ASSESSMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE HUSBANDRY PRACTICES MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS HANDLING, PROCESSING AND MARKETING, AND EVALUATION OF MILK YIELD AND COMPOSITION OF LOCAL AND CROSSBRED COWS IN RURAL MILK PRODUCTION SYSTEM, FOGERA DISTRICT, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The major objectives of this study was to assess dairy cattle husbandry practices, milk and milk products handling, processing, marketing, and evaluation of milk yield and composition of local and crossbred cows in rural milk production system, Fogera District of South Gondar Zone. In the study area very little works has been done to characterize and document the existing dairy cattle production systems, marketing conditions, milk yield and milk quality analyses and of major production constraints. For this study six rural milk production potential kebeles were selected, and a total of 120 dairy cattle owners were purposively selected. Data was collected through interviews using semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, field visit; monitoring and milk laboratory analysis supported with secondary information from different sources. Data was analyzed using SPSS, version 20 software and reported using descriptive statistics. Indices were used to present ranking. Majority of dairy cattle owners were following mixed crop-livestock farming system. The mean cattle holding per household was 7.52. The reason for keeping dairy cattle was for generating income, for home consumption and as a means of draught power, respectively. The major feed resource for dairy animal were natural pasture, hay, crop residues, improved forage, agro- industrial by-product and non-conventional feedstuffs. The main sources of water were rivers; pond and hand dig well during dry and wet seasons. Among the major dairy cattle diseases, mastitis, foot and mouth disease, black leg and trypanosomiyasis were a serious problem. The overall mean daily milk yield was 1.75 ± 0.67 and 6.49±0.65 Litter/day/cow for indigenous and exotic breed, respectively. The average age at first mating for local and crossbred heifers were 43.8±0.2 and 29.3±0.3 months, respectively. The average lactation length for local and crossbred dairy cows was 7.6 ± 0.04 and 9.0±0.6 months, respectively. The average age at first calving for local and crossbreds in the study area were; 53.8±0.2 and 38.4±0.5 months, respectively. The average calving interval for both local and crossbreds in the area were; 16.7±0.1 and 14.3±0.8 months, respectively. Gourd, clay pot and plastic were the major containers used for milking, churning and storing of milk. Major constraints for dairy production were feed shortage, prevalence of disease; inadequate veterinary service and lack of land. Significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed in the total solids, solid-not-fat, fat and lactose content of whole milk samples collected from local and crossbred dairy cows. In general, chemical composition of milk samples obtained from milk producers were within the range of international standards. The study concluded that dairy cattle production management, breed, health and feed needs to be improved. Also, lack of working capital and inadequate extension and training service were some of the major reasons for poor performance of dairy cattle production. Further research should be done by implementing dairy cattle improvement strategies and its improvement progress. Key words: Dairy, marketing, milk and milk products, milk composition, processing, production system