Baguio eyed as leading dairy center in Northern Luzon

Cows graze the rolling land in Baguio City. —EV Espirtu

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Holy cow! It’s going to be “moo” fun in the summer capital.

At least 100 head of cattle are expected to graze in this city’s pasture lands as the Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to convert the Baguio Dairy Farm into a leading training and research facility for the underdeveloped dairy industry.

Cameron Odsey, DA Cordillera director, said purebred Holstein-Friesian cows, regarded as the world’s highest production dairy animals, will arrive here either from Australia or South America by September.

Demo farm

The cows can produce 1.2 million liters of milk annually that will offset the country’s dependence on imported milk.

The initial stage of the dairy development project will focus on breeding the dairy livestock and establishing a demonstration farm which can be replicated across suitable areas in the Cordillera.

Odsey said the elevation and climate of Cordillera provinces, such as Benguet and Mountain Province, provided an optimum avenue for breeding imported cows.

Lawyer Jennilyn Dawayan, DA Cordillera regional technical director for research and regulations, said part of the project was the planned P100-billion state-of-the-art training and research facility as well as demonstration center.

If realized, the project could make the Cordillera the prime source of dairy milk, Odsey said.