Editing Carabao (section)

==Husbandry==
In 1993, the [[Philippine Carabao Center]] (PCC) was established to conserve, propagate, and promote the carabao as a source of draft animal power, meat, milk, and hide to benefit the rural farmers through carabao [[gene]]tic improvement, technology development and dissemination, and establishment of carabao-based enterprises, thus ensuring higher income and better nutrition. The National Water Buffalo Gene Pool in [[Muñoz, Nueva Ecija]], is a facility for continuous selection, testing, and propagation of superior [[breed]]s of [[Dairy farming|dairy]] buffalo.<ref name=PCC2011>Philippine Carabao Center (2011). [http://www.pcc.gov.ph/PCC%20TRANSPARENCY%20SEAL/2.%20ANNUAL%20REPORT/9.%20Annual%20Report/2011/PCC%20Annual%20Report%202011.pdf ''Annual Report'']{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Department of Agriculture.</ref>

===Draft animals===
[[File:Carabao with sled, 1899.jpg|thumb|A carabao sled ({{lang|fil|kangga}}) in the Philippines (c.&nbsp;1899)]]
[[File:Carabao Cart, Albay Province, Philippines LCCN2014690052.jpg|thumb|A carabao cart ({{lang|fil|kareton}}) in the Philippines (c.&nbsp;1910)]]

Carabaos are mainly used as [[draft animal]]s for [[paddy field]] rice cultivation. In 2023, the vast majority of Philippine carabaos (99.3%) are raised for this purpose by [[Smallholding|smallholder]] farmers.<ref name="Villamor"/><ref name="psa"/> Carabaos raised as draft animals are typically docile and can be trained with simple commands. They are treated as a family pet and are regularly taken to bodies of water to bathe when not working.<ref name="Forbes-Lindsay">{{cite book |last1=Forbes-Lindsay |first1=C. H. |title=The Philippines Under Spanish and American Rules |date=1906 |publisher=J. C. Winston Company |page=442}}</ref><ref name="Hannaford">{{cite book |last1=Hannaford |first1=Ebenezer |title=History and Description of Our Philippine Wonderland |date=1899 |publisher=Crowell & Kirkpatrick Company |page=163}}</ref> The advent of modern machinery like [[tractor]]s are slowly displacing carabaos in their role as draft animals.<ref name="bd">{{cite news |title=Milking Profits from the Carabao |url=https://businessdiary.com.ph/427/milking-profits-from-the-carabao/ |access-date=10 February 2024 |work=Business Diary |date=3 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="Roque"/>

The traditional equipment used with the carabao is a [[plow]] or [[Harrow (tool)|harrow]] attached to the animal by a [[yoke]]. In modern times, carabaos are also used to plow fields for crops that grow on dry land, like [[corn]], [[sugarcane]], or [[upland rice]].<ref name="Roque">{{cite news |last1=Roque |first1=Anselmo |title=Appreciating the carabao |url=https://punto.com.ph/appreciating-the-carabao-sun/ |access-date=10 February 2024 |work=Punto! |date=28 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Daro and Yugo |url=https://thephilippinestoday.com/daro-and-yugo/ |website=The Philippines Today |date=September 6, 2020 |access-date=10 February 2024}}</ref> Another older method of preparing fields with the carabao is known as {{lang|fil|payatak}}, which is still practiced by some farmers in [[Northern Samar]]. In {{lang|fil|payatak}}, the soil of the rice paddy is first softened with rainwater or diverted watershed, then the farmer guides a group of carabaos in trampling the planting area until it is soggy enough to receive the rice seedlings. This time-consuming task produces lower yields and lower income when compared with the advancement in irrigated fields.<ref>[http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=83283 Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8-18-2007.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028164754/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=83283 |date=October 28, 2007 }}</ref>

Before modern equipment, carabaos were also formerly used to thresh rice by trampling them while going around a post, separating the grains from the stalks. They were also used to power stone mills used for crushing sugarcane in pre-modern sugar production.<ref name="Roque"/>

