Listen High-yielding animals require a lot of energy to sustain their bodies and produce at the desired level. Many farmers, resort to providing carbohydrate-rich feeds, especially maize, barley, wheat, and oats. In appropriate quantities, grains enhance production. However, too much can be harmful to livestock. Laminitis Feeding animals on a diet rich in highly-fermentable carbohydrates […]
Listen Dairy goat milk is a nutritious income earner, fetching prices as high as Sh200 a litre compared to cow milk which only fetches Sh50 a litre at most. Yet, few farmers have embraced dairy goats due to various challenges, such as lack of market and an acute shortage of buck. Dairy goat milk is […]
Listen 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, […]
Listen Hybrid dairy cows like Holstein Fresians and Ayrshires require shelter from the elements and a comfortable area for sleeping. As we drive on the dirt road off Kiminini shopping centre, in Trans Nzoia County, nothing prepares us for the urban farm and animals we are about to see. We branch off through a small […]
Listen Choice of semen for artificial insemination and type of feed have a huge impact on the volume and quantity of milk your cow will produce during its lifetime. Improving quality milk from your cows Selective breeding and proper feeding is the key to high milk production, a prominent Nakuru County commercial dairy farmer says. […]
Listen Livestock is one of the sectors with a huge economic benefits and the potential for job creation especially in value addition. It will play a big role in the manufacturing pillar of the Big Four Agenda. Sh. 135.6b – Total value of marketed livestock and related products in 2018, up from Sh125.4 billion in […]
Listen The harsh realities of climate change that have made weather patterns less predictable and led to prolonged periods of drought are popularising a more sustainable feeding system. Death of animals due to severe droughts in Kenya’s dry lands has been a cause of massive losses to pastoralists. In an attempt to mitigate the blow, […]
Listen Although less than eight per cent of land in Kenya is under cultivation, agriculture remains the country’s most important economic activity. Only about 20 percent of Kenya’s land is suitable for farming, of which just 12 percent is classified as high potential (adequate rainfall) agricultural land and eight percent as having medium potential. The […]