Ethiopian Dairy Research Articles

Seroprevalence and association of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) serostatus with reproductive problems in dairy cattle in central and southern Ethiopia

Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is an economically important cattle disease with worldwide distribution and characterized mainly by suboptimal fertility in the affected herds. The objectives of this study were to estimate the seroprevalence of BVDV within dairy cattle, to identify potential risk factors, and to assess the association with occurrence of reproductive problems. Sera (n = 954) collected from dairy cattle from 98 herds in southern and central Ethiopia were tested for BVDV antibodies using a commercial ELISA. Among screened sera samples, 20.9% (95% CI, 18.4, 23.6) tested positive to BVDV antibodies. The herd prevalence was 50% (95% CI, 40.1, 59.9) and the intra-herd prevalence ranged between 2.6 and 100% (mean = 31.4%) in positive herds. Geographic region, herd size, and animal arrangement in the farm had significant association with serostatus (p < 0.05). Cattle from southern Ethiopia and herds of large size had 2.8 (95% CI, 1.9, 4.2) and 2.6 (95% CI, 1.5, 4.6) times higher odds of being seropositive compared to their counterparts, respectively. Serostatus to BVDV was associated with history of anestrus, repeat breeding (RB), mastitis, and extended calving interval (CI) (p < 0.05). Animals with history of extended CI and mastitis were 1.7 (95% CI, 1.0, 2.7) and 2.2 (95% CI, 1.5, 3.2) times more likely to be seropositive compared with those with normal CI and no history of mastitis, respectively. On the other hand, animals with history of anestrus and RB were less likely to be seropositive to BVDV compared to cattle with no such history. Sera from 26 selected cattle were also examined using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR for detection of BVDV RNA; however, all samples tested were negative for the presence of BVDV nucleic acid. Our study highlights the variation in BVDV status within Ethiopian dairy herds, and association with some important reproductive performance traits and potential risk factors.

Integrating knowledge on biophysical and socioeconomic potential to map clusters for future milk production in Ethiopia

Despite growing milk demand and imports, market-oriented milk production and formal processing in Ethiopia is limited to areas around Addis Ababa, notwithstanding its competing land use demand. This study assessed biophysical and market potential for developing the dairy sector, characterizing Ethiopian dairy clusters. Biophysical data from geographic information system (GIS) sources and information from key informants were combined in mapping and ranking these clusters on milk production potential. Twenty-four indicators in six major categories were applied for this assessment: feed availability, environmental conditions for dairy cattle, current production status, access to inputs and services, output market access, and production expansion potential. Feed availability (fodder, crop residues, and agro-industrial by-products as well as land availability and affordability) were the main drivers for dairy development, followed by the current production status, mainly driven by number of (improved) dairy cattle and (formal) milk volumes. Dairy clusters close to Addis Ababa had the highest overall scores for development potential, mainly determined by local demand and access to inputs. For dairy sustainable dairy development in Ethiopia, companies seeking long-term opportunities may avoid the Addis Ababa area and develop dairy production and processing in other clusters especially in Amhara and Tigray regions, with good milk production potential but less developed market infrastructure. The combination of biophysical data and key informant knowledge offered key strengths in delivering valuable results within a short time span. It however requires a careful selection of knowledgeable key informants whose expertise cover a broad scope of the dairy value chain.

Acceptability and feasibility of proposed control and prevention strategies for bovine tuberculosis among Ethiopian dairy farmers and associated professionals

