Nghe An: Focus on taking care of livestock to serve the Tet market
(Baonghean) - At the end of the year, especially during the Lunar New Year, the demand for animal meat products in the province increases by 20-30% compared to normal days. To proactively supply, farms and livestock households are actively re-herding and taking care of livestock and poultry to serve the consumption needs of the people.
Increase herd, fatten livestock
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It is expected that during the Lunar New Year, Mr. Tran Dinh Ngoc's farm will sell 300 pigs to the market. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Since September, Mr. Tran Dinh Ngoc's family (Xieng village, Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district) has had a herd of over 300 pigs to supply the year-end market. According to Mr. Ngoc, this is the largest batch of pigs of the year and is expected to have the highest price and the highest profit. Mr. Ngoc said: "Currently, the farm has nearly 350 pigs, weighing 30 - 40kg/pig. It is expected to be sold by mid-December. In addition to feeding the pigs enough meals and ingredients, I proactively supplement minerals every day so that the pigs reach a good weight."
Maintaining continuous production throughout the year, but in this particular crop, Mr. Le Van Sau's family (Dien Trung commune, Dien Chau district) has focused on cleaning and disinfecting the barn. Because this is an important crop of the year when the selling price is high, the output is favorable due to the strong increase in consumer demand. Accordingly, since mid-October, his family has had a flock of 1,500 broiler chickens.
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Poultry farms have boldly increased their flocks to serve Tet. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Mr. Sau said: “During Tet, market demand increases, especially for meat chickens and chickens for offerings. Therefore, the farm focuses on restocking sugarcane chickens, roosters with beautiful feathers and beautiful combs. Currently, the family pays great attention to the care and disease prevention of chickens.”
At this time, buffalo and cow farmers in Tan Ky, Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, Quy Hop and Nghia Dan districts are also focusing on fattening their livestock. “Every year, about 2-3 months before Tet, families increase the number of cows to 10-12, and buffaloes to 10-12, an increase of 3-5 compared to before. At the same time, they promote fattening buffalo and cows to achieve meat quality and weight, in time for sale on the market during Tet. This Tet Quy Mao alone, with 24 buffaloes and cows, they will bring in an income of about 100 million VND,” said Mr. Vo Kha, a buffalo and cow farmer in Nghia Hoan commune (Tan Ky).
There are many worries
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Raising fattening cows in Nghia Dung (Tan Ky). Photo: Thanh Phuc |
At this time, livestock farmers are focusing on the Tet holiday, from farms to households, increasing and restocking their herds to ensure supply for the year-end market. However, most are quite cautious with many concerns about prices as well as complicated disease developments.
Ms. Vi Thi La, owner of a pig farm in Mon Son commune, said: “The price of pigs has fluctuated erratically in recent months while the price of animal feed has increased. Therefore, although investing in increasing the herd to have enough supply for the year-end market, the family is still worried that if the price of pigs drops, it will not be profitable. However, because we have proactively sourced breeds and strengthened biosafety measures, we hope that the year-end pig crop will bring in good revenue.”
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Choosing quality breeds is the key to profitable livestock farming. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Currently, the avian influenza epidemic in the province is complicated. Many localities have had the epidemic such as Vinh City, Hung Nguyen, Yen Thanh... Therefore, farmers are quite cautious when restocking and increasing their flocks. Dien Trung Commune (Dien Chau) is a key locality for poultry farming, and it is expected that during Tet, farms will supply the market with over 300 tons of chicken and duck. To ensure safe restocking conditions, local authorities have directed and guided people to proactively take measures to control the epidemic.
Mr. Ho Cong Thang - Vice Chairman of Dien Trung Commune People's Committee said: "Currently, the avian influenza epidemic is very complicated. To minimize the invasion of pathogens, we recommend that people practice biosafety farming; regularly clean barns and strictly manage people entering and leaving the farming area."
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Unstable prices of livestock and poultry are a concern for livestock farmers. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Up to this point, there are still many outbreaks of African swine fever in the province that have not passed 21 days. In addition, Nghe An is about to enter a period of severe cold, low temperatures, livestock and poultry are very susceptible to disease. Therefore, in addition to fully vaccinating livestock, people need to pay more attention to keeping barns warm, supplementing vitamins and digestive enzymes to increase resistance for livestock.
Besides, there is the worry about prices. Currently, the price of animal feed is continuously increasing, input costs are quite high, so income from livestock farming has decreased sharply. Mr. Huu Huynh, the owner of a mixed livestock farm in Nghi Van commune (Nghi Loc) said: "Currently, 1kg of chicken requires an investment of 55,000 - 60,000 VND. With the current market price of chicken meat from 60,000 - 65,000 VND/kg, it is very difficult for farmers to make a profit if they cannot ensure output. The price of live pigs has also fluctuated in the past 10 days, currently the price of pigs is below 60,000 VND/kg, so even though Tet is considered the big farming season of the year, I do not dare to increase the herd much."
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According to estimates, the demand for livestock and poultry meat at the end of the year increases by 20-30% compared to normal days. With the current herd, Nghe An livestock farming basically meets the needs of the people. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
According to statistics from the Provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, as of the end of October 2022, the province's buffalo herd is estimated at 267,682 heads, the total cow herd is estimated at 513,806 heads, an increase of 3.71% over the same period in 2021; the total pig herd is estimated at 950,012 heads, an increase of 2.97% over the same period in 2021; The total poultry herd is estimated at 31,848 thousand heads, an increase of 7.54% over the same period last year. With the current herd, livestock farming basically meets the consumption needs of people in the province and sells to the domestic market during the Lunar New Year.
“To ensure effective herd restoration and reduce the risk of disease outbreaks, the Department recommends that livestock farmers update information on disease and market situations as well as strictly implement regulations on livestock farming. In addition to importing breeds of clear origin and fully vaccinating them, livestock farmers need to regularly clean, disinfect, and sterilize barns and supplement necessary nutrients to their livestock diets. In addition, the Department also encourages livestock farmers to practice biosafety farming, focusing on ensuring quality and developing livestock farming along the chain from farming to slaughtering, preliminary processing, processing, and consumption.”
