Dairy Cattle Feed Quantity, Nutrient Balance and Feed Scarcity Coping Mechanism in Kedida Gamela Woreda, Kembata Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted in Kedida Gamela Woreda of Kambata Tambaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia, with the goals of estimating the amount of available feed resources, estimating the nutrient balance, and assessing the coping mechanism of dairy cattle in relation to agro-ecologies and seasons in the study area. Multistage sampling procedures were used. The mean dry matter (DM) produced per household in the highland and midland was 3.4 and 3.7 tons (P< 0.05), respectively, while the required amount was 8.5 and 8 tons, with a negative balance of 5.1 and 4.3 tons (P < 0.05). The mean DM produced per household during the wet and dry seasons was 4.1 and 3.1 tons (P < 0.05), respectively, while the required amount was 7.9 and 8.6 tons, with a negative balance of 3.9 and 5.5 tons (P < 0.05). As a result, farmers increased their use of concentrates and non-traditional feeds, improved forage production, transferred stocks to relatives, and reduced herd size as coping mechanisms in response to feed scarcity.