With the forage chopper worth P350,000 donated by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region IV-CALABARZON, members of Palcon Dairy Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MPC) of Sariaya, Quezon can now easily process and produce corn silage to feed large and even small ruminants as it is a good source of energy and protein.
This farm implement was showcased and tested during the training on corn silage and urea molasses mineral block (UMMB) processing conducted by the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV), held at Teddy Panaligan’s Farm in Sariaya, on October 9, 2019.
In just few minutes, the forage chopper could slice and dice 100 – 200 kilograms of corn plants, enough to fill up a plastic drum.
“Having this chopper helps us a lot. We used to cut corn plants manually and did little. But when Ma’am Vilma Dimaculangan (Department of Agriculture Region IV-CALABARZON Regional Technical Director for Research and Regulations, and Regional Livestock Program Coordinator) gave us the chopper, it was a great relief because we can now fulfill the cooperative’s dream of mass silage production,” Mr. Teodoro V. Panaligan, one of the founders of Palcon Dairy MPC, gratefully said in Tagalog.
In terms of corn seeds, the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños supports them through its research, development, and extension modality.
The seminar was also a good venue for the cooperative members as it was introduced to them an opportunity to earn more – deducting the cost of labor, planting materials, pesticide and herbicide application, and materials for chopping, among others.
Meanwhile, Ms. Dimaculangan emphasized in her message that, “It is very essential to produce high-quality corn silage considering that if we can do so, it will be more competitive and could actually boost the local livestock production.”
She also assured everyone that the Department is always of service to the farmers (with special mention to Mr. Panaligan, a Regional Gawad Saka winner for Outstanding Large Animal Raiser category). â—Ź ARC, DA-RAFIS
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