South Lampung Holds Australian Brahman Cross Calf Sales


40 out of 142 calves belong to the Livestock Production Cooperative (KPT MS) in South Lampung were auctioned for the wider community

South Lampung, November 15, 2018

A total of 40 Brahman Cross Australian calves owned by 38 breeder groups in the Livestock Production Cooperative (KPT MS) were auctioned for the wider community in Tanjung Sari Subdistrict, South Lampung (15/11).

The forty cows are part of a total of 142 calves that have been successfully bred by the KPT MS for 18 months following a collaborative program of Indonesia Australia Commercial Cattle Breeding (IACCB) aimed at increasing cattle populations in Indonesia.

In addition to the 40 calves marketed to the general public, KPT MS also held a closed auction to sell 47 calves to the members of the cooperative, while the other 55 calves were still not weaned from the breeders.

Since April 2017, KPT MS has joined the IACCB program and received 100 Brahman Cross (BX) heifers from Australia and 5 bulls. Until November 2018, the KPT MS had produced 142 calves, with 87 of them have passed the weaning period (age ≥ 6 months).

Head of the Livestock and Animal Health Service Office of South Lampung Regency, Drh. Arsyad stated that South Lampung has tremendous the potential of cattle farming as it has vast potential of feed resources with large amount of agricultural waste. "This calf sell is a proof that South Lampung farmers are able to maintain Australian Brahman Cross Cattle well. The institution of cattle farmers in South Lampung has also been highly developed and runs as expected," he said.

The ability and interest of KPT MS members, and the surrounding communities in Tanjung Sari Sub-district and Tanjung Bintang Sub-district to raise BX cattle is increasing rapidly, because this program has proven that the maintenance of BX cattle is not as difficult as imagined before, and is possible to use local resources. It is also proven by the ability of BX breeders to breed until the second and even third times with an average birth distance of 14 months.

Agricultural Counselor at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, George Hughes, said that the KPT MS had experienced tremendous development in terms of cattle management capabilities and commercial institutions. "The KPT MS has gone through the Commercial Viability Assessment (CVA) process and has shown remarkable efforts in pursuing herd productivity, cost control and managing the broader environment, after more than 18 months in collaboration with the Indonesia Australia Commercial Cattle Breeding Program."

Furthermore, George also stated that the IACCB program which operates under the Indonesia-Australia Partnership on Food Security in the Red Meat and Cattle Sector (the Partnership) has a long-term goal to increase domestic and foreign investment in red meat and cattle sector, to improve food security in Indonesia. Through Partnership, Australia is committed to helping Indonesia until 2023 with a total grant of AUD $ 60 million