Previous research in dairy farming established the benefits of weighing cattle to farmers and how they influence farm decisions to help improve the productivity and efficiency of their cattle herd. And it is not benefitting the farmers alone.
The latest released figures indicate that Kenya’s dairy industry now supports approximately 1.8 million total jobs, accounting for about 15% of the country’s total agricultural sector’s gross domestic product (GDP).
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That is without mentioning its contribution to fighting hunger and malnutrition by improving health and food security.
Currently, the government is actively striving to boost dairy productivity to a target of 12 billion liters annually from the estimated production of 5.2 billion liters of milk per year, as recorded in 2023.
But even with the 2023-2033 blueprint document, which was released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and aimed at doubling milk production in the country, the Kenyan dairy farmers cannot maximize the output of the over 5.1 million heard of dairy cattle if they continue to ignore the weights of their cows in all its developmental stages from birth.
Experts say weighing cattle has several benefits, from boosting productivity, health, and general wellness, but the local dairy farmers, for a long time, have not been keen on monitoring their cattle weights for successful dairy farming operations.
“If you are keeping dairy cows, weighing cattle is an important management tool to grow better cattle and gain efficiency in your herd,” Munyeria Kaguamba, a Cattle Scales Expert with Weighing Scales Kenya, starts, expounding, “A farmer can use the weight data collected after weighing one’s cows to estimate feed quantities, cattle weight gain (or loss), pharmaceutical dosages and to check on nutrition during pregnancy.”
According to Mr. Munyeria, who says the uptake of livestock scales amongst most dairy farmers in Kenya is below the country’s vision level, the absence of weighing scales on dairy farms means putting your business at risk, and for example, when a farmer is administering veterinary treatments overdosing may occur, and the animals might die.
When farmers weigh their cattle regularly, they can know if the dairy animals are meeting their daily live-weight gain targets to influence factors such as ration formulation, helps to identify any underlying health issues at a very early stage, and when choosing the right animals to sell or slaughter upon maturity, he adds.
In Kenya, the modern automatic weigh scale systems for weighing cows cost Ksh250,000, but there are cheaper portable livestock weighing scales that also provide accurate data on the body mass of cattle, like the technologically advanced ones.
Mr. Munyeria says he is free for consultations on livestock weighing scales at 0728 753807.
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