THERE isn’t a cattle breeding farm quite like the one owned by businessman Yap Yun Fook in Keningau, Sabah.

His farm, Ladang Yap Yun Fook, is the only one that makes use of and recycles every bit of the rearing process, making it a highly self-sustaining farm. 

From the cattle dung used to grow the napier grass to feed his livestock, to growing pineapple, pomelo, rambutan and durian in his fruit orchard, Yap finds ways to do things by going green.

Even rainwater is harvested and used to clean the cattle sheds.

Yap also has a swiftlet house that functions as a natural pest control.

“I have over a thousand cattle here at the farm. They are for producing milk and beef,” he said.

His 405ha farm provides him an income of millions of ringgit annually.

To date, Yap’s farm produces 39% of the milk marketed in Sabah, the most in the state.

Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal had told state-owned dairy farms to visit Yap’s farm and learn how to turn around their ailing businesses rather than take the easy way out by closing.

The two government-owned cattle farms contribute less milk to the market than Yap’s farm – the Keningau Integrated Livestock Centre produces 24% while the farm run by the Sabah Land Development Bhd gives 18%.

Shafie also planned to send entrepreneurs from all over Sabah to Yap’s farm to learn how to open similar operations in their respective areas.

His fresh milk brand Eko-Yap penetrated local stores about five years ago and has become a local favourite.

Yap has invested some RM10 million to open up a factory to pack his fresh milk and make cheese and yoghurt.

“At present, the only thing that I have been advised not to produce is flavoured milk, as the country has a serious obesity issue.

“So I won’t enter the sweetened fresh milk market yet,” he said.

Zero wastage

Ladang Yap Yun Fook makes its own fertiliser to grow the napier grass it needs to feed cattle.

The farm is designed as such that Yap harvests rainwater and flushes the catchment to wash the cattle sheds.

The water flows through the gutter and is pumped into the vast tract of land where grass is cultivated.

“The seedling is ready for harvesting in 14 days,” he said.

As with most farms and fruit orchards, the main problem is pest control, but Yap has devised a natural way to get rid of pestilence.

He had built a swiftlet house, which clears off pests naturally.

To ensure nothing is wasted, Yap also keeps a number of crocodiles in his farm and feeds them with dead calves and placenta.

Yap recently entered into the aquaculture business, where he commercially breeds freshwater fish like tilapia and empurau.

The empurau fish fetches around RM400 per kg. – February 24, 2019.