like the Anglo-Nubians, or meat goats like the Boers.


An Anglo-Nubian or Boer cross buckling or doeling for breeding purposes could fetch no less than P5,000 at age four months, an earning potential that cannot be realized with native goats.
Bred for the meat market, a year-old upgraded goat could weigh as much as 50 kilos and at a live weight price of P100 (roughly $2) per kilo, the same goat would still earn for the farmer P5,000.


The current goat craze is fueled by the huge demand for both breeding stocks and goats for the meat market.


The Philippines is currently targetting the huge demand in Saudi Arabia of goats, especially during the pilgrimage in Mecca where an estimated 2 million goats are slaughtered daily for the month-long period.


The Province of North Cotabato has already embarked on a massive goat raising program that aims to raise 1 million does over the next 10 years and position itself as the top goat producer in the country.


The loan package for goat raising will further boost the program initiated in North Cotabato and spur the development of the goat industry in other parts of the country.


The goat financing program is one of the innovative loan packages being offered by Land Bank thus opening a new investment horizon for cooperatives and small entrepreneurs.


Those interested in the loan package are advised to see Vice President Delia Ladao in Davao City or the various Land Bank lending centers in the country.