Thanks to science, a simple and accurate 21-minute test using blood from the animal’s tail is enough to determine whether your cow is pregnant or not and can be carried out at your farm.
The advanced “Rapid Visual Pregnancy Test” enables dairy and beef producers to establish whether their animals have conceived or not, just 28 days after insemination. The new blood pregnancy test, a simple technology that uses a blood sample obtained from the tail of the animal, takes only 21 minutes to determine the status, making pregnancy detection easier, faster and more accurate. It can be run in a laboratory, veterinary clinic, side laboratory or on the dairy farm.
“After 45 days, you can use the rectal palpation to check if the pregnancy is still there because the animals can also lose pregnancy or suffer from early embryonic death,” said Veterinary Pathologist and Lancet Pathologists’ head of Veterinary Services, Dr Dhaval N. Shahto. The test has been described as a game changer in reproductive management of livestock.
Dr Ahmed Kalebi, a consultant pathologist and CEO of Lancet Group of Labs, which introduced the technology in Kenya, said: “The new test reduces the days a cow is unproductive by early detection after insemination, within four instead of six weeks with conventional methods, so that they can be synchronized for a repeat insemination.” Traditionally, veterinary professionals have practised rectal palpation, in which a hand and forearm is inserted through the rectum to feel for the womb. This way, pregnancy can only be detected 40 to 45 days after insemination by a highly experienced veterinarian. This means that failed conception cannot be established until six to seven weeks post-breeding. “This exciting point-of-care rapid test has been shown to save livestock farmers weeks and months of waiting to know if their livestock has conceived or not after insemination,” Dr Kalebi added. “It allows farmers to decide in good time whether or not to re-inseminate their cows, or check for possible health problems preventing pregnancy or to sell them to save the costs of maintaining unproductive animals.”
Identifying non-pregnant cows early and accurately after insemination and calving means shorter calving intervals, he stated, increased milk production, increased reproductive efficiency, and better profits. Previous testing for pregnancy in cows relied on testing levels of progesterone and estrogen hormones, but these levels were not specific to pregnancy and thus unreliable, therefore, not favoured by the livestock industry.
Using conventional methods, farmers would have to wait for at least two weeks before a rectal palpation by an expert would identify a non-pregnant cow. Studies done abroad indicate that a dairy farmer loses up to Ksh700 a day maintaining a non-pregnant cow on an intensive system or up to Ksh500 a day per cow on an open-grazing system.
After 45 days, you can use the rectal palpation to check if the pregnancy is still there because the animals can also lose pregnancy or suffer from early embryonic death
“In Kenya, feeding a non-pregnant cow would cost the farmer Ksh500 a day, times the 15 to 20 days when the cow has been served. The farmer is able to save about Sh7,500 per cow if they use the kit,” Dr Shahto said.
The technology is available in Kenya and the East Africa region through Lancet’s branch network of over 40 laboratories and service points. The test can only be performed by a veterinary officer. A local vet will collect the blood sample of the livestock and send it to Lancet’s laboratory.
“Only registered vets can purchase these kits to ward off the proliferation of unscrupulous vets,” the pathologist said. This comes as a kit of 144 tests and the veterinary officer can plan batches of six tests at one go.
It contains a strip of eight wells and the vet can use two, one for positive and the other for negative controls. Another benefit is that a farmer can run a test for six animals in one strip. “Veterinarians can access the test by submitting samples to Lancet or ordering the test kit to run it in their clinics or on the farms. The technology is manufactured by the US-based IDEXX laboratories, which unveiled it in June last year.
“The new test kit detects PAGs, which are compounds that are highly specific to pregnancy and, therefore, very reliable for accurate diagnosis. The methodology has been tried, tested and verified internationally.
Lancet and IDEXX teams have successfully piloted the test in Kenya, working with dairy farmers and veterinarians. They are now rolling out the tests across the country for the benefit of livestock farmers.
