Upland areas develop large-scale commodity cattle breeding

Switching from small-scale farming to centralized farming

According to the Bac Kan Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sub-Department, the total herd of cattle (buffaloes, cows and horses) in the whole province is now more than 65,000 heads. Although the number has decreased compared to previous years due to the epidemic, the husbandry method has been restructured in the direction of shifting from small and scattered breeding to developing large-scale livestock production.

Farming households applying science and technology is the current direction, contributing to stabilizing the consumption market and selling prices of products in Bac Kan province.

In order to develop livestock, Bac Kan province has issued mechanisms and policies to encourage investment in agriculture and rural areas, supported by programs and projects, thereby, attracting a number of businesses and individuals. investment in the livestock sector.

Currently, in the province, there are 9 farms, 30 cooperative groups, 5 livestock and poultry farming cooperatives, and 2 livestock enterprises that are developing production according to the effective chain of output products. high economic and expected to expand the scale of livestock production in the near future.

Bach Thong district, a locality that was not previously a concentrated livestock area of Bac Kan province, but now large cattle raising has also been included in the resolution by the authorities at all levels in directing economic development.

The whole Bach Thong district currently has over 4,500 buffaloes, cows and horses. This is also the locality that has many models of converting from small-scale livestock production to concentrated husbandry methods. Strengthen the construction of infrastructure, encourage and create favorable conditions for the construction of livestock production facilities.

A typical example of large-scale investment in cattle herding by indigenous people in Bac Kan province is Ms. Lanh Thi Nhu (Nguyen Phuc commune, Bach Thong district). Ms. Nhu established Hung Manh Cooperative in 2020, with the aim of developing commodity-oriented agricultural economy.

The total investment in building standard barns, planting grass and buying seed is about 5 billion VND. Currently, the livestock farm of Hung Manh Cooperative has mainly 3b cows with 80 heads, 7 breeding buffaloes and some other livestock such as chickens, ducks, swans, etc.

Ms. Lanh Thi Nhu, Director of Hung Manh Cooperative said: Through the trips to learn experiences in many places, we decided to invest mainly in raising 3B cows because it is suitable for the climate and soil conditions in Vietnam. local. Breeding is also applied according to science and technology, ensuring the health of the herd and adequate nutrition. The results are very good, the cows gain weight from 40-50kg/month, the buffaloes are fat, so they reproduce well and grow fast.

Bac Kan invites large-scale livestock investment

Na Ri district is a bright spot in the economic development in the direction of large cattle raising in Bac Kan province, with two forms of captive breeding and semi-grazing. Most of the households in the past used to raise buffaloes and cows freely, but now they have taken advantage of the land to grow elephant grass and raise fattening in captivity. It is no longer rare for a family to sell a litter of buffaloes and cows every 4-5 months and earn hundreds of millions of dong.

On average, a buffalo raised in captivity can earn one million dong per month. The fattening of buffaloes and cows has been replicated in all communes. The district's large cattle sales quota always met and exceeded the set plan, with the total herd of cattle reaching an average of 8,000 heads/year and about 134ha of elephant grass for food and captive breeding.

As in Na Ken village, Son Thanh commune (Na Ri district), there are 25 households with up to 10 households implementing the captive fattening model of buffaloes and cows. Each family raises 3-4 children, many families raise more than 10 children and the total area of elephant grass in the village is more than 30 hectares.

From 2021, Ba Be district promulgates a plan to develop buffalo, cow and pig husbandry in the direction of increasing added value and sustainable development in the period of 2021 - 2025. In which, focusing on directing livestock development according to farm form from small to medium scale, ensuring biosecurity, disease safety, meeting market requirements.

Ba Be district plans to develop areas for buffalo and cow husbandry to concentrate in advantageous localities, including: Thuong Giao, Phuc Loc, Cao Thuong, Banh Trach, and Quang Khe, and at the same time encourages people to convert the area. inefficient farmland and garden land to grow grass as green food for fattening captive breeding, commercial livestock production towards commodity production.

In general, livestock in Bac Kan is experiencing a positive change from small-scale, scattered, self-sufficient and self-sufficient livestock production to specialized and commodity production in the form of intensive farming. semi-industrial and industrial sectors associated with disease safety and environmental sanitation. Many organizations and individuals have invested funds to build closed cage technology in animal husbandry, invested in automatic and semi-automatic eating and drinking equipment, and breeding according to regulations.

The livestock industry has been bringing significant efficiency, however, cattle raising in Bac Kan province still faces many difficulties and challenges. Because the province is still limited in the number of businesses and households investing in large-scale livestock, most of them are on a small household scale.

This is a big barrier and challenge for the application of science and technology, disease prevention and control as well as the consumption of products. Along with that, epidemics in livestock still occur, especially African swine fever, dermatomyositis, etc. The organization of production association associated with processing is still limited, there are no other measures. centralized slaughterhouses and production links.

To overcome the above difficulties, in order to promote the advantages of the locality, Bac Kan province determines that by 2025, focusing on developing buffalo, cow and pig husbandry in the direction of increasing added value and sustainable development . Bac Kan's orientation in developing buffalo and cow husbandry is in the form of small- to medium-sized farm raising, ensuring biosecurity, disease safety, meeting quality and food safety requirements. products for consumption and associated with product consumption in the chain of joint ventures.

According to Mr. Do Xuan Viet, Director of Bac Kan Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sub-Department, the province has set a goal of maintaining a stable herd of buffaloes and cows annually at about 65,000 heads, the average number of animals released from the stables is 22,000 heads/year. , equivalent to a live meat output of more than 5,000 tons.