Vet on Call: For all season feeds, it’s time we start to briquette fodder

February 3 was an interesting day for me as I spend time crafting solution to a long-term problem many livestock farmers face.

I liked it because I was away from cows, sheep, goats, chickens, cats and dogs’ case reports that I usually receive from farmers.

That day, I arrived at the governor’s office 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting. There was a group of about 15 people already seated engaging in banter.

In addition to the county government staff, other participants comprised of various livestock experts in different fields and organisations, including from the national government, private and regional inter-governmental officers.

The issue at hand was livestock, insecurity and drought in the semi-arid county.

You see, arid and semi-arid counties are the country’s meat basket and carry over 50 per cent of cattle, sheep and goats nationally.

Good quality grass grows very quickly in the regions when it rains and then dries and gets wasted during the dry seasons, leaving the animals with nothing to eat.

This results in livestock and people migration over long distances. Laikipia County, for instance, gets an inordinate number of pastoralists and their animals during dry seasons from the neighbouring Baringo, Samburu and Turkana counties.

WIDELY USED TECHNOLOGY

The cattle ranches and wildlife conservancies abundant in Laikipia tend to retain livestock pasture for longer periods than neigbouring arid areas attracting the pastoralists.

The result is a lot of conflict as has been seen in the county in recent weeks.

“As you are aware, I called this meeting to discuss the perennial drought that results in livestock-related resources conflicts, loss of life and property. My county is particularly vulnerable at this time because we are hard hit by drought,” the governor said.

Two representatives of a private organisation later made a very promising presentation on how to deal with the fluctuation of fodder in the county and other arid and semi-arid lands.

The gentlemen talked about fodder briquetting, a technology that caught my interest. Many participants in the meeting heard for the first time about the technology.

So what exactly is fodder briquetting? Brick making is an old-age technology for mankind. We all know it is still widely used in the construction industry.

Fodder briquetting is a similar technology and is used in ensuring that humans have food throughout the year, and that is not all, the feeds can be stored for longer.

Just think of bread, biscuits, and chocolates among other goods. They are all some form of briquettes.

Therefore, when it comes to fodder briquetting, animal feed is turned from the raw state to a processed state of superior storage quality. In addition, the processed feed requires less space to store and transport.

SAVING COSTS

The process starts with the pasture plants such as grass and alfalfa (lucerne) grown and harvested during the time of plenty.

The grass is then ground, mixed with supplements such as vitamins, minerals and energy-adding components such as molasses.

The mixture is then compressed into briquettes using special machines. The briquettes are then stored and used during the times of livestock feed scarcity such as droughts and dry seasons.

Fodder briquetting solves a very big challenge in feeds storage and movement. Just imagine that a ten tonne truck of hay transports about nine parts air and one part hay.

This makes hay transportation from the production site to the point of sale or use the most expensive component of the product.

In a research done in India, where the technology is used, it was shown that once briquetted, the physical size of a bale of hay is reduced by ten times.

Thus fodder, once briquetted, requires ten times less storage space of the equivalent un-briquetted fodder. That is quite a saving in storage and transportation costs.

The briquettes if produced in large quantities can be distributed to counties in asal areas and others like Nandi, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Kiambu, Murang’a and Nyeri where livestock farming is intensive.

REDUCE PERENIAL FEED SHORTAGE

Such measures would reduce the perennial shortage of feeds due to small continually diminishing land sizes.

Fodder briquetting, if done mainly for arid areas, can therefore form an additional livestock related product for counties to trade with high rainfall areas.

“Having heard this really innovative and good idea on commercial and efficient utilisation of fodder, it is time for the experts to really help us realise the benefits of the briquetting technology to ensure availability of fodder reserves for the dry season,” the governor said.

I am very optimistic about the possibility of establishing a fodder briquetting facility in Kenya. Anyone out there who wishes to lend a hand?

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THE CLINIC

Paul: I have four Friesians but the milk production is low. I need help to better my farm.

Low milk production may be caused by inadequate feeding, poor cattle breed, diseases, unsuitable environment and bad milking practices among other things.

It is important for you to identify the cause of your cows’ low milk yield to take corrective action. You may call me for detailed discussion on 0721386871.

Ochieng, Siaya: One of my in-calf heifers is not feeding, looks dull and prefers to sleep. What could be the problem?

The problem can be caused by many factors.

A vet doctor or a veterinary para-professional would have to examine your cow physically to diagnose the problem and treat it.