Cattle from Morobe Province are currently being loaded onto a barge, bound for Central Province.
The cattle are from Sialum, in the Tewai-Siassi district, and Erap, Huon Gulf district. They were supposed to leave for Launakalana, in Central Province, last week.
However, the trip was delayed due to bad weather.
On Friday, August 11th, 54 steers, cows and heifers were loaded from Sialum onto a barge bound for Voco Point in Lae. Bad weather slowed the trip down, with the Sialum cattle arriving at Voco Point on Monday morning.
This morning, Sialum Cattle Ranch Manager, Kara Wenes, and his team started the arduous task of transporting a second lot of cattle from Erap and then loading them onto the barge.
Trucks have been transporting around 15 cattle heads in one load, with Wenes hoping to fit all 300 Erap cattle on the barge.
“Before we make any shipment, we must make sure the weather is good,” he stated.
“The months of July, August and September have high rainfall, strong winds and high tides. The area near Sialum, Vitiaz Strait, is notorious for strong winds and rough seas. It was dangerous for us to load but God was with us and made it possible for us to come through.
“The livestock on this barge are evidence of this country’s potential. Sialum produces quality cattle and under this program, headed by managing director, Terry Koim, rural farmers are excited and keen to go into partnership with the LDC.”
If weather permits, the voyage to Keapara, in Rigo district, will take a week.
At Keapara, they will be offloaded and transported by road to the Launakalana Estate to breed and distribute to Central farmers.
This is in line with the corporation’s objective of increasing the stock in the country.
This will be the second shipment of cattle to Launakalana from Morobe. The first shipment was in December 2022, when LDC bought 187 cattle from smallholder farmers in Sialum to breed at the Launakalana ranch.