Bung Mukhtar Crosses Over? RM76,000 Per Cow.

This is from today's Star :

National Feedlot Centre should explain operations, says Muhyiddin

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PUTRAJAYA: The National Feedlot Centre (NFC) should give an explanation on the criticism it has faced following the Auditor-General’s Report over its operations, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

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He said a detailed explanation was needed since questions had been raised on its cattle-farming project.

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Muhyiddin was asked to comment on Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin’s call on Monday for those involved in the NFC issue to resign from their posts.

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The A-G’s Report, which was released last month, pointed out that production in 2010 was only 3,289 head of cattle or 41.1% of the target set. The NFC was set up three years ago to transform the cattle and beef industry, aided by satellite farms, to meet 40% of local beef demand by the end of last year.

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Muhyiddin said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was not involved in the project as the business operations were handled by her family members.

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“Whether it is right for Bung Mokhtar to call for her resignation, I think he can think for himself.

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“But I think the call was unnecessary, especially among our own people, as it did not say directly that Shahrizat was involved,” he added

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So does this mean that Bung Mukhtar has crossed over to the Opposition?

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Bung Mukhtar not only can think for himself but is he also a BN Member of Parliament - a Wakil Rakyat - and a BN backbencher. Syabas Bung Mukhtar. Well done. I think the people are with Bung Mukhtar on this one.

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RM250 million project, Government "soft loan". 5000 acres of land. Wow! And only 3,289 cows were produced. Lets do some kira-kira. RM250.0 million / 3,289 lembu = RM76,000 per lembu (thus far). If each lembu produces 200 kg of meat, that works out to RM380 per kg. of meat.

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Saya tahu, this is just a rule of thumb calculation. But looking at it from the taxpayer's point of view, the public has had RM250.0 million of their money (duit rakyat) squandered in a project that has yielded only 3,289 cows. As the project stands today, the public has suffered RM76,000 per cow. Those are very expensive cows !!

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Folks I just spoke to a feedlot cow farmer. The guy is laughing his head off about this National Feedlot Project. Here is some quick information from this farmer :

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Feedlot cows are bought when they are about 2 to 2 1/2 years old with a live body weight of about 300 kg.

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After they arrive at the feedlot station, the cows are fed for three to four months where they should gain 25 kg of weight per month. So say after four months of "feedlot" feeding, the cows reach a minimum live weight of 400 kg which is suitable for meat slaughter. A 400 kg live cow should yield 50-55% meat. The market price is now about RM8.00 per kg (of live weight cow).

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2 to 2 1/2 year old cows can be sourced from Thailand for as low as RM2000 per head. This is considered a good price. More expensive ones are imported from Australia. However, the average price is about RM8.00 per kg for live weight cow. So a 300 kg live weight cow will cost up to RM2400.

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After say four months feedlot feeding and reaching 400 kg weight, the same cow would fetch a price of RM3200. This gives a gross margin in excess of 33% (which is not bad business).

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The farmer I spoke to has a 14 acre farm where he raises 300 feedlot cows. But his actual feedlot area is only 1.5 acres, to house and feed his 300 cows. The remaining 12.5 acres are planted with grass ("Napier grass??) which are then harvested to feed the cows.

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He says a feedlot cow needs only about 20 square feet of space each. The guy says 30 sf of space per feedlot cow is considered a luxury. So even if you have 5000 cows on your feedlot, you only need 5000 cows x 30 sf = 150,000 square feet or less than 3.5 acres of space.

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He says being a feedlot, you do not want your cows walking or running around too much. They will not gain weight. So what is the purpose of the 5000 acres that was given to the National Feedlot Corporation?

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The guy also said that 1 acre of land can grow enough "Napier" grass to feed 25 cows. So if you grow Napier grass on 100 acres, that is sufficient to sustain 2500 cows.

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Going by this rule of thumb, the 5000 acres of land given to the National Feedlot Corporation can grow enough grass to sustain a population of 125,000 cows. But the Auditor General's Report says 3,289 cows represents 41% of the desired target. That means the feedlot's capacity was about 8000 cows only.

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Using the feedlot farmers numbers, 8000 cows would only need 320 acres of grass land to sustain them. So what was the purpose of giving the National Feedlot Corporation 5000 acres of land? 5000 acres of land is enough to create a substantial oil palm plantation.

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Too many UMNO people and BN people are unhappy that something like this is being treated so casually. They may not be saying much but they are not happy. The public is even more unhappy. Where is the Prime Minister's statement on this fiasco? Dato Seri seems to be maintaining an elegant silence. This is very disgraceful and if no action is taken, or heads chopped, it will cost the Government plenty of votes. It cannot be "business as usual" like as though nothing has happened.

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