Abstract:
The major objectives of this study was to assess dairy cattle husbandry practices, milk and milk products
handling, processing, marketing, and evaluation of milk yield and composition of local and crossbred cows
in rural milk production system, Fogera District of South Gondar Zone. In the study area very little works
has been done to characterize and document the existing dairy cattle production systems, marketing
conditions, milk yield and milk quality analyses and of major production constraints. For this study six
rural milk production potential kebeles were selected, and a total of 120 dairy cattle owners were
purposively selected. Data was collected through interviews using semi-structured questionnaire, focus
group discussions, key informant interviews, field visit; monitoring and milk laboratory analysis supported
with secondary information from different sources. Data was analyzed using SPSS, version 20 software and
reported using descriptive statistics. Indices were used to present ranking. Majority of dairy cattle owners
were following mixed crop-livestock farming system. The mean cattle holding per household was 7.52. The
reason for keeping dairy cattle was for generating income, for home consumption and as a means of
draught power, respectively. The major feed resource for dairy animal were natural pasture, hay, crop
residues, improved forage, agro- industrial by-product and non-conventional feedstuffs. The main sources
of water were rivers; pond and hand dig well during dry and wet seasons. Among the major dairy cattle
diseases, mastitis, foot and mouth disease, black leg and trypanosomiyasis were a serious problem. The
overall mean daily milk yield was 1.75 ± 0.67 and 6.49±0.65 Litter/day/cow for indigenous and exotic
breed, respectively. The average age at first mating for local and crossbred heifers were 43.8±0.2
and 29.3±0.3 months, respectively. The average lactation length for local and crossbred dairy cows was
7.6 ± 0.04 and 9.0±0.6 months, respectively. The average age at first calving for local and crossbreds in
the study area were; 53.8±0.2 and 38.4±0.5 months, respectively. The average calving interval for both
local and crossbreds in the area were; 16.7±0.1 and 14.3±0.8 months, respectively. Gourd, clay pot and
plastic were the major containers used for milking, churning and storing of milk. Major constraints for
dairy production were feed shortage, prevalence of disease; inadequate veterinary service and lack of
land. Significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed in the total solids, solid-not-fat, fat and lactose
content of whole milk samples collected from local and crossbred dairy cows. In general, chemical
composition of milk samples obtained from milk producers were within the range of international
standards. The study concluded that dairy cattle production management, breed, health and feed needs to
be improved. Also, lack of working capital and inadequate extension and training service were some of the
major reasons for poor performance of dairy cattle production. Further research should be done by
implementing dairy cattle improvement strategies and its improvement progress.
Key words: Dairy, marketing, milk and milk products, milk composition, processing, production system
