John Chege has three 50 by 100ft plots where he keeps 100 cows, getting over 400 litres from 20.

Dressed in a black shirt and a matching trouser, the middle-aged man was all ears as the farmer in Kiambu County took him through the dos and don’ts when feeding cows.

“Don’t think that if you overfeed cows, they will produce more milk. Instead, they will even produce less,” farmer John Chege, 35, told his guest Zozo Felicien, a Congolese.

“Excess feeding interferes with the animal’s digestion process, and thus the overall production. The animals should be given enough time to chew the cud,” added Chege, whose farm is in Githunguri, in the agricultural rich Kiambu County.

The Congolese, who is the national coordinator for Action Sociale Et D’organisation Paysanne, one of the biggest grassroots farmer organisations in Congo, had travelled to the farm for tips on dairy farming, especially on small pieces of land, and running a dairy cooperative society.

Chege, who has been farming for 15 years having started with a few animals, keeps dozens of cows on three different 50 by 100 plots.

And that is what marvelled Zozo, who got to learn about the farmer’s Riverbanks Farm through a Kenyan friend.

On the first farm, Chege has about 40 heifers aged from three to 18 months. His second farm also measuring 50 by 100ft hosts a similar number of cows, calves and heifers. The third farm hosts about 20 animals and his house.

HYGENE IS SUPREME

Apart from the farm where he has built his residential house, the other farms are divided into two portions with a walkway of roughly 7 feet in between.

Each sleeps in a space of about 5 by 8 feet with a general feeding and watering space on the opposite side. Once they are through with feeding, they simply turn around and get into their sleeping quarters.

On all the farms, there are other structures, some holding goats, sheep and chicken, as well as staff houses and feeds’ stores.

Having such a large number of animals in a small enclosure, one would expect Chege is assailed by foul-smelling animal waste. “Cleanliness is paramount. I have full-time employees who clean the cows and the sheds regularly. The waste is then channelled to the bio-digester for biogas production.”

Chege insisted that a cow only needs to eat the equivalent of two 10-litre basketfuls of feeds, that is about 20kg daily. He feeds the cows mostly on napier grass, which is sliced into pieces using a chaff cutter and mixed with wheat bran.

The cows are fed twice a day; in the morning and in the afternoon. Each feeding session lasts roughly two hours, after which the feeding area is closed to avoid over-eating.

“Anything more than that is over-feeding, which is not only costly but also reduces milk production. What cows require in plenty is water,”
And to ensure he has sufficient water supply, Chege has drilled boreholes on all his three farms.

GOOD FARMING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Zozo, who said that small farmers back home do not practice zero-grazing, was surprised that cows which are in an enclosure are capable of producing good amounts of milk.

To maximise on milk production, the cows need to save on energy. If they use lots of energy moving around, then they will not produce a lot of milk. Still, cows that move around tend to pick diseases as opposed to those that are confined,” explained Chege.

Chege’s 20 lactating cows produce around 400 litres of milk a day, with the top one offering about 30 litres daily, making him one of the largest shareholders of the Githunguri Dairy Cooperative, where he is a member.

He milks the cows three times a day and delivers the milk at the society, which buys at Sh40 ($0.40)

“I am currently servicing a loan that I pay Sh350,000 ($3,500) per month. Once I complete repaying it, I will borrow more to expand my business,” he added.

An impressed Zozo said his organisation would extend an invite to Chege, sometime in August, so that he can teach and motivate farmers in Congo.

Felix Opinya, a livestock expert at Egerton University, says that such an intensive kind of farming poses risks when a disease strikes.

“Due to the close confinement, diseases can spread fast and if not properly managed can wipe out the entire stock,” he says, adding the system has no problem as long as a farmer engages in good management practices.

This Fulani Herdsmen no go learn Now

With 400 litres per day, the guy is making =N=40,000k per day translating to =N=1.2m per month, not too bad though we dont have figure for his monthly expenses. Agric is the way !

@Willie2015, who sells a litre of milk for N100? In another thread someone was offering it for N500!

Pavore9:
@Willie2015, who sells a litre of milk for N100? In another thread someone was offering it for N500!

Oh my goodness!!!! Is that the price of a litre of fresh milk
I sincerely believe in that space is not an impediment , human beings are.

This is good thread

With that kind of money he makes, he should buy cow mattresses to avoid dumb heifer syndrome. Comfort is what dairy cows desire.

