MANILA, Philippines - In the heart of Rosario, Batangas, lies the King Ranch, a 24-hectare farm that is well-known for its breeding of American Brahman (bos primigenius indicus). In the 24-hectare farm, 250 Brahmans are contained in an animal pen allotment space of 500-square meters and are free to roam around a five-hectare grazing area. Their daily food supplements are harvested in the area that ensures the quality of crops. They have 5 1/2 hectares of space allotted for a corn plantation. They also have a nine-hectare forage plantation.
The King Ranch takes pride in being one of a few cattle breeders in the country. The owner King Carlos highly encourages more long-time breeders in the country since they are able to produce a bigger herd resulting in bigger gains, in contrast with the majority of the cattle farms in the Philippines that breed cattle to be immediately fattened and then slaughtered.
Investment opportunities
Since the King Ranch sees the potential of the Brahman enterprise in the country and takes interest in providing opportunities for others, the King Ranch has come up with investment packages that would prove worthwhile for the Filipinos’ hard-earned money. The King Ranch has prepared investment packages for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), retirees and aspiring cattle raisers who have invested in vacant lots in their provinces. King Ranch urges these vacant lots to be used as a cattle farm that provides income, instead of the lots remaining stagnant and unused.
The King Ranch offers different packages that are budget-friendly and light on the pockets They have provided convenient packages with the purpose of encouraging investors to popularize the Brahmans and to further improve the overall cattle industry in the country.
The packages offered by the King Ranch may be easily and conveniently paid in two years, and only requires 25 percent down payment.
Package A costs P280,000 (DP P70,000) (P8,750/month), which includes one male and three females;
Package B costs P420,000 (DP P105,000) (P13,125/month) which includes one male and five females;
Package C costs, P770,000 (DP P192,500) (P24,062.50/month) that includes one male and ten females.
Along with the investment package, the King Ranch will provide the basic information (i.e., supplier of vaccines, medicines, and equipments) as well as free training/consultation that the investor needs. King Farm assures that the investors will be well-equipped in starting and, in the long-run, handling the enterprise.
The investors will be given the choice of what initials to be branded on their chosen cattle. The brand will serve as cattle identification for the investors’ reference. The management will take care of the animals until they are two years old. These include feeding, maintenance, medication, and vaccines. After two years, feed charges will apply for every succeeding day when the investor intends to prolong the stay of their stock in the farms’ premises.
Based on the farm’s experience, the King Farm has computed as annual return on investment (ROI) of 71 percent if confined and up to 79 percent if grazing.
At the beginning of the payment term, the investor has the opportunity for profit, unlike other investments that only earn profit after full-payment or after several years.
There are many income-generating opportunities in the enterprise which include stud services where the investor may earn at least P800 - P1,000 per successful stud. Depending on location, stud service of at least four times a week, will give a profit of at least P4,000 a week or P16,000 a month.
The investor may also opt to sell a male calf (eight months old) for P35,000, while keeping the female calf to use as a breeder for a future larger herd. The heifer, or the female Brahman, may mate with a sire as early as 18 months, and should give birth to one calf per year given the natural circumstances provided with good nutrition and proper animal handling. Brahmans are known to be good mothers as they offer an abundance of milk, resulting in healthier and heavier calves.
The advantage of the Brahman is that they are not susceptible or prone to fatal diseases. In seven years of farm experience, the King Ranch has never recorded a full-grown or mature cattle that died of a disease since Brahman cattle are known for their strong immune system.
The Brahman also has the advantage of size and weight as compared to the native/upgraded breed. The weight of the native breed ranges from 300 to 350 kilos, while the Brahman may reach up to 750 kilos to 850 kilos. With this advantage, the old-aged cattle may be sold for slaughter at almost double than what you get from the native/upgraded breed. It has defeated the native brand, not only in quality, but also in quantity.
The best part is that Brahmans are low in maintenance requirement. Like the native breed, Brahmans only need forage (i.e., grass, hay) and protein source that will depend on the resource availability in the area. Ideally, the Brahman food requirements will cost around P15 to P20 (per head, per day) in a confined system, while only P5 is needed (per head, per day) in the grazing system. As for space requirements, confined system only requires five square meters per head, while the grazing system requires one hectare of improved pasture for every three heads.
In terms of life expectancy, Brahman cattle may reach up to the age of 15 years, which is a relatively higher life span than other breeds. Furthermore Brahman heifers remain capable of producing offspring even after a decade and this is a big benefit for the breeder.
Expect only quality
In its commitment to improvement and excellence, three new bulls arrived recently at the King Ranch that will be used for further breeding. This is to avoid ‘inbreeding’ that will sustain and further improve the quality of future offspring. This will ensure that the cattle coming from King Ranch will not deteriorate in size and grow dull in color.
For more inquiries and concerns regarding the investment opportunities, you may contact King Carlos at 0917-572-6707 or e-mail him at ark.carlos@yahoo.com. Photos of King Ranch, as well as the cattle stocks, are posted at http://www.facebook.com/kingranchbrahmans.