The Animal Health and Production Division has launched an educational campaign geared towards sensitising livestock farmers on forage conservation methods and indigenous feed production methods, especially during periods of adverse weather conditions.
Dr. Nicole Timm, an animal nutritionist within the Animal Health and Production Division, conducted a comprehensive forage conservation workshop at the Dumbarton Agriculture Station to train farmers in providing adequate forage of optimal quality to their livestock.
The workshop covered a range of crucial topics, including nutrition, the anatomy and function of the poligastric stomach, maintaining a healthy ruminal ecosystem, forage quality assessment, feed conversion ratio, body conditioning score, and various forage conservation techniques such as silage, hay, and haylage production.
After the theoretical session, participants actively engaged in practical demonstrations of these forage conservation methods.
The facility provided them with the opportunity to observe the small ruminants, providing them with firsthand knowledge and insight into the practical application of the workshop’s teachings.