Carabaos were also widely used for transporting goods in the past, usually via a '''carabao sled''' ({{lang|fil|'''kangga'''}}) or a two-wheeled cart ({{lang|fil|gareta}} or {{lang|fil|careton}}, also spelled {{lang|fil|kareton}} or {{lang|fil|kariton}}, from Spanish {{lang|es|carretón}}). The {{lang|fil|kangga}} is typically used for rocky or muddy terrain, and has the advantage of being capable of traveling over rice paddy dikes without destroying them. The {{lang|fil|careton}}, on the other hand, is typically reserved for traveling on roads. The {{lang|fil|careton}} come in various designs and can be covered in a roof of woven split bamboo (''[[sawali]]'')  or thatched [[nipa palm]] leaves (''[[Amakan#Pawid|pawid]]'').<ref name="Zabilka">{{cite book |last1=Zabilka |first1=Gladys |title=Customs and Culture of the Philippines |date=1963 |publisher=C. E. Tuttle Company |isbn=9780804801348 |page=37}}</ref><ref name="ctp">{{cite news |title=The Last Calesa Maker: How A Proud Fernandino Kept A Fading Industry Alive |url=https://ctp.rushhoursolutions.net/last-calesa-maker-proud-fernandino-kept-fading-industry-alive/ |access-date=30 March 2024 |work=Capital Town Pampanga |date=28 March 2019}}</ref>

One of the many reasons for the failure of the attempted Japanese pacification of the Philippines during their 1941–1945 occupation was their indifference to the basics of the Philippine economy. The carabaos provided the necessary labor that allowed Philippine farmers to grow rice and other staples. Japanese army patrols would not only confiscate the rice, but would also slaughter the carabaos for meat, thereby preventing the farmers from growing enough rice to feed the large population. Before [[World War II]], an estimated three million carabaos inhabited the Philippines. By the end of the war, an estimated nearly 70% of them had been lost.<ref>Schmidt, L. S. (1982). [https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADB068659.pdf ''American Involvement in the Filipino Resistance on Mindanao During the Japanese Occupation, 1942–1945'']. M.S. Thesis. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.</ref>

===Dairy products===
{{See also|Water buffalo#Dairy products}}
[[File:Kesong puti.jpg|thumb|''[[Kesong puti]]'', a traditional Filipino soft cheese made from carabao milk]]
[[File:Pastillas made from carabao's milk.jpg|thumb|''[[Pastillas de leche]]'', a traditional milk candy made from carabao milk]]

Carabao milk is richer and creamier in texture than [[cow milk|cow]] or [[goat milk]], due to its much higher fat and protein content. It has similar mineral content as [[cow milk]], except it has twice as much [[phosphorus]]. It is characteristically bluish-white in color. Carabao milk is typically home-[[pasteurized]] via a [[double boiler]].<ref name="Fernandez"/>

Carabao milk is used widely in traditional [[Filipino cuisine]] due to its easier availability prior to modern importation and the development of canned milk. However, it never became widely commercialized and still remains a [[cottage industry]].<ref name="Fernandez"/> One of the main goals of the Philippine Carabao Center is the development of a more productive breed of carabaos for commercial dairy production and to encourage the growth of the carabao milk industry in the private sector.<ref>{{cite news |title=Enterprise Development |url=https://www.pcc.gov.ph/enterprise-development/ |access-date=11 February 2024 |work=Philippine Carabao Center |agency=Department of Agriculture, Republic of the Philippines}}</ref>

The most common use of carabao milk is for the production of ''[[kesong puti]]'', a traditional soft cheese. It is also used for sweets including ''[[pastillas de leche]]'', ''[[tibok-tibok]]'', [[leche flan]], and a traditional ice cream flavor for [[sorbetes]] known as ''helado de mantecado''. Carabao milk can also eaten for breakfast or ''[[merienda]]'' poured over rice with various other ingredients.<ref name="Fernandez"/>

===Meat===
{{See also|Buffalo meat}}

The term "carabeef" is used to refer to the meat of carabaos in the Philippines. It is a [[portmanteau]] of "carabao" and "beef" and was originally coined in [[Philippine English]] in the 1970s to distinguish the meat of water buffalos from beef.<ref name="Doctor">{{cite news |last1=Doctor |first1=Vikram |title=Ban on cow slaughter in Maharashtra: Why Indian consumers should insist on buffalo milk & carabeef |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/ban-on-cow-slaughter-in-maharashtra-why-indian-consumers-should-insist-on-buffalo-milk-carabeef/articleshow/46487532.cms?from=mdr |access-date=11 February 2024 |work=The Economic Times |date=8 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="Joanino">{{cite journal |last1=Joanino |first1=Charlene |title=Carabeef takes limelight in Buglasan 2019's Organic Farm Family Congress and Agri-Fair |journal=Bubalus |date=4 November 2019 |volume=2 |page=9 |url=https://www.pcc.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Bubalus-Newsletter-4th-qtr-final-12.27.19.pdf}}</ref>

