I’m happily milking ever after since culling my cows

Some 4km from Nkubu town in Meru County sits the expansive A.J. Nkwiga Farm in Giankama village.

From the main gate, it is easier to pick out that this is not an ordinary farm as it is neatly arranged. The cowshed occupies a quarter acre, and the eyes can spot it from a distance as it is made from timber, a concrete floor and translucent iron sheets.

The inside beauty is apparent as one moves closer. Each cow sits in a partition and has a mattress.

There are sheds for cows being milked, calves, heifers and a maternity wing. Order on the five-acre farm is also enhanced by up-to-date records aided by tagging of the animals.

Elizabeth Kathure (37), the farm manager, is ever on the lookout to pick out any change of behaviour in the animals which could be a sign of sickness.

She also detects and records when the animals are on heat, when they are served and calve down.

“Currently we have 26 cows, of which 13 are heifers, five in-calf and we milk eight,” she says, noting they get 160 litres of milk from the animals, with two high milkers offering 40 litres each.

They sell the milk to Nkuene Dairy Co-operative Society at Sh35 a litre. Further, they sell heifers, with a year-old going for an average of Sh120,000 and an in-calf at Sh150,000.

Elizabeth attributes the good run on the farm to good foundation heifers they bought in 2014. During the time, the farm had seven cows of Friesian and Ayrshire breeds producing 10-18 litres each day in total despite feeding much.

“The cows were in their fourth lactation and were producing so little to the frustration of owner Daniel Marete. Keen on transforming the farm, he contacted me,” she says, noting she had enrolled for dairy training in Meru with SNV, an NGO that educates farmers.

DISPOSAL OF THE COWS

Her first step when she arrived on the farm was to recommend the disposal of the cows.

“I suggested to Marete that he buys seven Friesian heifers, which he did at Sh100,000 each. I also changed the feeding regime and improved the cow houses to what is there now,” she says, adding that it took her over a year to put the farm back on track, with their first heifer calving down 11 months after landing on the farm.

Before replacing animals, Elizabeth says one thing to consider is production.

“If it’s not what you want, yet you have good management practices, it is time to get rid of it,” she says, adding that one should also replace an animal if it has problems getting served, or it has recurrent abortions.

She advises disposal of animals should be done one by one, starting with the one offering the lowest quantity of milk.

“This reduces chances of purchasing cows that may have similar traits in terms of production. It is good to buy a few and breed what you have.”

Heifers, according to Elizabeth, take most of a farm’s expenses but return no money until they calve.

“So if heifers are to be good lifetime producers, they must calve early, and proper management is key to productivity no matter how good the breed is,” Elizabeth explains.

Early morning, she feeds the lactating cows 300kg of silage, substitutes with some concentrates at 6kg per day per cow in three rations, one in the morning, at noon and in the evening.

GREAT NUTRITIONAL DEMAND

Plant protein like the sweet potato vines, calliandra, leucaena and desmodium are also served at 4pm.

Paul Mambo, a dairy consultant in Meru, notes that feeding is directly proportional to productivity as the optimum reproductive performance and life-time productivity of a cow are clearly tied to proper nutrition management.

He says heifers should weigh about 375kg at 14-15 months, depending on the breed, at the time of being served as lighter or obese animals have lower conception rates and more calving difficulties.

The period after calving is when cows have great nutritional demand as they must lactate, repair their reproduction tracts and resume heat capacity.

Wet saw dust, mouldy hay and damp silage should never be used as cow mattress as contaminated bedding may cause mastitis.

Marete says he is happy with the transformation on the farm as he has not only managed to cut cost of production but his animals also enjoy a good environment from the quality structures.

He has managed to grow his income from Sh20,000 to over Sh150,000 a month and hopes to hit Sh200,000 – Sh300,000 as he targets 1,500 litres of milk a day in a few years.

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Taking Good Care of Heifers

• Well-grown heifers are a good investment as they produce more milk, calve easily and last longer in the milking herd compared to ordinary old cows.
• Great care should be taken when rearing the heifers as most changes in skeletal size occur before puberty and a delay in puberty may disrupt future calving.
• Top quality forage must be fed with adequate supplementation to ensure continued growth, milk production, and early conception for heifers.