Abstract:
A longitudinal study to assess animal management
practices and milk production was conducted for a period of
12 months on 30 smallholder farms keeping dairy cattle and
certified organic pineapple production in Luwero and
Kayunga districts, based on questionnaire and on-farm collected data. Farm sizes were 9.3 ± 6.7 acres in tethering system
and 4.3 ± 2.6 acres in zero-grazing. Fifty-four percent of the
zero-grazing herds had animal housing facilities. All farmers
in tethering system kept cows on earthen floors and calves
without bedding. Hygiene level in existing farms was low.
Majority of calves were fed once a day by restricted suckling
(77 %). Seventy-four percent of tethered cows were only fed
on natural grass, while cows under zero-grazing system had a
more diversified diet but with 82 % feeding mainly Napier
grass