Cattle farmers face difficulties due to narrow consumption market and low prices.

Fattening cow farming model of Mr. Do Thien Nam - Photo: HN

Tan Long is the locality with the most cattle farms in Huong Hoa district, especially since COVID-19, this model has tended to increase. As a locality with many advantages to develop cattle farming such as cool climate, spacious land, abundant food sources, this model brings economic efficiency to the people. However, recently, due to the low price of cattle, many families have reduced their herds, waiting for prices to stabilize before planning to raise cattle again.

Mr. Do Thien Nam's fattening cattle farm is the largest in Tan Long commune, and is also one of the first models in the commune. Currently, his farm has more than 200 cows. Compared to before, this number has decreased significantly due to the main consumption market in the province and low prices. Mr. Nam shared that at the beginning of this year, he sold 23 cows at the market price of 70,000 VND/kg of live weight. "Because I couldn't sell them before Tet, and after Tet, it was past the selling time, so I lost 60 million VND. To raise cows in captivity, if you want to make a profit, the cows must be sold at the right time and the price must be stable," said Mr. Nam.

Previously, Mr. Nam used to raise cows for farm owners in Thailand, so they asked for his experience to return to their hometown to start a business. Not only that, he also shared his experience with many other breeders in the area. He collected breeding cows from people in the area and some other places with a quantity of about 1,000 cows/year, weighing from 250-500 kg/cow.

Collecting cows locally helps him reduce transportation costs, understand the origin of the cows, and better adapt the animals. Cows are raised on the farm for 3-4 months before being sold. The market is mainly within the province, so at a time when prices are low like now, he does not increase the herd to avoid risks.

“Buying high-quality seeds, slow selling, and low market prices are factors that make it difficult for farmers. Not to mention the main consumption market is within the province, so the sales volume is not much, depending on traders,” said Mr. Nam.

According to Mr. Truong Duc Cuong, an official in charge of agriculture in Tan Long commune, the total herd of cows in the commune is not too large, about more than 1,200. However, in the face of low market prices, to avoid risks, the commune recommends that people do not develop following the trend.

Regarding the consumption market, Mr. Cuong said that in the commune, there were people who went to Ho Chi Minh City to penetrate the market and opened a slaughterhouse, but only for a short time due to losses, so they returned to their hometowns. There were also people who cooperated with traders in Hue to buy cows for consumption in other provinces, but were not successful.

“This is a common difficulty for cattle farmers nationwide, not just for people in Tan Long commune. Supply exceeding demand is the main reason for the sharp drop in domestic cattle prices. The selling price is low, while the price of industrial feed is high, so the more cattle are raised, the more they lose,” said Mr. Cuong.

Not only in Tan Long, cattle farmers in other areas of Huong Hoa district also face difficulties in consumption. Therefore, many households have to temporarily “hang up the barn” and wait for signals from the market.

Since August 2023, Huong Hoa district has deployed the 3B cow farming model in a number of communes in the area. This model was expected to bring high economic value to people at the time of implementation. In 2023, Mr. Ho Van Mien (born in 1986) in Doa Cu village, Huong Phung commune, was supported by the district with a 3B cow farming model with 6 cows. This model is assigned to direct beneficiaries, with the State supporting 70% and the breeder contributing 30%.

According to initial calculations, this breed of cow grows quickly, averaging 30 kg/head/month. Captivity helps people control diseases easily. The climate and land conditions in Huong Phung are considered suitable for this farming model. However, after more than 1 year, this batch of cows was sold by Mr. Mien at the end of 2024 at a break-even price. "With a selling price of 65,000 VND/kg, if there is no support from the State, the breeder will surely lose money. 3B cows are large, my batch of cows weighs from 5.8 to more than 600 kg, so it is very difficult to sell, traders are forcing down the price.

The main source of food for cows is bran, straw and grass, but bran is expensive, on average, 9 million VND is spent a month to buy bran; grass is not enough to supply and straw is not available locally, especially in the dry season. The herd of cows eats 200 kg of grass a day, not to mention straw. After selling this batch of cows, I breathed a sigh of relief," Mr. Mien shared.

Currently, the barn is available, Mr. Mien still keeps the money from selling the cows and waits for the market price to stabilize to raise grass-fed cows. "I plan to plan the grass growing area. We must proactively source food for effective farming," Mr. Mien said about his upcoming plans.

Vice Chairman of Huong Phung Commune People's Committee Ha Ngoc Duong said that the locality has a large area and many favorable conditions to develop the 3B cattle breeding model. Initially, the commune hoped that from a few households to test it, if successful, it would be transferred and widely disseminated for other households to follow. However, later, for many reasons, including low selling prices, this model did not bring high efficiency.

Currently, many livestock farmers in Huong Hoa district are having to make do by reducing their herds or taking advantage of idle farm labor to reduce labor costs.

In the current difficult context, people need to review and improve livestock management, continue to monitor the market to have appropriate livestock plans. At the same time, it is necessary to use effectively, take advantage of available feed sources to reduce production costs and focus on disease prevention to minimize damage.

Anh Thu

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nguoi-nuoi-bo-gap-kho-do-thi-truong-tieu-thu-hep-gia-thap-193218.htm