There are two ways of propagating seedlings pastures. For brachiaria, you can get just two 100kg sacks of the mature rooted grass and plant it in an area of around a quarter of an acre. Each sack costs about sh20,000. This grass, after four months, will be able to give you enough seeds to expand your grass area, even enough to plant on 10 acres of land.
Likewise, for napier grass, you can buy a sack of cuttings, plant it and after 4-6 months, it should be able to provide you with enough more cuttings to expand the shamba.
Grasses can be got from NARO-Namulonge, Kamenyamigo in Masaka, NARO-Ngetta, NARO-Mbarara.
How much grass do I need for dairy cow?
A mature cow consumes at least 40kg of dry material every day. If you are growing your own pastures, then you need an acre to feed each cow. However, there are now many farmers growing pastures for sale and this has helped dairy farmers keep more animals in small spaces without the challenge of growing feeds.
