St. George’s, December 4, 2009 – Normally there is nothing earth-shaking about a calf being born in Grenada. But Deacon Jr. is not just any calf.
He is the first birth resulting from the Artificial Insemination Program (AIP) launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in February 2009.
Deacon Jr. was born over the weekend in St. Andrew, much to the delight of officers of the Livestock Division of the Agriculture Ministry. On Wednesday, a team led by livestock consultant, Dr. Peniel Mwasha, visited the newborn and its owner, Joshua Peters.
The owner said he was happy that when the artificial insemination service was announced he took advantage of it. Mr. Peters said it’s been a long time since cattle farmers in his area have been looking to improve their breeds.
Proud of his new calf, Mr. Peters is now desirous of expanding his cattle farming business. He has promised to continue using the artificial insemination service and is encouraging other farmers to do the same.
He thanked the Ministry of Agriculture for launching the AIP, and expressed hope that agricultural officials will continue to seek ways of improving cattle breeds in Grenada.
Officer in charge of the AIP, Mrs. Yolande Telesford, although hardly able to contain her elation at the birth of Deacon Jr., warned that these are early days yet. The cooperation of cattle farmers is needed to help the program to grow and expand, she said.
Mrs. Telesford reiterated that the AIP will help solve the problem that farmers face with regards to the scarcity of good bulls. This scarcity, she said, sometimes causes a wait of up to five years before a cow could be mated.
Mrs. Telesford appealed to farmers to seize the opportunity to access the Artificial Insemination Program, which the ministry is providing free of charge.
Dr. Mwasha, in his comments, said having Deacon Jr. is “very good.’’ Now, he said, “we have to begin thinking about milk production which will in turn cause farmers to earn money.’’
The new calf is a Jersey, a dairy breed in which the females produce large volumes of milk.
