Observations on the Dry Season Performance of Peri-Urban Smallholder Dairy Cattle Supplemented with Urea-Molasses-Mineral ­Blocks and Farm Formulated Concentrate

Abstract

Two trials were carried out to investigate the suitability of two supplements, formulated concentrate (FC) and urea-molasses-mineral-blocks (UMMB) for incorporation in dry season dairy cattle feeding in smallholder farms of peri­urban Morogoro. Thirty eight smallholder farms, keeping a total  of 103 milking cows  were  randomly  selected  and  allocated  to  Treatments  and Control groups. In Trial 1, 37  cows were  supplemented  with  0.8  kg  FC per litre of milk produced and 28 cows in control  whereas  in  Trial  2,  18  cows were supplemented with 2 kg UMMB per day and 20 cows in control. The concentrate and blocks were taken to the farms after successful on-station trial for acceptability and performance by dairy cows. In both trials control animals received on average O.6 kg maize bran (MB) per litre of milk produced. Experimental supplements were fed in postpartum for 90 days. Animals were (as far as possible) balanced for previous lactation yields (4 - 12 L d-1 ) , number of previous parturitions (2-4), and condition  scores  (2-3.5). Farmers were appealed to feed their animals at the established rate for easy management and simplicity. The performance of the cows was evaluated for milk yield, body weight, body condition score (BCS ).  Reproductive performance was evaluated by rectal palpation and milk progesterone concentrations. Proximate analyses of the major feeds were carried out. Supplementation with FC increased milk yield by 1.6 L/ d/ cow, improved reproductive efficiency and BCS.  The difference between treatment and control groups on these parameters was not significant (P > 0.05). Supplementation with UMMB significantly increased daily milk yield by 1.5 L/d and average weight of cows by 0.23 kg/d (P< 0.05). The increase in milk yield due to the provision of the supplements was mainly explained by an increased intake of energy and nitrogen. Taking the production costs into account, on-farm supplementation with the FC and UMMB is cost effective if milk yields increase respectively by 1.0 and 0.7 L/d (break even increases) during the dry season