By Antynet Ford

Eldoret farmer Edwin Ronoh has lifted his cows’ milk yields by 50 per cent after discovering how to ferment sorghum and yellow maize stalks into silage, a feed he is now selling commercially to other livestock keepers in the region.

Speaking at the Nairobi International Trade Fair, Edwin said he learnt the method through his own on-farm trials. “At Baraka Farm, we make the feed from sorghum and yellow maize stalks. It is then fermented for seven days before it become nutritious for the cows. We do not ferment with anything. After chopping with a machine, we then place it in a silage bag for seven days, which is when it becomes ready to feed your cows. The more you store the silage, the more nutritious it becomes,” he said.

For many livestock farmers, the cost of feed is one of their biggest challenges, with protein sources like soya and sunflower meal often priced out of reach. Yet dairy cattle require diets containing 16 to 18 per cent protein for sustained milk production, while dairy goats perform best at around 14 to 16 per cent. Conventional maize stalks typically contain only 6 to 8 per cent protein, offering little value when fed directly. But properly fermented silage changes the protein. Scientifically, it converts carbohydrates into lactic acid. This makes it mire digestible for livestock, and can raise protein levels to 15 to 20 per cent, making it comparable to many commercial rations but at a fraction of the cost.

This has made Edwin’s feeds into a cheap alternative for farmers in his region. “It has up to 20 per cent of protein and it is also best for dairy goats. The milk production for my cows improved when I started to feed them on this silage and that is when I decided to start making it and selling it to farmers in Eldoret and the nearby environments. I discovered it during my own tests.”

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He had initially been feeding his animals on whole stalks without results. “Previously I used to feed them on whole stalks and that was not having any value. When I started mixing the two and fermenting it, it has yielded a lot of results. For example, before this, the milk production was around 20 litres but after improved the feeds and added value, it has increased by 50 percent and I am now at 30 litres,” he said.

Edwin said the stalks must be harvested before the crops fully mature in order to achieve the best feed value. “Many farmers never have time to wait for the feeds to ferment. They prefer cutting the stocks for example even the Napier grass and feeding it to the cows immediately after it has been cut but fermenting it is the deal always. It requires a little patience. Those who try fermenting it also do it wrongly and leave it to rot. You find that they end up using lots of energy and time to waiting for up to three months for a whole stock to get spoilt,” he said.

He warned that feeding unfermented stalks may bulk up animals, but adds no milk. “They are just good for the growth, but not milk production,” he said.