A series of Focus Group Discussions were held with farmers, veterinarians and human health workers in two sites in Ethiopia, as part of the Ethiopia Control of Bovine Tuberculosis Strategies Project’s efforts to devise and test the acceptability and feasibility of various control strategies for Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB). Group members were asked to give their responses to a range of strategies collected from global efforts to control the disease in cattle and humans in the context of intensification of the dairy industry, as well as those suggested by researchers within the project. Key findings from the study include the observation that a number of strategies utilised routinely to control bTB elsewhere in the world, including ‘Test and Slaughter’ and ‘Test and Segregation’ are likely to be impractical in low-resource settings where infrastructure may be unreliable and space both between and on individual farms is limited. It also became clear that farmers called upon to implement biosecurity measures should be supplied with locally-specific information and instructions in order to effectively control and prevent the spread of disease. Additionally, this research supports the need for investment in animal health system strengthening in Ethiopia and other similar settings, in order to enable animal health workers, including veterinarians, to devote time to disease surveillance and farmer sensitisation. Similarly, investment in milk pasteurisation processes and public education on these processes should be prioritised in order to increase their acceptability and feasibility among both producers and consumers.

Epidemiological study on calf diarrhea and coccidiosis in dairy farms in Bahir Dar, North West Ethiopia

BackgroundA longitudinal prospective study was conducted from October 2017 to April 2018 on calf diarrhea and coccidiosis in dairy farms in Bahir Dar, North West Ethiopia with the objectives of determining the incidence of calf diarrhea and calf coccidiosis from diarrheic calves, assessing the major risk factors associated with calf diarrhea and coccidiosis and identifying the existing Eimeria species. A total of 237 calves, 86 calves from 52 smallholder dairy farms and 151 calves from 8 large dairy farms, were used for this study. Fresh fecal samples were collected from 86 diarrheic calves for identification of Eimeria species.ResultsOverall incidences of calf diarrhea and coccidiosis found in this study were 33.5 and 20.1%, respectively. In total, 19 potential risk factors were investigated for their association with calf diarrhea and coccidiosis from diarrheic calves using Cox regression. Age of calf (HR = 2.057, P = .002), body condition (HR = 1.802, P < .001), house condition (HR = 2.072, P = .004) and age at first colostrum feeding time (HR = 2.107, P = .002) were found significantly (P < 0.05) associated with the risk of diarrhea by multivariate Cox regression. Among the risk factors tested, age (HR = 13.36, P < .001) and sex of calves (HR = 3.500, P = .020) were found significantly (P < 0.05) associated with coccidiosis by multivariate Cox regression. A total of nine Eimeria species were identified. E. bovis (28.6%), E. zuernii (19.0%) and E. auburnensis (14.3%) were the most common Eimeria species encountered.ConclusionThe incidence of calf diarrhea and coccidiosis was high in the dairy herds in North West Ethiopia. Therefore, sound dairy calf management practices are needed to mitigate risk factors for calf diarrhea and coccidiosis with a view to reducing the incidence of calf diarrhea and coccidiosis in Ethiopian dairy farms.

The Ethiopian dairy sector with focus on traditional butter: A review

Ethiopia is believed to have the largest cattle population in Africa. The total annual milk production from cattle has been estimated at 3.5 billion liters from 11.38 million dairy cows. As a result, cow’s milk is the focus of milk processing in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, the base of milk processing is fermented milk (Ergo) with no defined starter cultures used to initiate fermentation. The main reasons reported for the use of fermented milk as a base of processing are the small volume of milk produced per day, better shelflife of fermented milk, consumer preference and type of available milk processing materials. The success of dairy development to a large extent depends on market for the product combined with other dairy infrastructure and availability of small-scale processing facilities to manufacture high quality dairy products. In Ethiopia, only 6.6 % of the total milk produced in the country is marketed as liquid milk and the remaining 48.8 % and 44.6 % of produced milk is used for home consumption and processing, respectively. Out of the 44.6 % of milk allocated for household processing, 75 % and 25 % go to butter and Ethiopian cottage cheese production, respectively. Thus, the products could be easily transported to market place, and fetch better prices or returns. The microbiological information on traditional butter is not fully available in Ethiopia. However, the available previous research works conducted in Ethiopia revealed that the microbial count of butter is generally above the acceptable limits set for quality butter. The presence of bacteria in butter reduces the keeping quality of the product and certain bacteria with their associated enzymes and toxins may even survive high temperature and create public health hazards. The potential sources of butter microbial contamination are raw materials, air, water and equipment, which usually occur during processing, packaging and storage of finished product. Therefore, all precautions should be taken to avoid contamination of butter and public health hazards.

