By Joshua Kato
It is no longer news in Uganda when a dairy cow produces 20 litres of milk per day. However, in many developed dairy cattle keeping countries, milking cows produce as much as 40 litres or even more per day. Experts believe this is also possible in Uganda.
During the 2024 Harvest Money Expo that took place on February 23-25th, breeding experts from URUS, an international livestock breeding company facilitated a training session on ‘How to breed the champion cow’, to help farmers achieve maximum milk and beef yields.
Dr William Kabanda the central region manager at URUS, who was one of the trainers during the expo explains that they want to use the vast experience as a company to increase artificial insemination (AI) adoption by small scale farmers. Other objectives include to build a sustainable, reliable and dependable network of AI technicians, increase participation of women in dairy value chain and build partnership with local genetic centres, processors and other stakeholders.
The other trainers were Dr Mujimba Kizito and Dr Hamid Rutaro.
URUS is also in partnership with the National Genetics Resources Research Centre and Data Bank (NAGRIC & DB), with a memorandum of understanding to improve AI and other livestock genetics related activities in the country for better production.
How to increase production and productivity
Increasing production in livestock, Dr Rutaro explains, is not only about genetics, but also includes other factors that include quality and quantity of feeding as well as health, comfort, records and timing.
“Genetics are key in milk production process. However, without enough quality feed and water, your animals will not produce the desired milk quantities. It is their bodies that produce milk and without feeds, they will be eating their bodies to produce milk. Here you will end up losing the milk and the cow itself,” he said.
He added; “If you are doin
`g dairy as a business, you need to understand that, for every day a cow is on your farm but doesn’t produce milk, it costs you between US$2-5 (sh7, 200 and sh18, 000) in labour, water, feed and shelter. In a month, you will have lost between sh216,000 and sh540,000,” he says.
He explained that with better management, each of your cows should give you a calf every year. The cow should be given a two-month break to help her regain body shape, the uterus to get back to its proper position, clean up its body and get ready to conceive again.
“Don’t serve your cow before at least 50 days after calving even if it came on heat because it hasn’t gained its shape to carry a calf and produce milk,” he said.
Mujimba told farmers that animal management is crucial as they need to have quality feeds with balanced nutrients to not also keep them in shape to produce milk but also avoid effects like milk fever that result from inadequate nutrients.
“If you are thinking of having heavy milkers that can give you 30 litres and above, you should give them over 200 litres of water in intervals (10-15 times a day). This therefore, means you must avail water all the time for it to drink.
Rapid testing for pregnancy
Kabanda implored farmers to carry out rapid pregnancy testing on their farms, since the testing kits are now available. He explained that farmers no longer need to wait for heat to determine if their cows conceived. “When the cow does not go on heat again after service, then a farmer confirms that the cow conceived,” Kabanda said. The other crude way of confirming a pregnancy is through a veterinary officer inserting a hand into the womb to feel the foetus. “This is risky because it can cause miscarriages before three months,” Kabanda warned. With the use of a rapid testing kit, this challenge has been solved.
“Through use of technology, farmers can test their cows for pregnancies within 28 days on their farms as and when need arises. This will go a long way to increase production on farmers as open animals can then be prepared to go back on heat and get serviced,” he said.
The technology uses blood, detecting the pregnancy proteins produced by a cow when the embryo is attached to the placenta and you get the results in 20 minutes.
It can also be used with buying in calf heifers to avoid being cheated by the seller and also to determine if the pregnancy is still alive as the proteins will reduce in 8-10 days of pregnancy loss.
Keep records
Dr Kabanda explained that one of the challenges Ugandan farmers have is poor record keeping, which makes it difficult to confirm whether their animals are in gestation or not. Records must include the exact time a cow went on heat and when it was inseminated, plus the batch of semen used.
“For this we have come up with an app called the Dairy comp GO where a farmer can record everything about their cows and will send reminders on inseminations, vaccination and giving birth, among others to help you keep track of your farm,” he says.
What to do at a glance
What is the source of this information?
Take care when selecting your milking cows, from calves to heifers. A good milking cow possesses several key characteristics that contribute to its productivity and efficiency in producing milk. Here are some features to look for in a high-quality milking cow:
-Well-attached udder: The udder should be firmly attached to the body, with no signs of pendulousness or sagging. The udder should have four evenly sized and well-defined quarters.
-Teat placement: Teats should be evenly spaced and positioned correctly for easy milking.
-Body condition: A good milking cow should have a healthy body condition, neither too thin nor too overweight.
-Adequate muscle mass: Well-developed muscles indicate overall health and strength.
–Temperament: A cow that is calm, cooperative, and easy to handle during milking sessions is desirable. What is the opposite of this?
-Select semen for your cow from traceable sources, whose milk production history is clear
-Keep the animals healthy since unhealthy animals will not be able to produce. It also causes abortions and failure to conceive which deprive you of the milk you would be getting and a heifer.
-Also provide it with a comfortable shelter for it to relax as a cow needs 14-15 hours of rest each day for the body to make milk.
. UK cured this problem by having the party leadership as those in Parliament. You cannot be a party leader if you lose your seat in an election. In the US too, the person who wins the presidential primary is automatically given the leadership of the party. You cannot be in power when you are outside the institutions where power is practiced ie. the Presidency and Parliament.
