SAN SIMON, Pampanga -- Cattle farm D’ Meters Field Corporation is developing a closed-loop wastewater treatment facility within its premises in compliance to the requirements of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The treatment station is a seven-stage natural facility where all wastewater will pass through and be processed until properly broken down into fertilizer, said D’ Meters Field Corporation co-owner Mario Ong.
The said facility, which is being developed for the cattle farm’s utilization only, has surpassed the usual and recommended three-stage wastewater treatment facilities for livestock farms such as theirs.
“The wastewater treatment facility usually used by farms only consists of three-stages, the digesting, settling and the final stage before it will be disposed. But on our case, we made it seven to ensure that our waste is clean and safe,” Ong said.
He added that the seven stages include a septic tank where the cow manure will directly go through from the farm, and what remains from the waste will be broken down in the settling tank.
The wastewater will then flow and pass through four artificial ponds for filtering until its cleanliness is assured. The water from the last pond will then be used again in cleaning the farms, Ong said.
“Our wastewater treatment facility is a closed-loop, and we do not dispose anything from the creek or anywhere outside of our farm to ensure that we do not cause any pollution or the like in the community,” he said.
Ong said the facility is now being utilized in the farm but some developments are still being made including the proper water tube lining to ensure its effectivity.
Aside from the wastewater treatment facility, D’ Meters Field Corporation also has its own material recovery facility where solid waste is disposed and becomes the staging area for sorting out recyclable waste.
ECC-compliant
Ong, meanwhile, said that during the recent ammonia testing conducted by the DENR on their wastewater, it was revealed that the ammonia level is only at the level 2 which was far better from the tolerance threshold of level 5.
“We are very much happy with the results because our efforts paid off, especially of our employees, in maintaining the cleanliness and being odorless of our farm, more so that we are a livestock farm,” he said.
The Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued to them by the DENR is also a manifestation of their commitment to ensure and sustain the orderliness and being environmental-friendly of their business, Ong furthered.
He also noted the corporate-social responsibility programs regularly hosted by the D’ Meters Field Corporation in their host barangay San Pablo, such as medical missions, feeding programs and other forms of assistance to the community.
Economic contribution
Aside from being environment-friendly, D’ Meters Field Corporation also takes part in the continuous economic development of this bustling agri-industrial town.
At present, D’ Meters Field Corporation has a total 381 employees, 80 percent of which are residents or are natives of this town.
“Every month, we bring out about P5 million for our payroll alone. This is distributed to our employees who receive minimum and above minimum wages per month,” Ong said.
Ong added that D’ Meters Field Corporation also diligently pays its business permit and real property taxes of about P5 million for the farm, and the slaughterhouse which is located along Quezon Road here.
At present, the cattle farm has about 3,200 cows in its 28-hectare farmland that are due for slaughter and for market consumption in about three months. This is still below the DENR limit of 4,000 cows in a farmland.
D’ Meters Field Corporation is just one of the two cattle farms in the country which imports cows directly from Australia.