Physiochochemical Properties of Honey Produced in Gozamen District, East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region

The research is financed by Ethiopian Meat and Dairy Industry Development Institute and SNV-ASPIRE Project Abstract The study was conducted in Gozamen District, East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, from September 2017 to July 2018 to determine honey quality produced in the area.The effects of Agro-ecological Zones (location) and hive type on honey quality in the study area were assessed.Questionnaires for the survey, laboratory analysis for honey quality were employed. A total of 120 beekeepers (118 males and 2 females) and 25 honey traders (18 males &amp; 7 females) were interviewed for the survey. A total of 22 honey samples (18 samples from six kebeles representing the three beehive types across the three agro-ecologies and 4 samples from market points) were collected and analyzed at Holleta Bee Research Center and Bless Agri Food Laboratory Services PLC .The survey data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. The honey quality analysis indicated that the overall mean value of moisture content (17.22±1.56), glucose (17.22±1.56), sucrose (26.96±4.94), pH (4.28±0.26) and acidity (29.322± 0.2) were significantly different among different locations at (P&lt;0.05).Similarly,the mean values glucose ,sucrose ,ash and water-insoluble solids were significantly different at (P&lt;0.05)between the three types of hives.The honey samples collected from honey traders were with high sucrose level(10.18%) confirming the adulteration of honey with sugar syrups.As a result; inspection, control, and regulatory measures are indispensable tasks to improve the honey quality in the study area. Keywords: Gozamen, Physicochemical properties DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/94-06 Publication date: February 29 th 2020

Manner of Ethiopian Dairy Products Processing and Their Nutritional and Health Importance

Dairy products play a vital role in human nutrition and protecting against numerous diseases. Understanding the meticulous characteristics of traditionally processed dairy products as well as appropriate examination of the indigenous processing steps are important in order to vouch for suitable manufacturing procedure and protocols for commercialization. In Ethiopia, fortunately, some evidence is available on the general characteristics and processing practices of traditional dairy products nevertheless a few data is available about their role in human nutrition and health. Therefore, the objective of this review was to assess and compile information on processing of traditional dairy products in Ethiopia and their nutritional and health benefits. Ergo, ayib , arera, kibe, neter kibe, aguat, ititu, and dhanaan are the major dairy products encompassed in this review.

Network analysis of dairy cattle movement and associations with bovine tuberculosis spread and control in emerging dairy belts of Ethiopia

BackgroundDairy cattle movement could be a major risk factor for the spread of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in emerging dairy belts of Ethiopia. Dairy cattle may be moved between farms over long distances, and hence understanding the route and frequency of the movements is essential to establish the pattern of spread of BTB between farms, which could ultimately help to inform policy makers to design cost effective control strategies. The objective of this study was, therefore, to investigate the network structure of dairy cattle movement and its influence on the transmission and prevalence of BTB in three emerging areas among the Ethiopian dairy belts, namely the cities of Hawassa, Gondar and Mekelle.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted in 278 farms to collect data on the pattern of dairy cattle movement for the last 5 years (September 2013 to August 2018). Visualization of the network structure and analysis of the relationship between the network patterns and the prevalence of BTB in these regions were made using social network analysis.ResultsThe cattle movement network structure display both scale free and small world properties implying local clustering with fewer farms being highly connected, at higher risk of infection, with the potential to act as super spreaders of BTB if infected. Farms having a history of cattle movements onto the herds were more likely to be affected by BTB (OR: 2.2) compared to farms not having a link history. Euclidean distance between farms and the batch size of animals moved on were positively correlated with prevalence of BTB. On the other hand, farms having one or more outgoing cattle showed a decrease on the likelihood of BTB infection (OR = 0.57) compared to farms which maintained their cattle.ConclusionThis study showed that the patterns of cattle movement and size of animal moved between farms contributed to the potential for BTB transmission. The few farms with the bulk of transmission potential could be efficiently targeted by control measures aimed at reducing the spread of BTB. The network structure described can also provide the starting point to build and estimate dynamic transmission models for BTB, and other infectious diseases.

