Mary Muhatia feed her cows. [Duncan Ocholla, Standard]

Mary Muhatia supplies over 800 litres of milk daily to the community.

Before she ventured into dairy farming in 2003, she dreamed of being among the leading dairy farmers in Western region but her main challenge was finance.

To actualise her dream, she used some of her savings to start the zero grazing unit.

Her major challenge has been controlling disease. “There was a time anthrax attacked the cows. I lost five of them.”

She currently has 53 cows of Ayrshire and Fresian breed. Before milking, the animal is called by name, then its udders massaged until it shows signs of cooling its nerves and readiness to produce milk. “Twice a day, I use milk machines to ensure all the milk is drained from the udder,” she said.

She is usually up by two in the morning to prepare warm water and the machines for milking. Between four and six in the morning is milking time. My high milker offers me 40 litres while the others give between 30 and 35 litres,” she said.

She supplies the milk to Kakamega dairy at between Sh35 and Sh40 per litre. Wholesale price is Sh50 and to other farmers is Sh60 per litre.

In 2012, her cows emerged the overall winner at the annual Kakamega Agricultural show. In 2015/2016, she also emerged as the top milk supplier. Thanks to her expertise in dairy keeping, her homestead is a beehive of activity as farmers come to get tips of dairy keeping and management, preservation and storage of feeds. To improve her skills in animal care, she attends agricultural trainings and visits other advanced farmers.

Farm management

Her son, Michael Muhatia who helps in managing the farm, says the animals are hosted on one acre with the cowsheds divided into sections that include steamers, milking, maternity and calves of between zero and three months and another for winnowers aged six months.

“The winnowers are moved out of the main farm to another where buyers can easily access them. At the far end is an isolation section for sick animals. Each animal occupies its own shed complete with a mat covering the entire floor.” Every animal has either a name, tag, or file to record production. Calves are named on delivery.

Cows on maternity are not locked. “They need space to move freely since they are special and need to be handled with extra care.  We also have rubber mattresses on which they sleep on to offer required comfort, warmth and make them relax, which improves milk production and keep diseases like mastitis away,” he said.

Feeding programme

They use qualified livestock extension officers to vaccinate the animals, spray them every Saturday and clean the cowshed twice a day to make sure teats are not infected with mastitis or other diseases.

“We have employed five people who help in manning the farm and ensure the animals are fed at the correct time. We feed them on silage, boma rock, Lausanne, hay, nappier grass, dairy meal, wheat bran and maize jar. For the dairy we always ensure they are given Mack lick supa, vital maziwa and dairy meal,” he said adding that calves are given dry salt and vital.

Cost management

To manage costs, they grow their own nappier grass on a four-acre farm, and have invested in water harvesting tanks. She has also converted cow dung to produce bio gas which they use for cooking. They also make extra money by selling manure. Mrs Muhatia has also started keeping goats to supplement the dairy project. She has 14 goats of German Alpine breed and is currently milking two of them.

“Goats grow faster and can tolerate weather changes to survive for long time without water, can eat variety of forage. We also consume the milk as a family since it’s medicinal,” she added.  

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Dairy Farming;Milk;Cows