ThunderingHooves:

Oh my goodness!!!! Is that the price of a litre of fresh milk
I sincerely believe in that space is not an impediment , human beings are.

Our minds have been shaped into believing that anything cow, is the exclusive of the North. When the South go into dairy farming and adopt zero grazing, milk will be transported in tankers as it is done in Kenya. The North choose to stick to their nomadic style which is a total economic waste because as the cows roams they tend to produce less milk.

ThunderingHooves:
With that kind of money he makes, he should buy cow mattresses to avoid dumb heifer syndrome. Comfort is what dairy cows desire.

A lot of their farmers are now utilizing the mattresses in addition to having music being played in their shed as it is said that playing relaxing tunes help the cows to relax to produce more milk!

Pavore9:


Our minds have been shaped into believing that anything cow, is the exclusive of the North. When the South go into dairy farming and adopt zero grazing, milk will be transported in tankers as it is done in Kenya. The North choose to stick to their nomadic style which is a total economic waste because as the cows roams they tend to produce less milk.

How sad. Nigerians deserve fresh milk just like everyone else. Away with the powdered stuff i have been hearing of. All is not lost however, as change is the only constant in life.

Anyone can own a cow!!!!! I suspect Holstein Friesians or any other exotic breed can struggle in most parts of Nigeria, but i think Jerseys or a high yielding cross with one, might be the key to success.

Pavore9:
@Willie2015, who sells a litre of milk for N100? In another thread someone was offering it for N500!

Thats the price of purchase from fulani herdsmen

Willie2015:


Thats the price of purchase from fulani herdsmen

lf they are producing in volumes one could set up a plant to have it pasteurized and packed in 500ml sachet like that of pure water.

Pavore9:
lf they are producing in volumes one could set up a plant to have it pasteurized and packed in 500ml sachet like that of pure water.

Milk collection centre is close to these settlements, they pick up all supply

Willie2015:


Milk collection centre is close to these settlements, they pick up all supply

What is the average daily milk production of a cow and who are those that collect them?

Pavore9:
What is the average daily milk production of a cow and who are those that collect them?

WAMCO
Dont have access to current information but as at April 2013, the highest milk collected was 7,000 litres per day (which should include the one from Shonga in Kwara. See below extract from one of the articles on the net in 2012

Steetskamp told BusinessDay that it was the policy of FrieslandCampina WAMCO to increase local content to get more balance between imports and local sourcing for reasons of exchange rate and world market prices, explaining that "we all know that the naira/dollar rate is vulnerable and if we import too much and we have to pay in dollars, the naira rate could affect our result and, therefore we rather buy locally in naira. That is one reason.

"The second reason is that if we import dairy raw materials then you are depending on the world market prices, and they are set by supply and demand. If demand in Brazil, China or Oceania goes up and the supply goes down, the price goes up. As a matter of fact, we do a lot of local sourcing. Most of the ingredients, all the palm oil, all the cocoa powder are all sourced locally. The only thing we cannot source locally yet to the extent that we want is dairy raw materials. Therefore, we started this dairy development programme, which means that we oblige ourselves to take all the local milk that there is and even more."

The Fulani farmers, as they are now, do not have the infrastructural muscle to do efficient supply to the company, and as such, the company is empowering them for this business operation. How?

According to Steetskamp, "what we do is that we build a milk collection centre regionally. So, we have built one now in Oyo State, which is made up of milk collection centre and cooling equipment. There we collect milk produced by small-scale farmers; they come with buckets of 10 litres everyday and they deliver the milk. First of all, we gather the milk into a quantity of a 1000 litres so that we can transport it efficiently.

"Secondly, we cool it down. We now have three milk trucks driving around the country to collect the milk at the milk collection centres at five degrees. Also, we have a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture, which supports farmers' education and organisations. So, logistically we collect the milk, we cool it down and we pay the farmers every week.


"We support them in their production by giving them know-how, teaching them hygiene and teaching them how to milk the cow and how to get the highest production from the cow."

Steetskamp said his company was currently operating the project at a loss, but explained: "It costs more now than it should. The landing cost of a litre of milk when we import it is about N70-N80. Currently, we pay up to N90 and we even subsidise above N90 for some farms. So, currently we are paying more than when we were importing it, but that is just to get it started. We are happy to subsidise it just to get the system started, but eventually it would go down."