Assessment and Characterization of Egg Quality of South African and Indigenous Breeds

Approaches in Poultry, Dairy & Veterinary Sciences Assessment and Characterization of Egg Quality of South African and Indigenous Breeds Kayo Garamu* Ethiopian Meat and Dairy Industry Development Institute, Ethiopia *Corresponding author:Kayo Garamu, Ethiopian Meat and Dairy Industry Development Institute, Ethiopia Submission: May 17, 2019;Published: July 17, 2019 DOI: 10.31031/APDV.2019.06.000639 ISSN: 2576-9162 Volume6 Issue2

Failure costs associated with mastitis in smallholder dairy farms keeping Holstein Friesian × Zebu crossbreed cows

Mastitis is a costly disease and in many areas of the world, these costs have been quantified to support farmers in their decision making with regard to prevention of mastitis. Although for subsaharan circumstances estimates have been made for the costs of subclinical mastitis (SCM), farm-specific cost estimations comprising both clinical mastitis (CM) and SCM are lacking. In this paper, we quantified failure costs of both CM and SCM on 150 Ethiopian market-oriented dairy farms keeping Holstein Friesian × Zebu breed cows. Data about CM were collected by face-to-face interviews and the prevalence of SCM was estimated for each farm using the California mastitis test. All other relevant information needed to calculate the failure costs, such as the consequences of mastitis and price levels, was collected during the farm visits, except for the parameter for milk production losses due to SCM, which was based on literature estimates and subjected to sensitivity analyses. The average total failure costs of mastitis was estimated to be 4 765 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (1 ETB = 0.0449 USD) per farm per year of which SCM contributed 54% of the costs. The average total failure costs per lactating cow per farm per year were 1 961 ETB, with a large variation between farms (range 0 to 35 084 ETB). This large variation in failure costs between farms was mainly driven by variation in incidence of CM and prevalence of SCM. Milk production losses made the largest contribution (80%), whereas culling contributed 13% to 17% to the total failure costs. In our estimates, costs of veterinary services, drugs, discarded milk and labour made a minor contribution to the total failure costs of mastitis. Relative to the income of dairy farmers in North Western Ethiopia; the total failure costs of mastitis are high. In general, Ethiopian farmers are aware of the negative consequences of CM, but creating awareness of the high costs of SCM and showing large variation between farmers may be instrumental in motivating farmers to also take preventive measures for SCM.

Review on Characteristics of Dairy Value Chain: Way Forward to Design Viable Strategies for Upgrading in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is endowed with diverse and large livestock populations resides in suitable environmental condition. The aim of this review is to review characteristics of dairy value chains as a way forward to design viable strategies for upgrading of the Ethiopian dairy sector. Dairy production systems are classified as small scale, peri-urban and urban based on climate, production intensity, land holding and integration with crop productions. Moreover, considering market orientations, scale of operation and production intensity, it is classified as traditional smallholder, private state far, and urban and peri-urban systems. Ethiopian value chain is characterized by both formal and informal channels and exist complex. From the total amount of milk produced nationally only 5% of it is marketed. In Ethiopia, the dairy sector has an immense role in securing household income and job creations. Understanding the value chain definitely starts with consumer demand and continues with different levels of production, processing and marketing. For describing all activities, actors, relationship among different levels of the chain and connections between producers and intermediaries the designing value chain map is found vital. There are various challenges that restrain the dairy sector to express to its potential. There is limited contribution from the scholars with regard to dairy value chains and designing viable strategies for upgrading. Therefore, it is found difficult to realize, formulate and implement desirable intervention measures to upgrade the dairy value chain development actions. Hence it is vital to go with construction of viable strategies for upgrading existing value chain systems.

