Management Practices and Lactation Performance of Crossbred Dairy Cows in Adigrat Town, Eastern Tigray Zone, Northern Ethiopia

Hagos Abraham and Tsega Gebremeskel

Background and Objective: The crossbreeding program was introduced in different parts of Ethiopia to improve the milk production performance of local dairy cattle breeds. This study was conducted in Adigrat to assess management practices as well as the lactation performance of crossbred dairy cows. Materials and Methods: Purposive and random sampling techniques were used to identify study sites and dairy farmers, respectively. A semi-structured questionnaire and key-informant interviews were employed for data collection. Data were analyzed by using Excel software (Microsoft Office 2010). Results: The overall family size of studied dairy farmers was 4.2±1.2 persons. The dairy farmers had over ten years of experience in dairy farming. Animals were fed on natural pasture, grass hay, crop residues, cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) and residues from local breweries. The local government was the main provider of veterinary services. Lactating cows were supplemented with mineral salt and concentrates. Based on face-to-face interviews, the mean daily milk yield (DMY) was 11.2±1.8 liters, with a mean lactation length (LL) of 9.3±2.1 months. Conclusion: The study indicated that implementing genetic improvement programs could help optimize milk production performance in crossbred dairy cows. However, challenges such as feed shortages and costs, limited pasture land, poor artificial insemination (AI) and veterinary services and inadequate space for proper housing remain significant concerns. Therefore, appropriate intervention measures should be considered to address these challenges.

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