The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KARLO) has introduced a new high-yielding cow as part of the government’s efforts to boost local milk production.
The new “super breed” dairy cow is a hybrid of the high-yielding Friesian and the hardy Sahiwal, a breed known for its resistance to disease and ability to thrive in tough conditions.
“The result is a ‘super breed’ expected to give farmers more milk and reduce losses caused by animal illnesses,” Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said.
The Friesian breed is known for its massive milk production, docile temperament, strong udders, efficient feed conversion, and adaptability, while Sahiwal is known for its hardiness, heat tolerance, and dual-purpose use.
The breed combination is expected to help farmers produce more milk while surviving the challenges that have long plagued the local dairy sector.
Currently, most cows produce 7 to 30 liters of milk daily with only a few reporting up to 40 litres daily production.
According to experts, while a quality breed is the main step to high milk production, good nutrition also plays a major role. Well-fed cows can produce 50 percent more milk than those on basic diets.
Alex Gathii, a dairy production expert says that a cow has proper nutrition when it is fed with proteins, energy, minerals, vitamins, fibre, and water.
These nutrients can be obtained from forages such as maize stalk, sorghum, Napier grass, and silage, as well as concentrates like grains and seeds.
“In total, a lactating cow should consume dry matter equivalent to at least 3 percent of its body weight. For instance, if the cow weighs 600kg then its total feed should amount to at least 18kg of dry matter per day.” Says Gathii.
He adds that good forages for dairy cows include grasses such as Kikuyu and Napier, Boma Rhodes, lucerne hay, Brachalia, sweet potato vines, desmodium, sorghum, and maize, among others.
On the other hand, good concentrates for dairy cows are dairy meal, maize germ, wheat bran, undiluted molasses, and seed cakes.
KALRO breeding
Kalro breeds nucleus at national centres. In livestock breeding, a nucleus is a group of elite, high-quality animals, typically female, with superior genetic traits, maintained separately for breeding.
They are a source of breeding stock to enhance productivity, disease resistance, and other desirable characteristics.
These animals, often on specialised farms or units, are the foundation for improving the genetic makeup of the commercial herd.
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