The new test kit detects PAGs, which are compounds that are highly specific to pregnancy and, therefore, very reliable for accurate diagnosis. The methodology has been tried, tested and verified internationally
Farmer earns Ksh250,000 monthly selling goat milk
Migrating from rural areas to towns to look for jobs is a norm, but moving from the village to farm in urban centres sounds strange. Yet, this is what 31-year-old Peter Ng’eno did four years ago. He shifted his dairy farm from his rural home to Bomet Town and is now earning huge dividends.
“From our five pedigree cows, the monthly net income has hit Sh250,000, which I am sure no employer can offer for my skills in electrical wiring or my wife’s computer studies,” says Mr Ng’eno. Initially, it was not the youthful farmer’s idea to shift from Saunet Village in Bomet County, but his action was dictated by a strongly held belief in his community that nearly killed his dream.
“I had decided to venture into commercial dairy farming and the project appeared promising, until villagers started queuing at our home daily for free milk. Produce from livestock, whether individual or communally owned, is supposed to first benefit the villagers and commercializing it is considered a taboo,” he explains.
In 2013, Mr Ng’eno had won a Ksh600,000 tender to install electricity at the Bomet County government offices. This was a God-send opportunity to run away from poverty, says the farmer. The daily throng of villagers that expected milk for free drove the ormer electrician to raise his animals in town.
He put in a bid in the 30 per cent procurement provision for youth in government business and succeeded. The father of two knew such luck knocks but once and if he was not careful, he would end up squandering his cash.
“After paying my casual workers, I was left with Ksh400,000 net cash. I was determined to invest it in an income generating project that would guarantee me a reasonable monthly return,” he says. Having been brought up in a community that values livestock, and where his childhood chores included grazing cows, he settled for dairy farming.
The then budding farmer bought two grade cows at a cost of Ksh120,000, which had a daily combined milk production of 20 litres. However, most of the milk was taken by the villagers for free and it was then that Mr Ng’eno figured out an escape strategy. With the little savings he had, he purchased a quarter acre piece of land at Chemoine Estate on the outskirts of Bomet Town.
“It cost me Ksh200,000 and with Ksh100,000 I put up a temporary house and a cowshed. I was now free to venture into commercial dairy farming, away from the exploitative culture of communal beliefs in my village.”
With his wife Phancy Chepkemoi, the couple ventured into the sector when milk prices had stabilized gate prices to Ksh38 a litre.
“This saw us start reaping immediate benefits. In a day, we would make Ksh760 from our production of 20 litres. In a month, our income was Ksh22,800 as gross and about Ksh15,000 net,” she recalls.
It cost me Ksh200,000 and with Ksh100,000 I put up a temporary house and a cowshed. I was now free to venture into commercial dairy farming, away from the exploitative culture of communal beliefs in my village
They knew the secret of success was maximising production and in 2014, they sold their two grade cows and replaced them with a pedigree breed that immediately pushed their daily milk production up to 40 litres.
“This saw our monthly gross income jump to Ksh45,600 and about Ksh40,000 net income. We were getting somewhere,” Ms Chepkemoi narrates. Having assumed the role of manager and the husband as director, she says a market survey opened their eyes to the fact that milk was in high demand in Bomet Town.
“We got a tender to supply a hotel with milk at a cost of Ksh50 per litre and our growth path started taking shape. We retained New KCC as our market for the afternoon milk, and the morning production was reserved for the new market opening,” she says. It is then that the couple realised that the market demand was higher than their supply and so they added more stock.
“By 2016, we had upgraded our breed to five pedigree cows and milk production hitting 150 litres per day. Prices had also improved and oscillated between Ksh60 and Ksh70 a litre,” she recalls. Mr Ng’eno says his profit margin is so appealing that he cannot think of engaging in other business. “We are planning to buy a bigger piece of land to plant fodder. The engine and fuel of our economic growth lies in the dairy sector,” he says.
The greatest challenge the couple have faced is animal feeds. “Prices of animal feeds and supplements keep rising and at the same time the quality is not becoming any better.
We are facing a challenge of counterfeit veterinary products and the cost of treating our cows goes up every day,” he laments.