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Cooperatives supply a central cooperative by Chris Jackson, Export Manager UK TAG This month I am writing my column from Indonesia having led a group of UK companies to the Indo Livestock exhibition held this year in Surabaya, the second biggest Indonesian city. Surabaya is located in the East Java region, one of the most important agricultural regions in the country. Demonstrating the importance of agriculture here, the exhibition was opened by their Director General of Livestock and Animal Health Services, Dr Ir Muladno. Our exhibiters were kept very busy throughout the show, hopefully good business will follow benefiting both countries. This is a country where the Government wants to see serious improvement to the agricultural sector for three reasons: • To cut their reliance on imported products • Establish a significant export trade using their abundant natural resources • Significantly improve rural incomes This week in East Java I have been shown farms that are already improving their incomes by making use of cooperative marketing. Government help has enabled them to create a tiered system for marketing dairy products, whereby a group of village cooperatives supply a central cooperative. The central cooperative then, in turn, manufactures the milk with UHT treatment, adding flavours before proceeding to send to the supermarkets of Jakarta. In addition to marketing, at village level the cooperative takes back the cows from the farmers when their lactations finish and return them to the dairy farmers once they have calved down again. This way they only keep cows that are producing an income. In return for this service, the cooperative keep the calves, they sell on bull calves whilst retaining heifers for herd replacements and expansion. An insemination service is also provided for the farms. Sexed semen of the Holstein breed seems to be the animal of choice, 20 | Milling and Grain
likely because it has a short production life and there can be difficulty in maintaining herd numbers. East Java alone has about 500 000 milking cows, they want to double this number as currently there is market demand which cannot be met. Milk production per cow is not high, but attention to stockman ship is good. We were constantly asked for information on feeding to improve milk yields. Genetics also plays a key role; perhaps looking at some different breeding programmes to gain production in the first instance would be advantageous. Additionally, using hardier breeds will probably, given the conditions, give as much milk as the Holstein but have other advantages in regards to replacement, longevity and health. The animals are kept in herds of mostly up to five cows being the norm. Forage is cut daily from forested areas and taken to the cows. The grass is course and in its raw state is acknowledged to be difficult for the rumens to cope with. They do try chopping the grass to make it more palatable but that does not break the cellulose chain to make more carbohydrate available in the rumen. For the larger herds imported lucerne is available. In the dry season grass shortage can be problematic as there are no facilities to dry or ensile the product when it is in abundance. Locally bred bull calves are frequently used in the feeding lots with imports from Australia, again quality of feed is a reoccurring issue. In addition to the farming we saw first hand the efficiency of cooperation. Small bio gas plants were utilising manure to supply several families who would then use the final dried waste to produce flowers and vegetables for Surabaya. I have to say that if I were a young man I would really like to come to Indonesia to farm the opportunities here I think are fantastic. Next month I will take a group of UK companies to China, I look forward to reporting on this event. @AgrictecExports
AB Vista opens first office in India to serve growing customer base. On July 31, 2015 AB Vista has opened its first office in India, following extensive growth in the region during the past eight years. The new office, located in Pune, will serve as a base for sales, technical, finance and supply chain functions, and is the first such headquarters in the region.
Alltech sponsors first mineral symposium at PSA annual meeting. For the first time in its 104year history, the Poultry Science Association (PSA) annual meeting, held in Louisville, Kentucky, July 27-30, included a mineral symposium. “Changing Insight into the Role of Trace Minerals” was presented and sponsored by Alltech. This symposium reflected on the broad range of new information about trace elements and suggested several ways of putting this science to good use.
Anpario awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise. Anpario plc, Meriden Animal Health’s parent company, is delighted to announce that they have won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for outstanding acheivement in International Trade. The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is the UK’s most prestigious accolade, designed to recognise and reward the achievements of UK businesses that have shown outstanding and sustained growth. The awards are made each year by Her Majesty The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is assisted by an Advisory Committee including representatives of Government, industry and commerce and trade unions.