How to start a dairy farm in Kenya
The basics to successful dairy production are: Genetics -Breed, Nutrition & Economics.A pedigree animal is one that has been well bred and has the capacity to produce maximum recorded yield of the bull’s dam/mother. The common ones in Kenya range from 25 to 60 litres of milk yield per day. The yields will be realized through proper nutrition and health.The other key aspects of your project will be;-
i) Proper plan on nutrition
a) Source of forage, type and availability.
b) Source of concentrates, type and availability.
c) Mineral supplementation:- type and administration procedure.
ii) Marketing of your produce, Milk.
✓Is your farm near a cooperative collection centre?
✓What are the strengths/ reliability of your marketing channel? ie. Cooperative or Retail?
– We advise you to consider a cooperative because it is more reliable. You will be guaranteed of a market for your produce and the prices are better and guaranteed. Read more on dairy cooperatives like Githunguri Dairy Cooperative (Fresha). To learn more, click here.
iii) Labour
✓You will need at least one attendant to your farm.
✓You also need a veterinarian near you for health consultancy.
iv) Dairy cattle housing/ Barn
✓You need to invest in an economical form of housing for health and safety of your livestock.
✓There are choices to this and you need to adopt a proper plan. Consult an Animal Production Specialist.
v) Proper Record Keeping
A good record should capture all the cow’s data. It’s components should include;
– Important milestones like last date of calving among others
– Tracking milk yield (morning, midday and evening production)
– Tracking milk sales
– Tracking home & calf consumption
– Tracking amounts of dairymeal/concentrates used every day
– Heath record (For all treatment on the animal and AI)
– Executive Summary of all yields for every month.
Economics:-Based on the current milk prices (Ksh. 38/- per litre), a cow producing an average of 25 litres per day during the lactation period will give a minimum gross income of Ksh. 25,000/- per month. The average cost of production is Ksh. 27/- per litre of dairy milk. This translates into a net profit of Ksh. 7,500 per month. With a herd size of 2 each costing a maximum of Ksh. 150,000 + Misc costs, Your investment will take a maximum of 24 months to Break-even.
You can get a reprintable file and we advise you to reproduce enough on a good type of copy paper for individual animals and an extra copy for cumulative records of the farm. In so doing, you will be able to analyse all the aspects of your herd. It will also help you in effective decision making. Read more on how to make your dairy investment a success, click here.
