Simon Songok started his dairy farm in 2009 with three Holstein Friesian cows, and it has since expanded to 80 high-pedigree Friesian, Jersey and Ayrshire cows.
In an interview, he stated that he chose Friesian cows for a variety of reasons, including their adaptability for difficult climates.
“It is the ideal animal that can withstand this climate and give you the milk yield. After getting the right technical assistance from Coopers Kenya, regarding the right semen and best farming practices
“We have been able to study our cows, and we are currently getting an average of 40 litres of milk from one cow per day,” he said.
Songok formerly worked at Sasisni Farm in Mweiga and Ole Suswa in Naivasha before joining Sigma Feeds Farms.
He explained that he faces challenges such as ticks and tsetse bugs, which are abundant in the region.
Songok also mentioned the high price of feeds, which leads to a high cost of production and low profits.
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He keeps a number of Jerseys and Ayrshires to increase the butter fat percentage of the Friesians’ milk.
“The price of feed has shot up while the leading milk processing firms continue to offer very low prices for milk. We only make some money when we sell off some bulls and a few heifers
“The current production costs of Ksh 25 per litre are very high, and we are appealing to the Dairy Board to push up the buying price to enable the farmer to make a profit,” he said.
Songok also grows maize, paw paw, watermelons, kales, and lucerne for use as animal feed supplements.
“Our future plans are to open a processing factory and a dairy training institute to develop the dairy industry,” he added.
To maximize productivity, waste water is channeled at lucerne and rhodes grass fields using portable drip and overhead watering systems.
“Nothing goes to waste in our farm. We spread manure from the cowshed in the fields and use waste water to grow grass and lucerne,” he added.
Songok says they spread cow manure in the fields and use waste water to grow grass and lucerne.
He further noted that the secret to successful dairy farming is a unique dairy diet containing highly soluble feed grade monocalcium phosphate, which provides the cows with necessary calcium and phosphorus for high milk output and fertility.
