Vets-turned-entrepreneurs launch new A2 milk product
KUCHING: Two practising veterinarians from Sarawak have introduced a new milk product under the Eco Fresh brand, known as A2 milk, freshly-produced by a local dairy farm here.
Dr Ng Siew Thiam and Dr Hii Ding Ong are pioneers in using modern farming concept for their dairy farm, located at Mile 26 Kampung Panchor.
The 40-acre farm currently has 110 Holstein cows, with another 220 being flown in from Australia next month using a chartered Boeing 747 aircraft.
“We are the first in Sarawak to introduce freshly-produced A2type milk to the local market.
“Milk is classified into A1 and A2, with A2 believed to be more digestible. People who suffer from lactose intolerance should give A2 milk a try,” Dr Ng told reporters during a visit to the farm on Monday.
According to him, all the Holstein cows are certified and stringently genetically- screened to be able to produce A2 type milk, before being imported from Australia.
Compared to the local industry’s average of 11-15 litres of milk produced per cow per day, their cows are able to produce an average of 22 litres of milk each due to careful control of the environment and quality animal feed.
“Our target is to have 30 litres of milk produced per dairy cow, as Australia is able to achieve 40 litres of milk production from their cows using the same rearing method,” said Dr Hii.
The cows are being kept in a closed house with cooling system where the temperature ranges from 23 to 27 degrees Celsius.
We are the first in Sarawak to introduce freshly-produced A2-type milk to the local market. Milk is classified into A1 and A2, with A2 believed to be more digestible. People who suffer from lactose intolerance should give A2 milk a try. Dr Ng Siew Thiam, practising veterinarian
The management has also another 150 acres of land to produce quality animal fodder as cows need to consume an average of 40 kilogrammes of feed each day to consistently produce highfor quality milk.
Technology from Germany is being used to produce one of the animal feed – corn silage – under tropical environment which is hot and humid.
“We failed numerous times in our fodder production as the local weather condition had posed a great challenge in harvesting and storing,” Dr Ng said.
He also said that it is important to provide a relaxing environment the dairy cows as it helps maximise milk output.
In line with modern farming, the farm has incorporated technologies from various countries with more than RM15 million invested to achieve maximum efficiency and output.
Its main feature is a state- of-theart rotary milking system where 36 cows can be milked at the same time. The technology is the firstof-its-kind in Malaysia.
Additionally, each cow is planted with a microchip and wears a pedometer to enable the management to monitor overall activity, health and milk output.
The milk produced has a shelf life of seven days as it is heated at a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius to ensure minimum nutrients are lost during the pasteurisation process.
When asked on the challenges of the local dairy industry, Dr Ng said that technology and capital are the two main factors in deterring the success of the industry.
Their venture took five years of planning and they attended countless seminars while also visiting workshops and exhibitions to fully understand how to set up and operate a dairy farm under tropical environment.
The A2 milk is currently sold in original flavour, with plans in the pipeline to introduce chocolate and strawberry flavours in the near future.
It can be found in all major supermarkets and is being sold in 250ml, 500ml and 1-litre packages.
Besides targeting the local market, the veterinarianentrepreneurs are planning to export their milk to Singapore as the potential is big there.
Meanwhile, Eco Fresh will be holding an official launching ceremony for the A2 milk product at Central Court Vivacity Megamall here from Oct 26-28.
A line-up of activities and games are in store for the public, among which will be a once- of-a-lifetime experience to feed milk to calves brought to the shopping centre.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas is expected to officiate at the ceremony.