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk samples of dairy cows in small holder farms of North-Western Ethiopia

BackgroundStaphylococcus aureus is a contagious, opportunistic pathogen that causes clinical or subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle. The genetic background and antimicrobial resistance of isolates from Ethiopian dairy farms has not been studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize S. aureus from Ethiopian hand milked dairy cows, by spa, MLST and virulence factor typing, and by assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility. A total of 79 S. aureus isolates from intramammary infections was studied. A PCR was used to detect lukM-lukF’ and pvl genes encoding the bovine and human associated bi-component leukocidins, and the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene-1 (tst). Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using the broth microdilution method.ResultsTwenty different spa types were identified, most isolates were t042 (58%), and the closely related t15786 (11%). The proportion of isolates positive for lukM-lukF’, tst and pvl was low at 0.04, 0.10 and 0.09 respectively, with lukM-lukF’ often co-occurring with tst, but not with pvl. Methicillin-resistance was not found, but resistance to penicillin/ampicillin (86%) and tetracycline (54%) was very common.ConclusionsWe found a high degree of relatedness among bovine S. aureus isolates in North-Western Ethiopia, suggesting contagious within and between farm transmission of strains that are often resistant to commonly used antimicrobials. This highlights the need for effective preventive measures that aim at limiting transmission of bacteria rather than using antimicrobials to control S. aureus mastitis in Ethiopia.

Improving milk safety at farm-level in an intensive dairy production system: relevance to smallholder dairy producers

This paper discusses methods for improving milk safety in smallholder dairying. Analyzing best practices/experiences of selected countries and Ethiopian dairy farming as a case study (household survey and milk testing). The coliform count was slightly higher than European standard. The value of total bacterial count found was higher than the standard of bacteriological quality of milk. Somatic Cell count is slightly higher than US standard, but it is in the range of the EU standard. Moreover, there were other associated challenges facing dairy farmers, including shortage of feed concentrate and water, milk marketing, health of dairy stock, and manure management. Some better practices were also observed including literacy and dairying experience of smallholder dairy producing-households. Despite this, increased availability of some dairy stakeholders and their efforts would also be an added advantage. The efforts of private veterinarians to engage in provision of drugs and on-call home-treatment for stall-fed cows were good, but this needs to be complemented with laboratory based-diagnostic/clinical and advisory services prevent diseases. Improvement of milk safety can be achieved through good management practices by dairy farmers, market incentives, and increased efforts of various stakeholders and the adoption of best practices. In this regard, a coordinated action involving all stakeholders is needed to implement preventative/control measures, quality management strategies, and appropriate regulation while supporting and building capacity of smallholder dairy producers to minimize risks associated with milk production.

A Review of Aflatoxin: Occurrence, Prevention, and Gaps in Both Food and Feed Safety

Novel Techniques in Nutrition and Food Science A Review of Aflatoxin: Occurrence, Prevention, and Gaps in Both Food and Feed Safety Demissie Negash* Ethiopian Meat and Dairy Industry Development Institute, Ethiopia *Corresponding author: Demissie Negash, Ethiopian Meat and Dairy Industry Development Institute, P.O. Box 1573 Bishoftu, Ethiopia Submission: January 29, 2018; Published: March 23, 2018 DOI: 10.31031/NTNF.2018.01.000511 ISSN 2640-9208 Volume1 Issue3

The intention of North-Western Ethiopian dairy farmers to control mastitis.

