AUTHOR=Hatew Bayissa , Peñagaricano Francisco , Balehegn Mulubrhan , Jones Chris S. , Dahl Geoffrey E. , Adesogan Adegbola T. 

TITLE=Synergies of feed, management trainings, and genetics on milk production of dairy cows in the tropics: The case of Ethiopian smallholder farmers

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Animal Science

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/animal-science/articles/10.3389/fanim.2023.1119786

DOI=10.3389/fanim.2023.1119786

ISSN=2673-6225

ABSTRACT=Efforts made so far to increase milk production of indigenous cattle by upgrading with exotic genotypes through crossbreeding under smallholder farmer conditions in Ethiopia have resulted in limited improvement. This study was conducted to determine if combining improved feed and management-related trainings with Holstein genetics will synergistically increase the milk production of dairy cows, and to examine the degree to which the increase or improvement is related to the level of exotic genetics involved. A total of 96 smallholder dairy farmers were purposively selected and allocated to one of three treatments reflecting differing degrees of capacity building support: (1) no training and no material support (Control); (2) training provided by another project (PAID) but without material support; (3) enhanced training plus material support (Feed-Mgt). Sixteen extension development agents and eight livestock experts were selected to provide training and weekly on-farm data collection, monitoring, technical support, and messaging reinforcement visits. Training addressed a broad range of topics related to dairy husbandry practices. Material support was in the form of formulated dairy concentrate feed and improved forage planting materials. Data collection included variables describing animal performance, management practice adoption, and milk quality. Tail hair samples for genetic profiling of breed makeup were also collected from all cows in the study. Results showed that there was significant effect of treatment (P < 0.001) on milk production, as well as treatment by week interaction (P = 0.034), with the effect of treatment markedly increasing over time (P = 0.032). Cows in Feed-Mgt group had up to 26.6% greater milk production compared to those in the Control group. Cows used in the experiment had varying proportions of Holstein-Friesian genome that ranged between 0 and 100%, suggesting prevalence of indiscriminate crossbreeding. Supplementation improved body condition reduced number of services per conception and resulted in higher lactation length on treatment 3 compared with those on treatments 1 and 2 (P < 0.001). Overall, our findings suggest that an integrated approach of improved feed, management training for smallholder dairy that goes beyond the improvement of genetics will increase milk production, improve body condition, and higher length of lactation.