ASSESSMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE FEED RESOURCES AND DETERMINATIONOF THEIR MINERAL STATUS IN KACHEBIRA, HADERO TUNITO AND DOYOGENA DISTRICTS, IN KEMBATA TEMBARO ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

This study was conducted to asses dairy cattle feed resources and their mineral status in Kachabirra,Hadero Tunito Zuria, and Doyogena districts, Kembata Tembaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia.Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to collect primary data from dairy cattle producers. In the first stage Kachabirra, Hadero Tunito, and Doyogena districts were purposively selected based on their dairy cattle production potential. In the second stage, three kebeles were selected from each of the districts based on their betteraccessibility.In the third stage,from a total of 621 dairy cattle producers 243 sample householdswere selected purposively.Besides, a total of 27 composite feed samples were collected from the six feedsfrom each district. The samples were collected from each household during the questionnaire administration session and clustered into five categories based on the nature and relative similarities of the feeds. SPSS was used for analyzing the survey data whileSAS version9.4 was used for analyzing the laboratory results.The results of the study revealed that there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) inthe percentage of dairy cattle breed local and cross-breed (70.8% vs 29.2%),dairy cattle feed resources,crop residue, natural pasture, improved forage, agro-industrial by-product, and non-conventional feed (21.8%, 33.2%,17%, 15%,13%), respectively. Similarly,there was a significant difference (P<0.05) observedamongdistricts formacro-mineral (K, Na, Ca, Mg), and micro-mineral (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn) contents in areke attela. Moreover, Ca, Mg, and micro-minerals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn) show significant deference (P<0.05) in tela attela. Concerning enset corm, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) observed formacro-minerals (K, Na, Ca, Mg), and micro-minerals (Fe, Cu, Mn).Regarding natural pasture, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) observed formacro-minerals (K, Na, Ca, Mg), and micro-minerals (Fe, Cu, Zn). Likewise, in desho grass, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) observed for macro-minerals(Na, Ca, Mg), and micro-minerals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn).Similarly, in wheat bran, there wasa significant difference (P<0.05)in macro-minerals (K, Na, Ca, Mg), and micro-minerals (Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn) in the districts.Generally, the assessment of dairy cattle feed production practices in the study area faced major constraints like;limited feed supplementation, deficiency of minerals in the dairy cattle feed, and inefficient veterinary service in the study area.To enhance dairy production practices and increase the productivity of dairy cows’ intervention is needed to improve dairy cattle feed resources and improve awareness of producers on feed conservation practices via different mechanisms such as training. Create awareness of producers on the importance of feed supplementation including minerals to improve the overall productive and reproductive performances of their dairy cattle, and hence their contribution to the household livelihoods. Future research should focus on generating further information on the reproductive performance of dairy cattle and other parameters like milk yield and quality to arrive at a concrete recommendation related to mineral nutrition in the study areas.