Couple open their organic farm to young people

Story and photos by PHILIP HII
philiphii@thestar.com.my

AN INTEGRATED farm has been set up near Sibu by a young couple to promote awareness on loving and caring for the environment especially among young people. Adams Tang Jung Lung and his wife Loh Yu Yee, both 34, said they had committed themselves to protecting the environment by providing opportunities for others to visit their farm which used environment-friendly methods of rearing animals and planting crops.

Noble mission: Tang and Loh’s aim is to carry out environmental protection.
 

“We must refrain from carrying out activities that cause environmental degradation. Knowledge about environmental protection should be inculcated in our children from a tender age,” said Loh. She said that most urban children did not have much opportunities to get close with nature. “This is why we opened our 35ha farm for group visits,” she said, adding that tours were organised for children to understand various aspects of nurturing the environment to support crops and animals. The couple established TYC Goat and Livestock Farm (TYC Farm) at Km45 of the Sibu-Bintulu Road in 2003.

Valuable products: The farm produces fresh goat’s milk and goat-milk soap for the local market

From the humble beginning of a dozen local goats, the farm has grown to have more than 800 goats and 30 cows. “Our goats are imported from Australia. They include the Boer, Brabados, Saanen, Anglo Nubian and British Alpine species,” Tang told StarMetro. He said the farm no longer needed to import goats as breeding at the farm had been successful.

Nutrient-rich: Ong, who is in charge of producing organic fertiliser, showing a bag of the product

The Saanen, British Alpine and Anglo Nubian were dairy goats while the rest were for meat, he said.

There are more than 200 dairy goats at TYC Farm which produce high-quality fresh milk daily. “We bottle the milk and sell it at organic shops in town. Fresh goat milk is rich in Vitamin A and AHAs which are well known for restorative and rejuvenating properties,” said Loh. She said that the surplus milk was used to make goat-milk soap which was 100% organic with 30% of the ingredients comprising goat’s milk and the rest palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil, orange essential oil and lavender essential oil. “The soap is handmade with the highest-quality milk from our farm complemented with the purest vegetable oil and scented with the highest grade imported essential oils,” Loh added.

Productive: The earthworms make two tonnes of organic fertiliser at the farm every month.

She said the soap had advantages over industrial soap as it could stimulate skin regeneration, exfoliate, cleanse, soften and alleviate complexion dullness. It has no artificial colouring or preservatives. Loh was confident that, with more publicity and better packaging, more environment and health-conscious people would use the soap. TYC Farm also supplies goat meat for the local market. “Prices for the meat is stable and we sell it at RM35 to RM45 per kg,” Tang said.

It takes two-and-a-half years for a goat to mature and be ready for slaughter. Imported species such as the Brabados can grow up to 120kg. TYC Farm is almost self-reliant on animal feed. It grows napier grass for the cows while the goat-feed comprises a mixture of corn, sago, rice husk and napier grass. “We grow hybrid corn which is rich in protein and blended it with the other food for the goats,” Tang said, adding that it would be difficult for the farm to be sustainable if it depended on imported animal feed.

Nothing is wasted at TYC Farm. It is uses earthworms in a big way to produce organic fertiliser from animal and plant waste. “We produce two tonnes of organic fertiliser a month. This fertiliser is environmental-friendly, non-toxic, odourless and anti- mildew besides being rich in 17 nutrients which help neutralise the soil ph,” said Ong Yung Chang, who is in charge of producing the fertiliser.He said the earthworms, which were initially imported from Australia, multiplied very fast into large numbers.The fertiliser is packed into 5kg bags and sold at RM10. The husband-wife team plans to expand the farm by rearing fish, rabbits and deer. “We are keen to build facilities like hostels and meeting rooms for visitors who may want to stay overnight at the farm,” the couple said. The farm employs 20 workers. Both Tang and Loh also work for the family’s construction, transportation and ready-mixed concrete businesses.