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 park 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 disinfected boots of the farm. 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 troughs 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. Ket Phat Thinh Company's Australian cows are mainly consumed from Da Nang onwards, especially in the Hanoi and Hai Duong markets with a quantity of about 300 cows/day and night (Nghe An market is only under 20 cows/day and night). Taking us to visit each row of barns, the farm manager recited the characteristics and temperament of each breed of cow. In particular, by 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 Xibogut breed, this one weighs no less than 450 kg, this is a Zec-man breed originating from Germany, then French cows, Tibetan cows, super lean cows... At the Australian fattening cattle 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 style", meaning that after being imported, the cows are vaccinated against disease, 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 the Australian veterinary department. Upon arrival in Vietnam, to ensure that the cattle herd is not infected with disease, all preventive measures are implemented 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 for chemical disinfection. During the reception process, even the driver is not allowed to come into contact with the cows. Upon arrival at the farm, the vehicle passes through the disinfection area again to eliminate pathogens on the way. 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 in 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 train carrying cows back, Nghe An province pays import tax of about 2 - 3 billion VND. The "new" raising period (nearly 1 month) requires about 600 tons of feed, with a 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 cows, the tax revenue for the province is more than 30 billion VND; plus the amount of money to supply 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 owners of means of transport (each train needs at least 200 trucks to bring cows back to the farm and the same number of trucks to transport cows 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 exploit together. All environmental protection measures have been strictly implemented by the company. On the other hand, with the "new" quarantine farming method, the cattle farm is only a transit point, each individual cow stays at the farm for 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