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Bayani Tutor
Bagong Bayani Ng Dairy
Written by: Farina Dy
One of the new dairy farmers and farm heroes is Bayani Tutor, 41 years old and married to Janice Tutor, a public school teacher. Bayani is a member of the CanOlin Christian Farmers Cooperative, an association which has existed for the past twenty years. This cooperative has a 130 members, who are all into rice farming. Bayani is the only one who has decided to go into dairy farming while the others are on a wait and see mode.
Bayani ‘s journey into the dairy field started in January 2015, after he heard about dairy from an NDA staff who attended a cooperative meeting. He was a zero-based knowledge person when it came to dairy but since he was interested, he inquired and lost no time in coming up with the requirement, planting as much forage has he could. He attended a dairy orientation, and soon enough received three cows, two of which were pregnant. Now, he has three calves ( two female and one male), and his animals produce an average of 8 liters a days.
When neighbors learned that he had milk, he would sell to them pasteurized milk at P40 per liter. Eventually he decided to deliver all his milk to the Bohol Milk Processing Plant so he does not have to worry about the permits that are needed for a homebased food business.
Bayani met challenges such as a budget needed to invest in his dairy farm, especially for forage development, workers, and forage planters, and most especially sourcing for planting materials. Hence each time he goes away on errands, and finds napier in other fields, he asks a little from the owner. And as he had no cowshed, he renovated an old pigsty as a temporary cowshed.
He admits that through his challenges, the NDA staff from the Ubay Dairy Multiplier Farm never left him alone, otherwise, he would not be able to survive on his own. He is visited or immediately responded to when he texts for help. If he needs emergency medicine, and has no money to buy any, NDA supports him with supplies. When his napier area was burned in a bush fire, the NDA immediately responded by helping him source out forage.
What is new is his life?
Bayani says he is now a dairy farmer and they have fresh milk. It is a big change in his life that he now has dairy animals. His relatives from abroad are amazed and are inspired. He also learned much about taking care of cattle, such that his neighbors come to him to ask advice. He has learned how to process his own milk and most of all, he has gained some esteem as people now look up to him and admire him for the knowledge he has gained.