Pengurus jadi penternak Lembu

Oleh RASHIDAH ABD RAHIM

Pekerja Agro Dairy Farm memindahkan susu segar yang dihasilkan lembu susu di ladang tersebut ke dalam tong untuk dihantar ke Pusat Pengumpulan Susu (PPS).

TIGA tahun lepas, M. Jaganatham, bekerja sebagai pengurus di sebuah syarikat perkapalan bertaraf antarabangsa.

Bagaimanapun, atas minat yang mendalam terhadap sektor pertanian dan industri asas tani, Jaganatham, 45, mengambil keputusan meletak jawatan untuk mengusahakan ladang ternakan tenusu.

Juga atas dorongan dan galakan daripada isterinya, M. Letchumi, 40, Jaganatham membulatkan nekad dengan melabur RM1.0 juta sebagai modal permulaan membuka ladang ternakan seluas enam hektar dikenali Agro Dairyfarm Sdn Bhd di Kampung Baru Vinayagar, Gadek, Alor Gajah, Melaka.

Cabaran

Jaganatham, yang berasal dari Teluk Intan, Perak, berkata, sebanyak 50 ekor lembu jenis Friesian Thailand dibeli sebagai titik permulaan kepada perniagaan ternakan tenusu tersebut.

Pada peringkat awal, katanya, pelbagai masalah terpaksa ditempuh khususnya berkaitan pengurusan ladang, penjagaan lembu dan pengeluaran susu.

“Malah kami pernah mengalami kerugian akibat kematian lembu disebabkan jangkitan penyakit," katanya yang berkecimpung selama lebih 20 tahun dalam industri perkapalan.

Beliau berkata, cabaran terbesar yang dihadapi adalah untuk memastikan pengeluaran susu mencapai tahap maksimum.

Seekor lembu tenusu miliknya hanya mampu menghasilkan lapan hingga sembilan liter susu sehari berbanding pengeluaran maksimum susu iaitu sekurang-kurangnya 15 liter bagi seekor lembu sehari.

Bagaimanapun ini bergantung kepada faktor seperti cuaca dan nutrisi makanan yang mencukupi untuk lembu, jelas Jaganatham.

“Kita tidak boleh mengawal cuaca tetapi apa yang lebih penting ialah memastikan lembu yang diternak mendapat rumput yang cukup, ini kerana pengeluaran susu bergantung kepada pemakanan.

“Sekiranya lembu mendapat rumput yang mencukupi, ia akan membantu menghasilkan jumlah susu yang banyak," katanya dan menambah bahawa lembu tenusu memerlukan rumput segar dalam kuantiti yang banyak iaitu 10 peratus daripada berat badannya.

Contohnya, bagi lembu yang beratnya 400 kilogram memerlukan kira-kira 40 kg atau dua guni rumput untuk dimakan.

Bagi mengatasi masalah itu, pihaknya kini menanam rumput di sekitar kawasan ladang. Dengan cara itu ternakannya sentiasa mendapat bekalan rumput mencukupi berbanding kaedah sebelum ini iaitu terpaksa keluar dari kawasan ladang untuk mencari dan memotong rumput untuk diberi kepada ternakannya .

Selain itu, Jagannatham berkata, kualiti susu turut menjadi faktor utama dalam memastikan pendapatan bulanan perniagaan tenusunya tidak terjejas.

Beliau berkata ternakan lembu juga terdedah kepada penyakit terutama Mastitis, yang dijangkiti kuman akibat pemerahan yang tidak betul dan tidak bersih.

Bagaimanapun, berkat kesabaran dan usaha keras terutama dalam mendalami ilmu penternakan lembu tenusu dan pengurusan ladang daripada pelbagai pihak, beliau dan isteri boleh menarik nafas lega dengan kejayaan yang dinikmati sekarang.

Jaganatham berkata, ladangnya kini semakin berkembang sehingga meliputi kawasan seluas 11 hektar dengan 121 ekor lembu tenusu melibatkan keseluruhan aset semasa pada tahun lepas berjumlah RM1.5 juta berbanding RM1.3 juta pada 2010.

Beliau berkata pengeluaran susu ternakannya juga telah meningkat walaupun belum mencapai tahap pengeluaran maksimum.

“Kita belum mencapai tahap pengeluaran maksimum susu lembu. sekarang ini seekor lembu di sini mampu menghasilkan susu kira-kira 12.7 liter berbanding tempoh tiga tahun lepas," katanya yang juga pensyarah di Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM) Masjid Tanah di sini.

Susu yang dihasilkan daripada ladangnya kini berjumlah antara 550 hingga 570 liter sebulan. Susu berkenaan dibekalkan kepada Dutch Lady Malaysia pada harga antara RM2.20 dan RM2.30 seliter.

Beliau berkata pendapatan bulanannya juga dijangka meningkat dengan penerimaan peti simpanan sejuk susu berkapasiti 310 liter daripada Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani melalui Jabatan Perkhidmatan Veterinar (JPV) di bawah Program Transformasi Ekonomi (ETP).

Dengan adanya peti simpanan sejuk itu, susu yang dihasilkan dapat disimpan dengan lebih baik dan penghantaran susu ke Pusat Pengumpulan Susu (PPS) yang terletak di Pengkalan, Alor Gajah dapat diminimumkan.

“Tanpa peti tersebut susu yang dihasilkan perlu dihantar ke pusat pengumpulan dua kali setiap hari iaitu pagi dan petang namun kaedah penyimpanan susu melalui peti penyejuk dapat menjimatkan kos penghantaran," katanya.

