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Brown and white Hereford cow and her young calf. [Photo, Courtesy]
It is a New Year and with it comes new plans. Like the rest of us, farmers also make New Year plans with regard to what they plan to do different to make their projects more profitable.
Today, I will address five dairy technologies that dairy breeders should embrace to transform their ventures:
This is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a cow’s uterus cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy by means other than mating.
Advantages
i. It is easy to introduce new and better genetics into a herd.
ii. There is no need of maintenance of a breeding bull for a herd; hence the cost of maintenance of a bull is saved.
iii. It prevents spread of certain diseases and sterility due to genital diseases.
iv. By regular examination of semen after collection and frequent checking on fertility make early detection of inferior males and better breeding efficiency is ensured.
v. The semen of a desired bull can be used even after death of that particular sire.
vi. It makes possible mating of animals with great differences in size without injury to either of the animals.
vii. One can inseminate the animals that refuse to stand or accept the male at the time of mating.
viii. It helps in maintaining accurate breeding and calving records.
ix. It increases the rate of conception.
x. Old, heavy and injured sires can be used.
Disadvantages
i. Requires heat detection.
ii. Requires well trained operators and special equipment.
iii. Improper cleaning of instruments and unsanitary conditions may lead to lower fertility.
iv. If the bull is not properly tested, spreading of genital diseases will be increased.
v. Market for bulls will be reduced, while that for superior bull is increased.
2. Machine milking
Machine milking is the rapid and efficient removal of milk from the udder using a milking machine.
Advantages
i. It is faster especially when the herd is large.
ii. It reduces the farm’s dependency on workers.
iii. A well serviced machine milks thoroughly therefore reducing possibility of mastitis
iv. There are less chances of udder infection if the machine is cleaned thoroughly.
v. The milk is cleaner.
Disadvantages
i. It is expensive to install.
ii. It requires use of electricity and might disadvantage farmers who have no power connection.
iii. It requires regular servicing and replacement of worn out parts.
3. Hydroponic Fodder
This is the method of growing fodder crops without the use of soil and is instead done using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent.
Advantages
i. The fodder growth is faster.
ii. It requires less space than ordinary fodder production.
iii. The fodder is fed to the animals at the most nutritious stage.
iv. Like in greenhouses, hydroponic farmers can have total control over the climate for instance temperature, humidity, light intensity, the composition of the air. In this sense, you can grow fodder all year round regardless of the season.
v. Hydroponics is water-saving. Growing fodder hydroponically can save up to 90 per cent of water compared to growing in the field. In this method, water is recirculated. Plants take up the necessary water, while run-off ones will be captured and return ed to the system. Water loss only occurs in two forms — evaporation and leaks from the system (but an efficient hydroponic setup will minimise or not have any leaks).
vi. Less labour is required.
Disadvantages
i. It requires training on how to produce.
ii. It requires more startup capital as compared to conventional pasture production.
4. Embryo Transfer
This is a process where a growing calf embryo is transferred into a surrogate cow who carries the embryo to until birth.
Advantages
i. Breeders can save superior female animals for producing eggs and use other cows to carry out the pregnancy.
ii. The foetus is gender selected.
iii. A single superior female can produce embryos for more than 30 offspring a year.
iv. Embryos can be frozen and preserved indefinitely.
v. Embryos can be shipped anywhere in the world.
vi. The genetic turnaround is immediate.
Disadvantages
i. It is expensive.
ii. There are few qualified technical personnel to carry out the procedure.
5. Computer based herd health management programmes
This is the use of computer software and programs for the day to day running of a farm.
Advantages
i. It minimises paper work and therefore saves costs.
ii. It provides a quickest turnaround time for analysis of data and reporting back to the farmer.
iii. It gives early warnings of impending deviations of production performance from the set targets.
Disadvantages
i. It is expensive to install and requires a farmer to own a computer.
ii. It requires training on how to use the software
Dr Francis Njonge is the Dean, School of Natural Resources and Animal Sciences (SONRAS) in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization
with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations,
television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group
is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in
matters of national and international interest.
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