- See more at: http://www.ilorin.info/fullnews.php?id=2256#sthash.wK8RpDfM.dpuf

@Willie2015, even as at 2013, the 7,000 litres is so paltry! Kenya annual production is about 5 billion litres, reason why Dangote is setting up factory in Kenya to process fresh milk to powdered and EXPORT to Nigeria!

Pavore9:
@Willie2015, even as at 2013, the 7,000 litres is so paltry! Kenya annual production is about 5 billion litres, reason why Dangote is setting up factory in Kenya to process fresh milk to powdered and EXPORT to Nigeria!

I believe this is also not wise by Dangote. He should look to produce milk in Nigeria and relieve pressure on the Naira occasioned by imports. Maybe i need to be enlightened on his motive.

@Willie2015 or anyone else, what is the average or typical milk production PER COW in Nigeria?

ThunderingHooves:

I believe this is also not wise by Dangote. He should look to produce milk in Nigeria and relieve pressure on the Naira occasioned by imports. Maybe i need to be enlightened on his motive.

@Willie2015 or anyone else, what is the average or typical milk production PER COW in Nigeria?

Average milk yield per female cow is 1 litre per day which is poor when you compare with the 30 litres per day in the article below.

Govt/Dangote need to intervene with free artificial insemination and force Fulani/Individual Investor to adopt zero grazing. Thats the way forward.

Pavore9:
@Willie2015, who sells a litre of milk for N100? In another thread someone was offering it for N500!

How many plots does he use to plant the Napier grass (elephant grass) or does he buy? Thanks

Willie2015:


Average milk yield per female cow is 1 litre per day which is poor when you compare with the 30 litres per day in the article below.

Govt/Dangote need to intervene with free artificial insemination and force Fulani/Individual Investor to adopt zero grazing. Thats the way forward.

1 litre per cow per day is too little. Something very urgent needs to be done. Personally i think entrepreneurs should seize this opportunity and do something. Govts can act as catalysts, but not the main driver.
Anything less than 15 litres from a lactating cow per day is poor. There are many other breeds that can outdo fulani cow, and give more and better meat.

Business men, see opportunity.

I've always had my mind set on dairy, in a very near future I'm gonna set up the largest dairy farm Nigerians have ever seen

Hmmmm

100 cows in three plots of land plus residential building and gets 400 liters of milk daily. That shows nothing is impossible.

MrKong:
I've always had my mind set on dairy, in a very near future I'm gonna set up the largest dairy farm Nigerians have ever seen

You must have had access into my diary.

Double post

I'm fully ready to go into this business but I need more information, maybe I'd travel to Kenya to understudy their system there. I don't even know how to start.

redcap:
I'm fully ready to go into this business but I need more information, maybe I'd travel to Kenya to understudy their system there. I don't even know how to start.

First get an an idea of the breeds we have locally and their productivity, should you want to get involved with artificial insemination. If you need to visit a dairy farm in Kenya, get in touch with them and request for a month's understudy and they will let you know what in entails or there is a well known farm in the Eldoret region that offers a 5 day practical training course in dairy farming and it costs $150. Check out the link for details.

http://graduatefarmer.co.ke/practical-dairy-training-program/

Pavore9:


First get an an idea of the breeds we have locally and their productivity, should you want to get involved with artificial insemination. If you need to visit a dairy farm in Kenya, get in touch with them and request for a month's understudy and they will let you know what in entails or there is a well known farm in the Eldoret region that offers a 5 day practical training course in dairy farming and it costs $150. Check out the link for details.

http://graduatefarmer.co.ke/practical-dairy-training-program/

Valuable info you got there. I think it's a good way to start. Thx

redcap:
I'm fully ready to go into this business but I need more information, maybe I'd travel to Kenya to understudy their system there. I don't even know how to start.

We have dairy farms in Nigeria, there is Nagari Farm in Keffi that boast of 7000 herds of Hostein cattles. The coy may also be involved in Art Insemination with our local breeds. I dont know whether they offer training but you may visit and talk with them of the possibility of staying with them to learn for a short period.

Willie2015:


We have dairy farms in Nigeria, there is Nagari Farm in Keffi that boast of 7000 herds of Hostein cattles. The coy may also be involved in Art Insemination with our local breeds. I dont know whether they offer training but you may visit and talk with them of the possibility of staying with them to learn for a short period.

If they offer training that will be the best for him.

Willie2015:

Thats the price of purchase from fulani herdsmen

The one you buy at 100 have been obviously adultrated.