Summary

The project purpose was to determine the feasibility of producing and conserving sufficient biomass of high quality forage to maintain milk yields and fertility in small-holder dairy cows during the dry season.
The results showed that:

Forage sorghum and pennisetums can be intercropped with lablab (dolichos bean) or cow pea to produce up to 8 tons dry matter per hectare on sandy soil under formal experimental conditions and up to 4 tons dry matter per hectare under farming conditions. This is an average yield over three seasons, which included a severe drought.

With the inclusion of legume, the protein content of the harvested forage averages 11.5% crude protein with an ME value of 9.2MJ/kg dry matter; given sufficient mass, this meets the nutrient requirements for maintenance and 5 litres of milk in a cross-bred dairy cow.

The forage can be successfully ensiled in quantities of up to 15 kg in reject fertiliser bags or recycled garbage bags using a hand or petrol driven chopper and manual compression.

Over two good seasons it was found that enough bags were produced on farm (ranging from 130 to 400 bags over forty farms) to feed two cows one bag a day each for the last two months of the dry season, i.e. two months before calving. This allowed the cows to calve in good condition (average body condition score 2.5) and to return to oestrus normally; however, there was no significant effect on lactation yields in indigenous nor in cross-bred cows. In the drought year, the equivalent of half a bag a day was fed over one month before calving and this enabled body condition score to stabilise at a maintenance value of 1.75.

Control cows on no supplement became emaciated or died.

Documents

	Forage Production and Conservation Manual: growing and ensiling annual and perennial forage crops suited to marginal and semi-arid areas of Southern Africa
	Dry Season Feeding of Smallholder Livestock: Forage Conserved as Silage (Leaflet accompanying the above manual)
	On-farm assessment of forage yields and silage quality of intercropped drought tolerant cereal and legume forage crops
	Ensiling of tropical forages with Particular Reference to African Livestock Systems. Forage production and conservation for dry season feeding of smallholder dairy cattle in the semi-arid region of Southern Africa
	Effect of Mixed Cereal-Legume Silages on Milk Production from Lactating Holstein Dairy Cows
	Body Condition Score and Lactation Responses in Indigenous and Cross-bred Cows in Smallholder Dairying Systems in a Semi Arid Area of Zimbabwe

The project showed that it is feasible for a small-holder dairy farmer in a semi-arid region to produce and conserve high quality forage for dry season feeding of his dairy cows, thus making dairy production a potentially viable enterprise in such regions.

Similar techniques can also be used to provide a feeding supplement to smallstock.