Livestock farming refers to the keeping of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry and bees. We shall only look at the following:
This is the keeping of livestock like cattle and goats for milk production. Milk is then processed into milk products like cheese, butter, cream, ghee and milk powder.
Here is an example of a Kenyan Dairy Farm
Below is an image showing the livestock used for dairy farming.
Dairy cattle do well in the Kenyan Highlands where temperatures are cool. Large scale dairy farming in Kenya is practised around Molo, Londiani, Naivasha, Limuru, Kitale, Eldoret and Kipkelion.
The common breeds of animals kept are: Fresian, Jersey, Ayrshire and Guernsey. The milk produced is sold to the creameries in the country.
Milk processing plants are located in areas where milk is produced. These factories are located in Bungoma, Eldoret, Kitale, Nakuru, Nairobi, Mombasa, Nanyuki, Naivasha, Sotik, Mariakani and Molo.
Dairy goats are kept in drier areas where dairy cattle cannot survive.
a) Dairy farming provides jobs for people living in the farming areas. This helps to boost businesses in the area.
b) Dairy farming encourages the development of facilities like factories, roads, police stations and research stations in the area.
c) Milk products are sold to other countries to earn the country foreign exchange.
d) Dairy farming leads to the establishment of related industries like milk processing creameries.
e) Hides and skins are used to make leather products such as belts, shoes and handbags.
f) Dairy farming is a source of income to the farmers and those working in related industries.
g) Animal waste like cow dung is used as manure in the farms and for production ogf biogas.
h) It leads to the development of transport networks in the farming areas.
i) and hooves from dairy animals are used to make things like buttons, glue and ornaments.
j) The government gets revenue from taxes which farmers and dairy factories pay.
1. Changes in climate may affect animals due to lack of feeds and adequate water.
2. Changes in weather conditions cause different kinds of diseases which are common during warm and humid conditions.
3. Livestock vaccines, animal sprays, animal feeds and medicines are very expensive.
4. Means of transport is not well developed in livestock farming areas. This means that the farmers may not be able to deliver milk to the factories on time and millk often goes bad.
5. In many rural areas in Kenya where dairy farming is practised, there is no electricity to refrigerate milk.
6. Poor management of dairy cooperatives lead to delayed payments to farmers. This kills the farmers's morale, hence, reduced production.
Beef farming is the keeping of cattle for meat production. In Kenya, beef farming is mainly practised on large modern farms called ranches.
A ranch is a large livestock farm. It is mainly used for rearing beef cattle and modern methods of management and breeding animals are used.
In Kenya, ranches are mainly located in the drier parts where commercial crop farming or dairy farming cannot do well. Modern ranches havem boreholes to supply water for the animals.
During the dry season, the grazing land is fenced into smaller sections called paddocks. This allows one paddock to be used at a time.
Farmers use artificial insemination (AI) to improve the quality of their animals. Some farmers practise cross breeding. This is where higher quality bulls breed with local animals to produce higher quality animals. Veterinary services and advice on how to improve the quality of animals and farming practices are available. The price of each animal is determined by its live weight.
In Kenya, modern cattle ranches are found in Laikipia, around Naivasha and in large areas of Kajiado and Machakos regions. Beef farmers in these areas supply animals to the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) at Athi River and other slaughter houses.
Some animals are exported alive through the port of Mombasa and sold mainly to Arabia and other countries in the Middle East. The main breeds of cattle kept on the ranches are the Ankole, Zebu and Boran. Many of them have been cross-bred with imported breeds to improve the quality of meat they produce.
Beef farming in Tanzania
In Tanzania, beef farming is practised both on small and large scale. The largest beef ranches are owned by the government and are managed by the National Agricultural Company Limited.
Today, the main beef ranches are found around Kongwa; in Dodoma District and parts of Central Tanzania. Some are found on them leeward slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro where rainfall is not enough for crop farming. The meat produced is sold to large towns like Dar- es-Salaam, Tanga, Dodoma and Mwanza. Some is exported to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran.
The main breeds of cattle found on the ranches are the Ankole, Zebu and Boran. Many of them have been cross-bred with imported breeds to improve the quality of meat produced.
a) Livestock are slaughtered for meat which is a good source of protein in the diet.
b) Beef cattle are sold to earn the farmers money to pay for their needs. This improves their standard of living.
c) Beef farming provides jobs for people living in the farming areas. This helps to boost businesses in the area.
d) Beef farming encourages the development of facilities like factories, roads, police stations and research stations in the area.
e) Animals are exported to earn countries foreign exchange.
f) Beef farming leads to the establishment of related industries like meat canning, leather industry, animal feeds industry and manufacture of curios from bones and horns.
a) Changes in climate may cause drought which leads to death of a large number of animals due to lack of pasture and water.
b) Too much rain sometimes causes fl ooding in livestock farming areas. This may lead to loss of some animals. During this period too, many animal are affected by different kinds of diseases like Anthrax, Foot and Mouth disease, Rinderpest and East Coast Fever.
c) Some ranching areas have tsetse fl ies which cause Nagana. This disease can only be controlled by clearing bushes and by killing wild animals that are already infected. Pests can be controlled by either giving vaccinations to livestock or by using cattle dips and spraying the animals.
d) Means of transport is not well developed in livestock farming areas. This forces farmers to walk with their animals to the markets and to slaughter-houses. This makes them lose a lot of weight. This is not good for farmers as the price for each animal is based on its live weight.
