Milk Production Being Promoted At Bodles Research Station

Rehabilitation of the Bodles Research Station in St. Catherine has included efforts to secure and promote milk production by the Jamaica Hope breed of cattle. Touted as the father of the Jamaican Dairy Industry, Dr. Thomas Lecky’s extensive research in 1951 resulted in the Jamaica Hope, the first breed of indigenous Jamaican cattle. Further research on the part of Dr. Lecky resulted in the Jamaica Red, Jamaica Brahman and Jamaica Black cattle breeds. Acting Principal Research Director for the Research and

Development Division in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Michelle Sherwood, said the milking system at the Bodles Research Station serves two purposes.

“It is both for research and development. We have currently at Bodles and the other stations the Jamaica Hope, which are dairy animals. Milk production will take place and they produce their calves. So, one of the things that we must be able to do is to be able to provide the industry with high-milk-producing animals,” Mrs. Sherwood told JIS News.

The Research and Development Division operates a programme that allows the team to conduct assessments while milking the animals. “We were able to see which animal produces the best milk, how much milk was produced, and which lines are the best ones.

The parlour is there to accommodate the research that is being done to facilitate collecting that new data to be able to tell us which lines are producing the best milk and the larger volume of milk,” she explained. Commissioned in September of last year, the new milking system is modern and has been paired with a new barn to house dairy animals in-between milking.

Mrs. Sherwood said with the lab at the research station, the team will be able to test and determine the nutritional content.

“We’ll also be able to say the volume per animal that is being produced. As a result of that, the milk that’s harvested, we can sell. Though the facility was not built for commercial purposes, that becomes a benefit in terms of additional earnings. It was really built to facilitate data collection at the station for dairy breeds that are in Jamaica. In our case, that’s the Jamaica Hope,” she said.

The new milking parlour and supporting facilities were established under the Rehabilitation of Research Centres Project.

Being executed by the Research and Development Division, the project aims to strengthen the island’s capacity for agricultural research.