Understanding the intentions of dairy farmers towards mastitis control is important to design effective udder health control programs. We used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore the intentions of North-Western Ethiopian dairy farmers towards implementing non-specified mastitis control measures (nsMCMs) and towards implementing 4 specific MCMs. Face to face interviews were held with 134 dairy farmers to study associations between their intentions and any of three factors (attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control) that, according to the TPB, determine intentions. The majority of the farmers (93%) had a positive intention to implement nsMCMs, whereas a smaller majority of farmers had the intention to implement the specific MCMs to improve udder cleaning (87%), to improve stall hygiene (78%), to improve feeding of cows (76%), and to perform foremilk stripping (74%). Farmers had a more positive attitude, but lower subjective norm and lower perceived behavioural control towards implementing nsMCMs compared with implementing most specific MCMs, although the subjective norms for stall hygiene and perceived behavioural control for improving feeding of cows were also low. Attitude was positively associated with intentions to implement nsMCMs, to improve cleaning of the udders, to improve stall hygiene and to implement foremilk stripping. Both the intention to improve udder cleaning and to implement foremilk stripping, were positively associated to subjective norms towards these MCMs. Our data can help tailor intervention programs aiming to increase the intention of Ethiopian dairy farmers to implement MCMs and thus to improve udder health in this country. We show that such programs should primarily focus on changing attitude and secondarily on improving the farmers’ subjective norms.

Simultaneous Estimation of Multiple Dairy Technologies uptake

The low productivity of the Ethiopian dairy sector has been explained by the genetic potentials and management practices. Milk production and consumption largely rely on the indigenous cows. To enhance the contribution of dairy to household food security, nutrition, and income, the adoption of improved dairy breeds together with the component practices is indispensable. To study the adoption of the dairy technologies and the factors stimulating the choices, a cross-sectional household survey was conducted in the central and eastern Ethiopia. Results declare that the rate of adoption of improved breeds, artificial insemination, and improved forage remained to be limited. The uptake of concentrate feeding is found to be relatively better. As the joint multivariate probit estimation confirmed, there is complementarity and interdependence in the uptake of improved breeds, artificial insemination, concentrate feeds, and improved forages. The utilization of forage lagged behind to complement the adoption of improved cows. Tobit model determination confirmed that the same factors are affecting the adoption decisions. The factors responsible for the joint adoptions, the number of cows owned and intensity of adoption include education status, household wealth, access to markets and district centers, contacts with extension and gender roles. Both the joint and individual analyses highlighted the need for strategies that could overcome the constraints and ensure better uptake of the technologies.

Assessment of knowledge gap and constraints affecting consumption of standardized dairy products in Sidama and Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

The study was conducted in Sidama and Gedio zone, southern Ethiopia. Dale, Hawassa zuria and Hagere selam were selected from Sidama zone and Dilla zuria from Gedio zone. A total of 177 households were interviewed. A total of 34 % and 17 % of producers had knowledge about standard and Ethiopian dairy products standards in the studied districts respectively. Although the majorities of respondents follow standardized housing and feeding, very few of the respondents know about standard milk production (9%) and also hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP)(3%).The respondents indicated that they do not bother about safety in purchasing milk and milk products from different sources. Accordingly, 74%, 40%, 38% of respondents indicated that babies (0-3yrs), children and pregnant women were more vulnerable to dairy food borne illnesses respectively. The result also indicated that 24.7% of respondents utilize locally produced milk products and 15% utilizes imported milk products. Out of the interviewed producers 91% wash their hand, 77% wash cow udder and teat (30%). Lack of awareness (57%) and supply problem (51%) were the major constraints in consuming standardized milk products in the studied districts. Therefore, integrating private milk vendors in the formal marketing system through licensing and quality control, improvement of milk and dairy products quality since the consumption of contaminated milk and milk products poses potential hazard to the consumer, awareness creation and training, enforcement of regulatory quality standards and introduction of technological interventions are required.

Quality upgrading in Ethiopian dairy value chains: dovetailing upstream and downstream perspectives

In this article, we analyze opportunities and constraints for upgrading product quality in the dairy value chain in Ethiopia. Our analysis is based on an integrated understanding of supply chain performance both from producer and from consumer perspectives. We outline as main drivers for quality upgrading: (a) factors that influence producers’ willingness to invest toward intensification by smallholder dairy farmers and cooperatives and (b) factors that induce consumer’s willingness to pay for healthy and nutritious dairy products delivered at specific retail outlets. Since there are large gaps between upstream producers incentives and downstream consumers motives, possibilities for dairy quality upgrading remain fairly limited. Given this market structure, decisive policy support is required for better tailoring producer’s investments with consumer preferences.

