THE SENATOR now describes himself as a ?passionate senior cowboy.?

Nope, former Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. does not ride into the sunset nor does he tote guns with a finger on the trigger. But his is an imposing figure in the vast 27-hectare farm in Barangay Masaya, Bay, Laguna near the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, where he goes regularly to check on the cows at the fledgling Real Dairy Farms Inc.

Magsaysay and his fellow ?senior cowboys? put up Real Dairy Farms ? which officially began commercial operations in November last year ? to provide Filipinos with ?really fresh? cow?s milk from carefully chosen Holstein-Dahiwal cows imported from New Zealand.

Pooling brains and brawn with him to make the venture work are Danilo Katigbak Dimayuga of Lipa City, Felipe Bince of Pangasinan, Jose Eduardo Arroyo of Pampanga, Sofronio Larcia of Bataan, Rey David of Manila, and Ralph Casino of Iligan City.

?Filipinos on the whole prefer the ultra heat treated milk in tetra paks because of their long shelf life. But there is a niche out there who wants fresh milk,? Magsaysay tells the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ?They like fresh milk because it tastes good and is satisfying.?

It is not the first time that the son of the late beloved President Ramon Magsaysay risked his money on an idea. The younger Magsaysay was one of the pioneers in the cable television business.

This newly-minted cowboy admits that he is still learning the ropes of the complicated dairy business. ?Dairy farming is by nature very risky because we are very dependent on nature, but it can be done profitably,? he says.

Two of Rizal Farm?s four barns, for example, were flattened when Typhoon Santi hit the province. But Magsaysay and his partners just put it down to experience and part of running a business such as theirs.

The venture also had to sustain the early loss of valuable calves because they were not fed the right kind of forage. Instead of young grass, they munched on mature grass which they could not digest yet.

But Magsaysay isn?t easily discouraged. Despite these setbacks, he feels that the time is right to venture into dairy farming as the market willing to pay good money for fresh milk is growing.

This market is comprised mostly of young Filipinos who have traveled abroad and acquired a taste for healthy, creamy and fresh milk. For these Filipinos, anything less just won?t do.

?It?s like appreciating the difference between bottled sardines and really fresh fish,? Magsaysay explains.

Since November of last year, Magsaysay is happy to report that sales of Holly?s milk-based products have been growing steadily despite the economic slowdown, and that this has pushed him to learn even more about his new venture.

He adds that while it was very satisfying to be in public service, watching over a business and seeing one?s produce travel from farm to consumer is very satisfying.

?It is refreshing to go into something as challenging as this. Here, you see everything from beginning to end, from the farm to the consumers,? Magsaysay says, ?It is also fulfilling to pass a law, but if you see it being used to shortchange the public and not applied as intended, then you feel frustrated.?

He does not feel any frustration here, so far, he says, adding that he?s happy knowing that consumers are satisfied with their dairy products and that he and his partners provide jobs for 14 full-time employees, not to mention the growing army of distributors who are equally passionate about Holly?s milk.

Real Dairy Farms produces fresh milk, which is then brought to the Animal Dairy and Sciences Cluster, College of Agriculture of UP Los Baños for processing. There, highly-trained technicians transform the fresh milk into such popular products as fresh milk (whole, low fat and choco-flavored), white cheese and low-salt butter.

The partnership with UPLB benefits both institutions, Magsaysay says.

Real Dairy Farms is assured of the best in technology and expertise to process its milk into high-quality milk-based products, while UPLB gets access to a real-life laboratory where its agriculture students can put their knowledge into action.

?The agriculture students come here and our hope is that eventually, they will establish their own farms, and be encouraged to have their own enterprise rather than just be employed,? Magsaysay says.

Yup, you can say that the former senator is milking his venture for all it?s worth. ?