Baguio City News

Baguio as Northern Luzon’s Leading Dairy Center

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking at turning Baguio Dairy Farm into a leading training and research facility for the underdeveloped dairy industry.

Dairy Improvement Project

Under DA’s plan, a hundred or more head of cattle are expected to graze in the city’s grassland.

Purebred Holstein-Friesian Cows

Purebred Holstein-Friesian cows will be coming from South America or Australia. And they will be in Baguio City by September according to DA Cordillera Director Cameron Odsey.

These purebred cows are also considered as the world’s highest animal producers of dairy. They can produce up to 1.2 million liters of milk. Thus, this will bring a change in the country’s dependence on imported milk.

Focus and Execution of the Project

The first part of the dairy improvement project will involve and focus on the reproduction of the livestock and creation of a demonstration farm that will be a basis for replication across suitable areas in the Cordillera.

Odsey also said that Cordillera Provinces like Benguet and Mountain Province area ideal for breeding cows from abroad because of the atmosphere and elevation.

According to Lawyer Jennilyn Dawayan, DA Cordillera Regional Technical Director for Research and Regulations, part of the project was the planned P100-billion state-of-the-art training and research facility as well as demonstration center.

If the project is executed well, Cordillera can become the primary source of dairy milk, Odsey said.

UPDATE as of July 5, 2019

The Department of Agriculture (D.A.) in the Cordillera region is ready to start with the 5-year dairy development project at the Baguio Animal Breeding and Research Center (B.A.B.R.C.).

This program is just one of the development projects geared towards improving dairy production and addressing weak market linkages and the high cost in production in our country. Moreover, the department also targets to make Philippine dairy products globally competitive.

According to BABRC Dairy Development Assistant Project Manager Dr. Leisley Deligen, preparations are being done while they await the arrival of 100 heads of pregnant purebred (Holstein–Friesian) from Australia by October. These purebred Holstein-Friesian cows will serve as the project’s base cattle stock.

Aside from this, Deligen said that they have started to put things in place including the following:

  • infrastructures
  • creation of a nursery (potting of planting materials)
  • feed sourcing & forage management
  • disinfection and scheduling of resting period for the barn

Moreover, he also mentioned that key components for the dairy development project are programs for the following:

  • daily operation and management of the farm
  • research and development
  • marketing
  • extension service

Aside from dairy production and animal breeding, the facility helps groups of farmers living in areas suitable for raising cattle and producing dairy. They provide training and dispersal of dairy cattle for the said farmers.

For further queries, you can contact Baguio Animal Breeding Research Center at (074) 442-9174 or visit BABRC Compound, Dontogan, Baguio City.

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