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| Sunday, 25 January 2004 |
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Products of int'l standard from Ambewela Farm The Ambewela Farm of Lanka Milk Foods claims to maintain international standards in all activities, which has guaranteed the quality of its products. Lanka Milk Foods (LMF) acquired the farm in 2001 as part of a drive to promote dairy farming as a profitable venture. Dr Arinesarajah Shakthievale, Director (Dairy Projects), LMF said: "I was advising LMF on milk collection from farmers when I was working at the Ministry of Policy Planning and Implementation. I realised that the LMF management was genuinely interested in developing Sri Lanka's milk industry. When the Ministry of Livestock Development and Estate Infrastructure wanted to privatise some of its livestock farms, I advised LMF to take and run a farm, showing others that dairy farms could be run as a profitable venture. To my surprise, they took not one, but two farms, Ambewela and the New Zealand farms". Dr Shakthievale was the first Lankan veterinarian to hold a postgraduate degree from the University of Reading, UK on agricultural economics. he was earlier the Additional Secretary (Livestock) to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The Ambewela Farm, set in the lush cool hills off Nuwara Eliya, boasts the best of everything from pedigree cows to lush green fields where cattle graze freely, yielding best quality milk of international standards. The farm, unlike most farms in Sri Lanka, has only purebred Ayshire cows. The original stock was imported from Australia in 1941/42. Ayshire cows are high producing animals and need a balanced diet. The protein, energy and minerals are provided to them through the concentrated feed and pasture in balanced proportions. Natural grass, which was unproductive, was replaced with Kikuyu (Pennisetum Clandestinum), which has now given way to a new type of grass called Ryegrass due to the decline of Kikuyu due to age. Pregnant animals are kept under observation 24 hours a day and all animals are treated through vaccination and other preventive measures at regular intervals to ensure their health. The cows are cleaned and machine-milked and the milk is sent directly to chilling tanks so that contamination is minimised. The quality of the milk is thus ensured. |
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