Bantuan peti simpanan sejuk susu yang dinikmati Jagannatham adalah sejajar objektif ETP dalam pembangunan kluster susu bagi meningkatkan pengeluaran dan kualiti susu negara. - BERNAMA

Artikel Penuh: http://utusan.com.my/utusan/Agrobiz/20130422/ag_03/Pengurus-jadi-penternak-Lembu#ixzz2RGqNwpyk
© Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd

The History of AZOMITE®

An estimated thirty million years ago, the intense pressure from volcanic gasses created by bubbling magna caused the side of a mountain to rupture. A thick cloud of ash spewed out of the blowhole for days and formed a thick bed of highly mineralized volcanic ash. Saturated by rains, the volcanic ash and mineral dust bound together naturally to create a hard rock formation encapsulating the minerals. As the rains continued, the mineral reserve became a seabed. The seas receded and intense tectonic activity followed, forcing the earth’s crust to facture and heave; lifting the previously level rock bed into a hill formation geologists refer to as a "hogback" – rich with minerals.
As time passed, legend of the healing powers of these "painted rocks" spread. Native Americans traveled great distances to reach the pink formation to chip off pebbles to be crushed and placed in planting holes with maize seed. The powerful pink powder became a key ingredient in both Native American agriculture production and medicinal healing tonics.
In the late 1930s, a geological prospector named Rollin Anderson became fascinated with the local legends and left the hustle and bustle of San Francisco for Utah to explore a simpler life and the rocks he had heard so much of. Anderson began to mine and sell the crushed rock locally based on the testimonials of the farmers who supported his quest to prove the legends true. By 1942, he had completed several trials and was convinced of the remarkable benefits to plants, sheep, cattle and turkeys.

"The first tomatoes we planted with the dust came up fine and healthy, whereas the controls were attacked by hideous long green worms. We picked off the worms wherever we found them, but they ate a lot of leaves. On the AZOMITE® plot, not a worm. The plants were stronger, held fruit well, and had great flavor. Once you've tasted a vegetable grown with AZOMITE® you're spoiled for life. The beets in the control plot were juiceless and woody."
The Secrets of the Soil, Christopher Bird and Peter Tompkins

Seeking validation beyond his control gardens, Anderson took some ore samples to Salt Lake City to Dr. Charles Head, a ranking scientific expert at the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Placing a tiny particle of the ore beneath the lens of his microscope, Dr. Head found the ore to contain a wide variety of minerals. He explained that the multitude of minerals he detected in the pink ore reminded him of the caliche rock of Chile and Peru from which the world's finest nitrates were mined. While there, Dr. Head had developed the conviction that much of the benefit plants were deriving from South American nitrates was not from the nitrates themselves, but from minute quantities of trace elements, which served as catalysts in the developing plants. His pioneering theory contravened prevailing opinion that considered trace elements to be "impurities".

"We have ganged up on nature by taking the attitude that insects are invading our fields and destroying our crops. So we kill the bugs, thinking it correct. Instead, we are killing ourselves. The bugs are only destroying our crops because we are not feeding the crops their proper food. And the same thing holds true for livestock and humans. Many nutritionists and physicians theorize that there is only one disease -- malnutrition; that all other ills derive from it. We are not giving ourselves, our livestock, or our plants the natural trace elements needed to grow and prosper the way our Creator intended. "
--- Rollin J. Anderson

Upon his retirement in 1988, he leased the reserves to Peak Minerals, a company formed by Mr. Wes Emerson, his close friends and family. Peak adopted a policy of supporting the legends and testimonials and broadened Anderson’s work through accredited research studies at many high schools, colleges and universities. In 2011, the Anderson Company's ownership merged with what is now known as AZOMITE Mineral Products, Inc. under the direction of Mr. Emerson as Company President. AZOMITE® is now available worldwide, rapidly expanding its growth in international export. Researchers consistently found – and continue to find – significant improvements with AZOMITE® use, lending credibility to the original legends. Accredited researchers continue to report benefits for plants and animals with AZOMITE®.

Feed Products / Horses

Horse Use

AZOMITE® trace minerals are an excellent anticaking agent to add to feed rations or can be offered to horses on a free choice basis.
Plant sources theoretically pass the soil's minerals on to the birds, fish and animals. In practice, minerals can be added directly to feed. Several university studies have reported significant improvements when AZOMITE® was added directly to the feed at 0.3% to 1% of the total feed mix. AZOMITE® is OMRI Listed for use in organic production and farming.

Feed Ration Guidelines

We recommend adding 2-4 ounces of AZOMITE® to the daily rations of horses.

Replicated Tilapia Study | Thailand

Aquaculture / Studies and Tests

Penggunaan Azomite(mineral organik) untuk ternakan lembu

Feed Additive Products / Cattle

Cattle and Livestock Use

While plant sources theoretically pass the soil's minerals on to the birds, fish and animals, minerals can be added directly to feed. Several university studies have reported significant improvements when AZOMITE® was added directly to the feed at 0.3% to 1% of the total feed mix. OMRI Listed for use in organic production and farming.

Feed Ration Guidelines

For livestock on a prepared feed diet, we generally recommend adding AZOMITE® at 1/2% (10 pounds per ton) of the total feed mix. A maximum of 2% (40 pounds per ton) may be added in accordance with good feed manufacturing or feeding practices. AZOMITE® can also be offered free choice.