Dutch firm interprets cow language for dairy farmers to boost milk yield

Kenya: No one can actually talk to cows, but these animals send out useful information every moment of the day. And it turns out that increasing their milk productivity largely depends on how farmers interpret this information. 

Now, thanks to a training programme for dairy farmers being run by an international development organisation, understanding animals’ behaviour is about to get easier.

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has partnered with CowSignals Training Company to help farmers, extension officers, academicians and dairy industry professionals learn to interpret the signals animals send out to communicate their level of comfort or health.

Pay attention

Mr Jan Hulsen, a veterinarian and certified master trainer with CowSignals, said the training programme, which is funded by the Dutch Embassy, is part of a programme aimed at helping improve the Kenyan dairy industry.

“When we pay attention to the signals sent out by what animals are doing or not doing, we can figure out what’s going on and take the right action to ensure their comfort,” he added.

Farmers and other dairy sector stakeholders are being trained on how to “listen” to dairy animals “speak” by following three steps: look, think, and act.

Through keen observation, CowSignals teaches the trainees to look for success factors, bottlenecks and improvement points across farm operations to ensure cow welfare, health and productivity.

In the last two weeks, Mr Hulsen has worked with about 50 farmers from the Eldoret Dairy Farmers Association (EDFA), and lecturers and trainers from Egerton University.

Livestock care

Other dairy players who have benefitted from the programme include the Dairy Training Institute in Naivasha, Practical Dairy Training Centres (PDTCs), extension workers from dairy co-operatives and SNV local capacity builders and vets.

The training started in western Kenya’s dairy region, with Hulsen inducting participants through six key areas in livestock care: rest, space, feeding, water, light and air.

“By watching out for these six areas, farmers can ensure their cows get what they need to remain healthy. Healthy cows produce more quality milk. Better quality milk means more money in the pockets of dairy farmers because it’s more valuable to milk processing and marketing plants,” he said.

Mr Simon Mutoru, who has benefited from the programme and is now a trainer, said: “I think we all had learned pieces of this either at university or in the field. But this refreshed and updated our skills and knowledge, and we can now share this information with our farmers and show them easy ways to improve their operations.”

At Baraka Farm in Eldoret, cow shelters were changed after the training. The bedding provided for the animals was also changed to include corn cobs mixed with sawdust or sand to aid with urine absorption. This keeps the cows’ resting places as the animals prefer them — dry.

“Though none of our calves cough, we followed the advice from CowSignals trainers and improved the ventilation in the calf-rearing unit that houses animals until they are six to seven months old,” said Baraka Farm manager, Mr Jos Creemers.

Easy implementation

“The ideas are easy to understand and easy to implement,” said Mr David Gitonga, a dairy expert who works with farmers. “Though our farmers run mid-sized operations, they still spend time with their cattle and can easily focus on the six key points to make improvements for their animals.”

SNV Country Director Harm Duiker said CowSignals piloted the training with the development organisation as just one component of a multi-pronged approach aimed at improving Kenya’s dairy sector.

Further, instead of concentrating only on smallholder farmers, SNV expanded the programme to include middle to large-scale farmers and dairy processors.

SNV Global Dairy Coordinator Jurjen Draaijer said these types of partnerships are gaining attention across other SNV projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“Businesses such as CowSignals bring needed information and skills so local consultants can work within the context of the industry they know so well to help producers get to the next level,” said Mr Draaijer.

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