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March 28, 2024
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Dairy or beef cattle, which is profitable?

I would like to know, between dairy and beef cattle, which one is the best for business? Kenneth (Answered by Alvine O)

Dear Kenneth 
Beef cattle can be kept on four different management systems. These are 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 is ranching.

It is practised within a defined unit of land. Ranches strive 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.

Keeping the beef cattle confined and on concentrates makes the feedlot system a very expensive management programme. Pastoralism is practised in both arid and semi-arid areas. With the animals being kept on pasture in fields, major diseases are tick-borne.

I wish to start biogas project

I have interest in starting a biogas project at home. Please share information on how to go about it. Stella (Answered by Dennis Kigiri an agronomist )
Dear Stella
Biogas production is an excellent way of using animal waste to generate energy for cooking and lighting. One then uses the slurry to grow various crops.
The main components of the biogas system are the digester where fermentation takes place and the gas holder.
The source of fermentation substrate can be your farm or neighbouring ones and consider the cost of establishment depending on the system’s capacity.

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