A Pangasinense salvages losing poultry farm

By Sosimo Ma. Pablico

A NATIVE OF PANGASINAN who is a graduate of Ateneo de Manila has shown his feat by salvaging a losing poultry breeding farm, transforming it into a profitable broiler farm earning at least P5 million a year.

Of all people, Albert Quiogue, 51, who traces his roots to Burgos, Pangasinan, was a bank manager in Baguio City for five years before he agreed with a son of the Alquiroz family, owner of San Martin Agricultural Corporation, to manage the losing poultry farm. Before that, however, he was an executive of the Sarmiento Group of Companies which had interests in the poultry business among others.

“It was a great challenge,” Albert said when we asked him how he was able to survive the deadening silence in a remote barangay, only to be broken by the sound of cicadas, as well as the obnoxious smell emitted by chicken manure.  His considerable experience in managing a poultry farm with the Sarmientos helped him a lot. 

This poultry farm in Barangay Anos, Tayabas City has been a poultry breeding farm for 13 years before he took over.  It had a breeding contract with Tyson for 24,000 birds but “the farm was hardly making money,” Albert said.

The Alquiroz family warned him that if the farm would still continue to be a losing proposition under his management, they would eventually sell it. For a while from the start of his watch, the farm still continued as a contract breeder of Tyson. However, Albert said it was not making as much money as he wanted.

He explained that in contract breeding, the farm has to produce eggs that will be hatched by the integrator and the chicks will be distributed to its contract growers.  “If you hit 170 eggs per bird per year, it would be good already.”  Under his watch, however, the performance of the farm was much better.  “For the first time, it was hitting standards,” Albert added.

Fortunately, Albert was able to make it, as he was exposed earlier to the integrated aspects of the poultry business.  Having been involved in research and development at Vitarich, a subsidiary of the Sarmiento Group of Companies, “I was fortunate to have befriended many veterinarians who helped me understand the realities of the poultry business,” he said.  He was exposed to the integrated aspects of the business from the breeders to the layers to feeds.

From the very start, he was determined to find where the farm was losing and stop it.  He found out that the “leakages” came from poor management of feeds.  Thus, he ordered the farm hands to weigh the feeds from then on in order to give only the exact amount of feeds needed by the birds. 

In late 2006, he was able to convince the Alquiroz family that the farm should shift to broiler contract growing.  And they got a contract with Magnolia starting in early 2007.

Truly, he is making more money from broilers than breeders. With six poultry houses and 24 workers, the farm now produces 90,000 birds per grow or cycle, which lasts for 31 days, Albert said. Last year, it produced eight grows and can do 17 cycles in two years.

Even as his population density is 0.7 square foot per bird, the average weight is already 1.1 kg (kilograms) at 28 days. With an average gross income of P16 to P17 per bird, the farm now makes P500,000.00 to P600,000.00 per grow. “It’s something that can’t be made with breeders,” Albert said.  That’s equivalent to at least P4.0 million a year with eight grows.

As a result, the farm is now expanding. Unlike in the past when only the upper portion of each poultry house was used for broiler production under the tunnel vent system, the upper and lower portions of three poultry houses are now being used.  If plans don’t fail, all the lower portions of the remaining poultry houses will soon be used for broiler production.

Albert enumerated four factors that led to his success: proper disinfection of the poultry houses before every cycle; proper elimination of waste; aeration of the poultry houses; and addition of Biolyte to the drinking water for the birds.

He mentioned that manure disposal used to be a problem but with carbonized rice hull (CRH) as litter, it is now being used for the production of organic fertilizer. In the past, the waste had to be buried to avoid air pollution.

Aeration of the poultry houses is enhanced by bamboo slots used as flooring.  Gunny sack is spread on the floor before spreading CRH as litter. Air passes through the bamboo slots and keeps the waste aerated, Albert said.

More importantly, liquid Biolyte was added to the drinking water of the birds starting at Day 12 onwards, thereby enhancing the livability and feed conversion rate of the birds, leading to additional income.  It also reduces the mortality rate.

The standard livability percentage at Magnolia is 95 percent. If a contract grower gets 96 percent, he gets an extra income of 50 centavos per bird.  This means that the farm gets an extra income of P45,000.00 for 90,000 birds per cycle or P360,000.00 a year over and above the annual gross income of at least P4.0 million based on the weight of the birds.

Moreover, the medication cost is much lower than what is allowed by Magnolia.  With Biolyte, a product of Novatech Agri-Food Industries, the total medication cost is only 70 centavos compared to the standard 90-centavo allowance of Magnolia. Albert spends only P20,000.00 per cycle for 42  liters of Biolyte, which is loaded with enzymes and microorganisms. 

“The owners are now making lots of money and, hence, can already afford to pay bonuses,” Albert concluded.

(Readers may reach columnist at spablico@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/harvest-time/ For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)