Kundasang: The Desa Dairy Farm, here, which was written off and nearly ended up being sold a few years ago if not for the personal intervention of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, has become the latest jewel in the crown for Sabah with visitor numbers hitting a thousand daily on average.The dairy farm, which is reminiscent of those in Australia or New Zealand, has become such a hit among foreign and local visitors that the number averaged 30,000 per month and 3,000-4,000 daily during festive seasons like the recent Christmas and New Year holidays."Our farm served three to four thousand visitors per day towards the end of last year.
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The majority of foreign visitors were Asians, mainly Chinese and Koreans, while their western counterparts come from various countries such as Australia and Europe," Desa Cattle (Sabah) Sdn Bhd Farm Officer-in-Charge Emily Chin, told Daily Express.She said it was jam packed during the December holidays and many had to be turned away.
During the peak period, there are occasions when cars still come in at the farm's closing hour at 5pm."Given the situation, we have no choice but to explain to everyone the need to observe the farm's visiting and closing time and that they may not have enough time before it gets dark to enjoy the best view of our farm," she said.
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"After hearing our explanation, most are understanding and decide to come back the next day after a night's stay in Kundasang or Ranau."Still, there was a small number of visitors who insisted on touring the farm although it was near closing time.
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"But they rushed through the visit and had to leave when darkness fell."The sudden change of fortune after the Chief Minister took a personal interest in turning it around has necessitated plans to introduce accommodation in the form of high-end chalets. "In fact, to further enhance our visitors' farm experience, we also have plans to build a bigger car park and increase the number of food kiosks and farm activities, among other considerations."She said to cope with the increasing number of visitors pending the improvements, the farm had to introduce measures to ensure their safety.This included the need to follow the visiting and activity hours as stated clearly on the signboard at the farm entrance gate."Adhering to the stipulated hours is critically important to ensure visitor safety, animal safety and farm security because Mesilau, where our farm is located, gets dark almost immediately after 5pm," she said.The farm currently is not designed to open for visitors at night as it is not equipped to light up the entire area.It is open daily from 8am to 5pm. Activities for visitors include calf feeding (9am to 4pm from Monday to Sunday), trying one's hand at the milking process (2.30pm to 4.30pm from Monday to Sunday) and experiencing raw milk processing at the designated centre (10am to 3pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday).
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Until the improvements are in place, she said Desa Cattle has to strive to balance its resource allocation "between the peak and normal days in order to give the best experience to our visitors"."As we are short of manpower at the very peak of visits, we would hire Rela (Civil Defence Corps) to assist in traffic control, and get part-time workers to serve the crowds, especially at the calf feeding pen and the food kiosks," Chin said, adding that fresh milk and ice-cream are an instant hit with visitors. - Mary Chin