Positive signals from Australian cattle breeding project

(Baonghean) - Route 534 running through Nghi Loc has become busier since the Australian cattle farm in Do Lang industrial cluster in Nghi Lam commune came into operation. This is the first imported beef cattle farm in the Northern region, and the 7th cattle farm of Ket Phat Thinh company headquartered in Long An province (6 other farms are in Long An and Ho Chi Minh City)...

Australian cattle farm in Nghi Lam commune (Nghi Loc)

After many "matchmaking", the Chairman of Nghi Lam Agricultural Cooperative (Nghi Lam Commune - Nghi Loc District) agreed to take us to visit the farm. From the farm gate to the factory, rows of cars were waiting to receive goods. To enter the livestock area, we had to go through the disinfection isolation area, wear protective clothing, and wear the farm's disinfected boots. The 3 farms were packed with cows, and rows of pre-processed feed troughs were filled with food. A rule of the workers here is to never let the trough run out of food, the more the cows eat, the greater the meat output. The cows here are likened to "machines" that turn raw food into meat.

When we arrived, the farm had about 1,500 cows waiting to be exported to the provinces; at peak times, there were more than 4,000. Australian cows of Ket Phat Thinh Company were mainly consumed from Da Nang and beyond, especially in the markets of Hanoi and Hai Duong with a quantity of about 300 cows/day and night (Nghe An market was only under 20 cows/day and night). Taking us to visit each row of barns, the farm manager read out the characteristics and temperament of each breed of cow. In particular, looking at the cows, he could guess the weight of each cow with an error of only a few kilograms. Pointing to the silver-gray cow, the manager said: This is a Xi-bo-gut cow, this cow weighs no less than 450 kg, this is a Zech-man breed originating from Germany, then French cows, Tibetan cows, super lean cows... At the Australian beef fattening farm of Ket Phat Thinh Company, the meat production record is 1.4 kg of live weight/day (in Long An). The cows are raised in a "new" way, meaning that after being imported, the cows are vaccinated against diseases, raised to recover for 15 - 20 days and then sold at a price of 70 - 71,000 VND/kg of live weight (depending on the import price). According to the formula, 2.7 kg of live weight produces 1 kg of meat, so the cost of Australian beef is under 200,000 VND/kg - lower than domestic beef.

According to the report of the province's veterinary region 3, since the beginning of this year, the Australian cattle farm in Nghi Lam has imported 8 batches with a total of 22,344 cows. These are completely disease-free cows that have been certified by Australian veterinary. Upon arrival in Vietnam, to ensure that the cows are not infected with disease, all preventive measures are carried out systematically: The ship carrying the cows arrives at the port, the reception area is disinfected; the vehicle carrying the cows is brought to the farm to be disinfected with chemicals. During the reception process, even the driver is not allowed to come into contact with the cows. Upon arrival at the farm, the vehicle goes through the disinfection area again to eliminate pathogens on the way of transport. After the cows are stable, the veterinarian takes samples for testing before issuing a circulation certificate.

According to Mr. Duong Van Tri - Deputy Director of Veterinary Region 3, not only ensuring safety during the reception stage, all activities of the cows and related people are closely monitored through the satellite positioning system thanks to the cows being chip-attached. From the time the cows are brought back until they are slaughtered according to the regulations of the Australian Livestock Association, the animals must be treated humanely even during slaughter. Cows are slaughtered at designated locations. During slaughter, the cows must not be beaten or tortured, but electricity is used to shock them. At the slaughter site, there are surveillance cameras, signals are transmitted to Australia, all actions are closely monitored, if there is a violation of the contract, it will be immediately canceled... Therefore, Australian beef products are confirmed to be clean meat. After slaughter, the chip attached to each cow to monitor the transportation and slaughter process is returned to Australia, where the cows originate.

According to Mr. Tri, in addition to the clean products that consumers enjoy, the economic benefits that Australian beef brings are significant. Each shipment of beef brings in import tax for Nghe An province of about 2-3 billion VND. The "new" raising period (nearly 1 month) requires about 600 tons of feed, with the price of 1,000 VND/kg of corn, the amount that the enterprise pays to the people in the region is 600 million VND. It is calculated that each year the farm imports about 12 shipments of Australian beef, the tax revenue for the province is more than 30 billion VND; plus the amount of money for supplying feed of more than 7 billion VND, which is not a small amount of money. In addition, the farm also creates jobs for more than 110 local workers and vehicle owners (each shipment requires at least 200 trucks to bring beef back to the farm and the same number of trucks to transport beef to localities from Hanoi to Da Nang).

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho - Head of the Department of Agriculture of Nghi Loc district added that the Australian cattle farm in Nghi Lam commune is a project approved by the district People's Committee by Decision No. 207 dated January 24, 2014, invested by Mr. Nguyen Van Sy in Hamlet 2, Nghi Lam commune; Mr. Sy cooperated with Ket Phat Thinh Company to jointly exploit. All environmental protection measures have been strictly implemented by the company. On the other hand, with the "new" form of quarantine farming, the cattle farm is only a transit point, the time each individual cow stays at the farm is only 15-20 days; the company has also thoroughly treated the waste from the cows: liquid waste is collected and treated by a biogas tank system, other waste is concentrated in a separate area and treated with chemicals before being sold to organic fertilizer production facilities; before each new batch of cows is received, the farm is cleaned, disinfected...

Mr. Tuan