The butchering of carabaos is strictly regulated under Philippine law in an effort to conserve the population. Only carabaos that are seven years or older (if male) or eleven years or older (if female) can be slaughtered after the acquisition of necessary permits and clearances. In all other instances, the killing of carabaos is illegal. However, this law is often violated due to poor enforcement.<ref name="Fernandez">{{cite book |last1=Fernandez |first1=Doreen G. |editor1-last=Walker |editor1-first=Harlan |title=Milk: Beyond the Dairy |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford Symposium |series=Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1999 |isbn=9781903018064 |pages=126–136 |chapter=Carabao Milk in Philippine Life}}</ref><ref name="Cardiñoza"/><ref name="Ganancial">{{cite news |last1=Ganancial |first1=Rachel |title=ProVet says no law prohibiting use of carabao meat in corned beef |url=https://palawan-news.com/provet-says-no-law-prohibiting-use-of-carabao-meat-in-corned-beef/ |access-date=11 February 2024 |work=Palawan News |date=21 July 2022}}</ref>

Carabeef is popular in some regions and can be used in dishes in place of beef, like in ''[[Tapa (Filipino cuisine)|tapa]]'', as well as in commercial processed meat like [[corned beef]] and ''[[longganisa]]''.<ref name="Fernandez"/><ref name="Cardiñoza">{{cite news |last1=Cardiñoza |first1=Gabriel |title=Pangasinan's carabeef business flourishes |url=https://business.inquirer.net/209000/pangasinans-carabeef-business-flourishes |access-date=10 February 2024 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=11 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="ss">{{cite news |title=The prospects of carabao industry |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/more-articles/the-prospects-of-carabao-industry |work=SunStar |date=20 October 2013}}</ref> Carabao skin can also be cooked as ''[[chicharon]]''.<ref name="ss"/>

===Other products===
Carabao [[Hide (skin)|hide]] was once used extensively to create a variety of products, including the armor of precolonial Philippine warriors. The horns are also carved and used to make the [[hilt|pommel]]s of Philippine swords and bladed tools like [[bolo knife|bolos]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QOI_AAAAYAAJ&q=Carabao+hide+armor&pg=RA1-PA107|title=Bulletin – United States National Museum|date=1917|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|pages=107|language=en}}</ref> Carabao hide is still used for [[leather]] production with an estimated total market value of $10 million, as of 2002.<ref name="Roque"/>
<!--
<gallery widths="200" heights="160">
File:Various Philippine animals and plants frame 1, detail from Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas.jpg|An illustration from the ''[[Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas]]'' (1734) shows carabaos as beasts of burden
File:Carabao Cart.jpg|Carabao cart in the [[Philippines]] (c. 1899)
File:Skinscompared.JPG|The hardened hide of a carabao (left) and a cow (right), displayed in the Crisologo Museum, in [[Vigan]], [[Ilocos Sur]], Philippines
File:Ploegen met behulp van een karbouw op de Filippijnen, KITLV D7306.tiff|Ploughing using a carabao in the Philippines, circa pre-1935
</gallery>
-->

===Cross-breeding===
The carabao has been crossbred with other water buffalo breeds. Notable breeds with carabao ancestry include the [[buffalypso]] of [[Trinidad and Tobago]] and the [[Brazilian carabao]] of [[Brazil]]. The buffalypso is the result of breeding programs that crossed the carabao with river-type buffaloes like the [[Murrah buffalo]], the [[Surti buffalo]], the [[Jaffarabadi buffalo]], the [[Nili-Ravi]], and the [[Bhadawari]].<ref name="Borghese">{{cite book |last1=Borghese |first1=Antonio |last2=Chiariotti |first2=Antonella |last3=Barile |first3=Vittoria Lucia |chapter=Buffalo in the World: Situation and Perspectives |title=Biotechnological Applications in Buffalo Research |date=2022 |pages=3–31 |doi=10.1007/978-981-16-7531-7_1|isbn=978-981-16-7530-0 }}</ref><ref name="Colli"/> Brazilian carabaos (called {{lang|pt|kalabaw}} or {{lang|pt|kalaban}} in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]) are naturalized populations of swamp-type buffalos, including carabaos, imported from [[French Indochina]] to Brazil in the late 19th century.<ref name="Porter">{{cite book |last1=Porter |first1=Valerie |last2=Alderson |first2=Lawrence |last3=Hall |first3=Stephen J.G. |last4=Sponenberg |first4=D. Phillip |title=Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-84593-466-8 |pages=962–963}}</ref>