Stochastic bio—economic modeling of mastitis in Ethiopian dairy farms

Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland that is considered to be one of the most frequent and costly diseases in the dairy industry. Also in Ethiopia, bovine mastitis is one of the most frequently encountered diseases of dairy cows. However, there was no study, so far, regarding the costs of clinical mastitis and only two studies were reported on costs of subclinical mastitis. Presenting an appropriate and complete study of the costs of mastitis will help farmers in making management decisions for mastitis control. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic effects of mastitis on Ethiopian market-oriented dairy farms. Market-oriented dairy farming is driven by making profits through selling milk in the market on a regular basis. A dynamic stochastic Monte-Carlo simulation model (bio-economic model) was developed taking into account both clinical and subclinical mastitis. Production losses, culling, veterinarian costs, treatment, discarded milk, and labour were the main cost factors which were modeled in this study. The annual incidence of clinical mastitis varied from 0 to 50% with a mean annual incidence of 21.6%, whereas the mean annual incidence of subclinical mastitis was 36.2% which varied between 0 and 75%. The total costs due to mastitis for a default farm size of 8 lactating cows were 6,709 ETB per year (838 ETB per cow per year). The costs varied considerably, with 5th and 95th percentiles of 109 ETB and 22,009 ETB, respectively. The factor most contributing to the total annual cost of mastitis was culling. On average a clinical case costs 3,631 ETB, varying from 0 to 12,401, whereas a sub clinical case costs 147 ETB, varying from 0 to 412. The sensitivity analysis showed that the total costs at the farm level were most sensitive for variation in the probability of occurrence of clinical mastitis and the probability of culling. This study helps farmers to raise awareness about the actual costs of mastitis and motivate them to timely treat and/or take preventive measures. As a results, the dairy industry will improve.

Reproductive and Lactation Performance of Crossbreed Dairy Cows in Bishoftu, Ada’a Distict of East Shoa, Eastern Ethiopia

For several years, Ethiopia ranked first in cattle population in Africa. However, the dairy industry is not as developed as that of East African countries including Ethiopia. This study was conducted to assess the reproductive and lactation performance and factors affecting crossbreed dairy cattle in intensive dairy farm in Bishoftu, Ada’a district of Ethiopia. A total of 215 dairy cows’ data were recruited for the study from Ethiopian meat and dairy industry development institute from 2008-2014 data records on 4 upgraded genetic groups of crossbreeds (50% Friesian x 50% Borana F 1 75% Friesian x 25% Borana F 2 , 87.5% Friesian x 12.5% Borana F 3 , 93.75% Friesian x 6.25% BoranaF 4 ). The traits studied were age at first service (AFS), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), number of service per conception (NSPC), dry period (DP), lactation length (LL) and milk yield per lactation (MYPL). It was revealed that the mean age at 1st service (23.7±4.08months) and mean age at 1 st calving (33.36±4.6months) of F 4 were lower (p 0.05). The lowest number of service per conception (1.2±0.34) was determined from F 2 as compared to other genetic groups with statistically difference (p 0.05). Comparatively, highest mean for lactation length and milk yield per lactation recorded from F 4 were 12.68±3.12months and 3579±842 litters, respectively with the absence of statistically difference (p>0.05). In short, the overall mean values for AFS, AFC, CI and NSPC were 24±4.16, 34.6±5.37, 14.64±2.2 and 1.35±0.423 months, respectively was observed. Also the overall mean values for DP, LL and MYPL were 81.32±18.671days, 11.96±2.5months and 3386.22±898.719litters obtained in this finding. Generally, good reproductive and lactation of performances were recorded during this study and the reproductive and productive performance of dairy cows still needs better management practices, improved nutrition and use of new reproductive technology for more improvement.