- Microbe animal feed supplement doubles milk production in 24hrs
- Bacterial solution solves aflatoxin problem in animal feed
- Tanzania dairy industry to benefit from Kenyan feed supplement
Kenyan dairy farming scientists have developed a molasses-based animal feed supplement that is capable of doubling milk production in just 24 hours.
Using naturally occurring microbes, scientists have figured a way to ‘pre-ferment’ or ‘pre-digest’ animal feed which in turn allows for the cow’s body to easily and quickly absorb nutrients and in turn produce more milk much faster.
Cows, like most other ruminant herbivores, do not have the time to properly chew their feed in the field, this could be a natural self-preservation adaptation i.e. quickly collect the feed when in a hazardous environment filled with predators and only process it later in the safety of their resting places.
Grass is stored in one of the four chambers (four stomachs) before being regurgitated for chewing later on. After that, the chewed feed then goes through the rest of the cow’s digestive system and it is at this point that the cow’s body can absorb nutrients.
However, even with the four stomachs and the elaborate absorption process, cows still lose a lot of nutrients evident in the high nutrient level of cow manure,
The Kenyan solution basically saves the cow the hustle of digestion allowing the cow to absorb much more nutrients in any one feeding period than it usually would throughout the day. In effect, the cows that are fed this pre-fermented feed supplement, are much healthier and produce a lot more milk.
”The molasses-based supplement pre-ferments animal feeds to unlock all the necessary nutrients that would otherwise find a way out of the animal through cow dung,” explains an IPS report.
The report explains that the microbes that ferment the feed are naturally occurring pro-life bacteria. As explained, the bacteria, once introduced into the feed, helps in predigesting it before the cow eats it. That way, when the feed is given to the cow, the feed is already partially digested and ready for absorption.
”The microbes predigest the animal feeds to make it easy for the animal to utilise all the nutrients, thereby increasing the body mass and milk production, but reducing the amount of the dung produced by the animal,” the report explains the simple yet cutting edge solution.
The case study here is of a Kenyan farmer, one Juma Kiboi, Manager at the Dairy Farm Rawhide Ltd based in Nakuru County, Kenya. Mr. Kiboi reports that thanks to the use of the microbes he has been able to double milk production without increasing the amount of feed he gives to the cows.
The dairy farmer attests that he first introduced the microbes that are now marketed under the brand name MolaPlus Livestock Microbes, to just 10 cows and the results were almost instant.
“In less than 24 hours, the milk volumes had improved tremendously, and further tests showed that the quality of the milk remained high,” reports the now confident and proud manager.
No increase in feed, results are instant, amount of milk doubled in just one day, sounds like a solution for the millions of Tanzanian low-milk-producing Zebu cattle.
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A bacteria solution to Tanzania low yield dairy milk industry
Even though Tanzania has one of Africa’s largest cattle herds, ranking number four on the continent, its milk industry is almost inexistent. According to the Tanzania Dairy Board (TDB) and the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development (MOLFD), as of 2015, only 3% of the national cattle herd comprises of improved dairy breeds.
Approximately 90% of milk in Tanzania is produced by low-yielding indigenous breeds which are reared in low-input grazing systems and most of this milk is only enough for domestic consumption.
However, it is these low milk-yield cows that account for 70% of the marketed milk in Tanzania, says the TDB. Due to this low milk production, most of the produce ends up consumed within the producing household, the cows simply do not produce enough milk for sale.
The Dairy Board further explains that the little milk that remains beyond household consumption is sold directly to neighbours (86%) or through small-scale milk traders and collective bulking centres (12%).
“The country has historically experienced low milk production, which has been attributed to a shortage of improved high-yielding dairy cows, poor pastures/feeds and failure to observe recommended husbandry practices,” says TDB.
All these three causes of low milk production among Tanzanian cattle can be resolved by the Kenyan microbes feed solution. These low milk-yielding indigenous breeds in Tanzania can produce more by introducing them to the feed-fermenting bacteria that will in effect double their productivity.
The microbes solution is advantageous to Tanzanian dairy farmers in many folds, most peasant farmers cannot afford the cost of highbred milk-producing cattle breeds, and so, getting access to the microbes is a cost-effective solution for Tanzania to double its milk production without changing cow breeds or increasing amount of feed.
No matter the animal feed, the MolaPlus Livestock Microbes help the cow become much more productive. When tried on very dry maize and overgrown Napier grass, the microbes still helped these low-nutrient feeds turn into high-quality fodder and enhanced livestock production.
“At the Rawhide farm, we only use the supplement in the dairy meal. And whenever we use it, we milk 28,000 litres. But if we stop even for a day, the production goes back to the factory setting, which was 14,000 litres before we started using the microbes,” the pleased Rawhide Manager reports.
The advantages of the MolaPlus Livestock Microbes do not stop at increased yield production; “Rawhide Company subjected the feeds inoculated with the microbes to a laboratory test for aflatoxins in comparison with dry feeds, and the result showed that such feeds had more suppressed aflatoxin levels as compared to dry feeds from the same stock of feeds.”
This means that the MolaPlus Livestock Microbes also help to suppress or kill or stop the growth of hazardous aflatoxins, a disease that has long haunted the Tanzanian agriculture industry. Just how much value does the Kenyan bacteria solution hold for Tanzania beyond doubling dairy production? Consider this local media report; “…the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in 2016 indicates that Tanzania is losing over $264 million due to aflatoxins.”
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Tanzania dairy industry snapshot
- Tanzania has the 4th largest cattle herd in Africa – following Ethiopia, Sudan & Chad.
- 31 million cattle – kept for meat, milk, savings and draught power.
- Cattle population is concentrated in the lakes area, central Tanzania and the southern highlands.
- 99% of cattle are indigenous breeds. Improved dairy cattle are found primarily in the northern and southern highlands.
- Gross production value of cow milk in 2016 was US $196 million (85% total livestock value and 2% total agricultural value).
