Serere, (UG):- TEIFA Farm in Serere district, eastern Uganda has resorted to playing music as a method of inducing milk production from its Friesian cows. The music is intended to ‘soothe’ the cows into a state of serenity, helping them release milk from their udders.
Joseph Ijala, the proprietor of TEIFA Farm copied the music idea from other established farmers across the country. With 12 lactating cows on the farm, Ijala is able to produce 340 litres of milk each day. His ‘best’ cow produces 37 liters while others produce between 25 and 35 liters daily.
According to Ijala, whenever his cows hear the music play, they release the milk in large quantities. He has connected speakers to all the sheds sheltering the cows on the farm. During milking hours, the farm operator turns on the music, and all the cows run to their milking positions with their udders dripping milk.
Ijala is not alone in the modern dairy innovations. At AGDI Dairy farm located in Kyakabunga, Kiruhura district, Col (Rtd) Dick Bugingo too has been playing music for his milking cows for years. His manager, Dr Amos Wentaro, a senior researcher in livestock production, says music is an innovation that animals require to produce milk.
He says that the music gives animals the comfort that stimulates milk production.
“The animals as they listen to music, they release the milk. It is a stimulation to make the animals to release the milk. It is very effective. Just giving the animals comfort makes the animal to ‘give out’ its body. When the animals are free then the hormones will release the milk very well. The music is an inducement that the atmosphere is very calm,” said Wentaro.
Music is not the only innovation in the modern dairy farms. At TEIFA, Ijala has put up a bathing shelter for the lactating cows on the farm. Before milking time, the farm operators open water taps to allow the cows to bathe and clean their udders.
For the calving cows, the farms have “labour suites” with staff trained to deliver the cows. At the “labour suite” the staff sing and pray for the mother cows in labour. They caress cows and create an environment that makes the cow comfortable before delivering the cow.
Richard Nyakaana, another farmer from Rwengaju village in Fort Portal city, says that modern farming requires skills and dedication to productivity and sustainability. Although Nyakaana doesn’t play music for his cows, he has constructed a sick bay for his poultry farm.
The sick bay, also called an isolation unit, serves as a treatment area for chickens that may fall ill in the main poultry houses. When such chickens are detected, they are isolated and taken to the isolation unit for treatment and proper management before they are sent back to the main house.
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