DAIRY AND PIG FARM TOUR

Any farmer interested in dairy farming and animal rearing should join us as we hold our end of year agro-tourism. Agritourism is about touring farms where small scale farmers and largescale farmers are getting it right. This December we have organized to visit Kefa Farm situated in Makuyu Muranga County. Many are a times, that we as farmers have “tried” dairy farming without the right knowledge or information of what we are supposed to do to make the best returns. Almost every home in in rural area in Kenya owns a cow, but how much does it give you? Are you a slave of your own cow?

Many will concur with me that most of the times we feed these cows and get almost nothing out of them. A time has come when we no longer have to view owning cows as a source of prestige and respect but make money out of them.

Therefore, Farm expose in conjunction with Oxfarm Organic and Farmars Trends have decided to treat our farmers with the best tour of the year. Interested people are required to pay 2500 before 3rd of December 2017. However, those with their own means of transport are required to pay 2,000. This Agritour day comes with a treat of Nyama choma, writing materials, farming brochures and many more. Interested parties are required to be in Nairobi town on or before 7:30 am on that material day. Those who will be training us have a lot lined for us and they request interested people to be at the farm before 9:00 because they intend to start early and finish early.

ABOUT THE FARM

Kimani, a farmer, owns Kefa Farm which sits on 1.25 acres and you will simply pass while not noticing it because it lies in good harmony with the other farms dry, somewhat abandoned. However, this farm produces more than 1400 liters of milk daily. He owns more than 200 zero–grazed cows where 60 are lactating some produce between thirty five and forty five liters daily.

The farm is situated on a slope ideal for waste disposal and conjointly sells heifers and carries out embryo transfers. It has gained name as a supply of pedigree cows and a ground for coaching farmers on dairy farm management. Situated during a semi–arid space of Makuyu in Murang’a County wherever temperatures average 21.7°C and receives 836mm of downfall annually, the farm is showing new opportunities within the preponderantly rain–fed agricultural zone. Kimani credits its existence to the 2007/2008 post-election turmoil that saw several displaced individuals settled within the region pushing up demand for milk.

Then the farm was solely with one cow and an employee. The steady rise in demand for milk created Maine devise ways that boosted the farm. Kimani notes that he spent KSh 90,000 on building a cow barn for 5 animals and acquired 2 Holstein cows at KSh 40,000 each. Since then, he has never looked back.

His heard grew to eighty-two in 2014, however he had to cut back the quantity to sixty-four because of restricted house and deficiency of feeds. The farm sank its own borehole and expanded by getting an added adjacent acre and another four acres wherever heifers are bred. He conjointly leases alternative farms to grow fodder.

Kimani improved his skills in animal care, health and farm management by attending agricultural trainings, visiting alternative farms, researching and came up with a program to develop the abilities of his ten employees. In addition to the sixty-four cows, the farm has over 120 pigs and chicken.

The farm has four departments every headed by completely different persons. These are stores, sales, production and milking. Every head features a full mandate to rent casuals and build alternative choices. They report daily to Kimani by filing updates to a central system wherever all managers will access the knowledge. For example, the shop head will caution close at hand shortage of feeds or the milking head will send alert on an exact animal noted for declining production.

The animals are hosted on half-acre, with the cowsheds divided into sections that embrace steamers, milking, maternity and calves of between zero and 3 months and another for winnowers aged six months. The winnowers are taken away of the most farm to a different within the neighborhood wherever patrons simply access them. At the so much finish is associate degree isolation section for the sick animals.

Kefa Farm conjointly keeps bulls for slaughter, with the quantity presently standing at twenty-five animals of between one and 3 years. They take concerning one year to mature deliberation between 800 and 1,000kg. One body yields between 650 to 700kg of meat every going for Sh320. Kimani, currently a successful dairy farm conversant, receives over ten calls daily from farmers across the country together with from Kisii, Kiambu, Meru and Kericho.

He conjointly follows up his callers and people who visit his farm permitting them to consult him frequently. Kenyans not got to mystify dairying by attending to Israel for lessons. Israel is here at Kefa Farm

 

NOTE: “Seeing is believing” We could tell you more but we know that you are eager to come and share your views with us as we all learn on how to become better dairy, chicken and pig farmers. Tell a friend to tell a friend.