Nyokabi, Ndungu S;
Luning, Pieternel A;
Phelan, Jody Emile;
Creemers, Jos;
Lukuyu, Ben;
Bebe, Bockline Omedo;
Oosting, Simon J;
(2022)
Intra-annual variation in feed and milk composition in smallholder dairy farms in Kenya.
NJAS: Impact in Agricultural and Life Sciences
, 94
(1)
pp. 137-155.
10.1080/27685241.2022.2135391.
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Abstract
This longitudinal study explored intra-annual variation in feed availability and the chemical composition of milk and feed resources at smallholder dairy farms in Nakuru county, Kenya. Feed and milk samples were collected for a full year, every last week of the month, from 43 purposively selected farms. Feed and milk samples were analysed for nutritional composition using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and Ekomilk milk analyser, respectively. The main basal feeds were indigenous grasses, Napier grass, maize and bean stover and maize silage, which farmers supplemented with purchased commercial concentrates and/or purchased or homemade total mixed rations (TMR). Commercial concentrates had the highest crude protein (CP) content (17.4 ± 3.9)% dry matter (DM), while maize stover had the lowest (8.7 ± 3.3% DM). All the feeds had low metabolisable energy (ME) that ranged from 7.0 ± 0.8 (MJ/kg DM) megajoules per kilogram of dry matter (MJ/kg DM) for maize stover to 8.9 ± 0.8 for dairy meal. Only grasses showed significant seasonal variation in CP and NDF (P > 0.00). Milk physicochemical composition was within the range stipulated by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). Milk physicochemical composition showed negligible seasonal variations to significantly affect milk processing, which suggests that farmers can cope with feed scarcity. Nevertheless, seasonal feed availability is a persistent challenge in smallholder dairy farms. There is a need to ensure sufficient feed availability throughout the year in smallholder dairy farms through feed conservation, feeding management and ration preparation to enable consistent milk production and physicochemical composition.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Intra-annual variation in feed and milk composition in smallholder dairy farms in Kenya |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/27685241.2022.2135391 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/27685241.2022.2135391 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Feed evaluation, milk quality, NIRS, ruminant nutrition, seasonal availability, organic matter digestibility |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > UCL Institute for Global Prosperity UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10158117 |
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