Lincoln Thackorie stood proudly in front of one of the latest innovations at his farm – a state-of-the-art, 12 parallel, rapid-exit milking machine.
The mammoth machine, designed to milk cows in a safe and quick way that will not distress them, is part of a new wing that will serve as the milking parlour.
Thackorie said this machinery will enhance his production and make his farm even more profitable than it is, in a sustainable manner.
“When you say an increased cost, it is more of an increased investment because it will make more money,” he said. “The inputs may be high, but after that you will see your returns. That is what we look at.”
About 12 kilometres away, on Turure Road, Sangre Grande, Priam Singh and his daughter Sharmin also have something to be proud about – triplet cows.
They were born about two years ago. Sharmin said triplets are a very rare occurrence. The cows are of breeding age, so for the moment they are housed in a wooden shed with a galvanise roof, with the other breeding cows.
“I am hoping that two of them are pregnant,” she told reporters last Friday.
For most people it would be hard to tell the difference between the cows, but Sharmin knows each one just by looking.
“The older one is darker, the younger one has spots and the youngest one has more white,” she told Business Day with a big grin.
The rest of the 50-year old, 20-acre farm looks the same as the breeding section, with wooden structures for each section, put together with nails and love, that separate each part of the process of producing healthy, clean milk.
These two farms, despite the major differences, produce A-grade, high-quality milk for Nestle, in higher volumes, on a daily basis.
[caption id="attachment_1114983" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Holstein cows eating grass at the Aripo Lifestock Station on October 10. - Photo by Faith Ayoung[/caption]
Nestle invited the media on a tour of the two farms on October 11. Officials said the two farms were among their most consistent and highest-producing out of the 76 local farms that supplies the company with local milk.
The two farms have different needs, with one looking to the future and the other keeping traditional farming alive and well. But with the help and investment in innovations from Nestle, both are able to prove that with sustainable methods and the right support, any dairy farm can produce high-quality milk in large quantities.
The farm of the future
Thackorie’s farm is the site where Nestle hopes to embark on one of its latest initiatives to make it a net-zero-emitting farm by 2030. Nestle, using this farm as a pilot project, hopes all their farms will use similar practices to ensure they are net-zero emitters.
The farm is 1,176 acres. It is akin to the Ponderosa, a fictional farm on the classic TV series, Bonanza, with streams, man-made lakes, natural rivers and wide green pastures spread across a wide expanse of land. Fruit trees and massive spruce trees cast shade for the 276 dairy animals on the farm. The farm is also home t
