Sheep in the Cordilleras

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – It is feasible to raise sheep in the Cordilleras.

Attesting to this is David Bolcio, a 70-year-old farmer at barangay Paoay, Atok, Benguet.

Over the past eight years, Bolcio has been profitably raising sheep on his farm with an elevation of as high as 2,200 meters above sea level.

Actually, his 10-hectare farm, which has a slope ranging from 45 to 70 degrees, is integrated, with calla lilies grown side by side with the wooly small ruminants.

The sheep are allowed to graze at a part of the farm planted to kikiyu grass. The animals are given supplemental commercial feeds in the morning. Unmarketable vegetables such as carrots, radish, and potatoes are also given when available.

The farm’s effective area is limited by big boulders scattered throughout the property. At such elevation, the highland farm is cold and blanketed by mist most times of the year.

But Bolcio, assisted by his son Recto, has overcome the constraints, Leonora Verzola of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region(DA-CAR) based in Baguio City told this writer here.

In a report detailing Bolcio’s experiences, Verzola said the Atok farmer used to plant vegetables in the arable areas of his farm.

But with the continual decrease in prices of vegetables, coupled with capital-intensive production of these food crops, vegetable farming today is hardly profitable.

Bolcio now plants calla lilies while raising sheep. He observed that sheep, usually a voracious vegetation eater, do not touch calla lilies and that the plant can withstand the occasional trampling of the ruminants.

He also once raised cattle, swine, and goat.

In 1998, on his children’s urging, he acquired three ewes (female sheep) and one ram (male sheep) from the Kabayan Breeding Station, a government stock farm in Kabayan, Benguet.

This started his sheep farm, which now has 40 heads.

Bolcio raises Merino, a stocky breed suited to areas with cold climates. Merino, Bolcio noted, reaches 60 kg under local conditions.

In 2003, he acquired one ram from Benguet State University (BSU) in La Trinidad. This saved his sheep from inbreeding, thus his animals are vigorous.

Summing up, Verzola said:

"Sheep farming, as proven by Mr. Bolcio, improves productivity and profitability of marginal lands. He has shown that merino sheep available locally, could reach its maximum potential in terms of size under local conditions. The presence of sheep increase the aesthetic as well as the appraisal value of the land." – RAF