This archive report was first published on 14 August 2019.
With the increasing demand for meat in Kenya, many farmers are considering beef cattle farming as a lucrative business venture. However, the question remains, which is more profitable, dairy or beef farming?
Beef cattle can be kept on four different management systems, including nomadic pastoralism, agro-pastoralism, feedlot system, and ranches. The system will be dictated by the resources at your disposal. The most developed and predominantly practised system in Kenya is ranching.
Ranching is practised within a defined unit of land, where the goal is to maintain optimal stocking rates, conserve and preserve pasture, and develop livestock support facilities such as dips and water points. In some instances, the ranches carry out slaughtering and chilling within the farm.
Feedlots, on the other hand, are units where immature cattle are intensively put on a concentrate feeding regime purposely for fattening to attain a specific market weight before selling. However, keeping the beef cattle confined and on concentrates makes the feedlot system a very expensive management programme.
Whether to venture in dairy or beef value chain is dependent on one’s interests and objectives. Any livestock venture will depend on the owner’s interests, location, market, and resources. However, both dairy cattle and beef cattle are profitable.
According to Dr. Ochiel Alvine, a lecturer at the Department of Animal Sciences, Egerton University, the choice between dairy and beef cattle depends on the owner’s interests and objectives. He notes that both dairy cattle and beef cattle are profitable, but the choice will depend on the owner’s resources, location, and market.
Dr. Alvine also notes that beef cattle can be kept on four different management systems, including nomadic pastoralism, agro-pastoralism, feedlot system, and ranches. The system will be dictated by the resources at your disposal.
Published on August 14, 2019, at 11:45 AM.
