Abstract:
The study was conducted to assess dairy production practices, milk composition, and microbial quality of smallholder dairy farms in Kombolcha Woreda, East Hararghe Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The study was undertaken in purposely selected three rural Kebeles of Kombolcha Woreda (Bilisuma, Tula, and Sibilu) where dairy Farmers from each Kebele were also purposely selected. A sample of households with at least one lactating cow was selected for interview using a simple random sampling procedure. Data were collected from 150 small-holder dairy farmers who had at least one lactating cow. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect farm data. For the monitoring study, a total of 108 dairy cows, six (6) lactating cows in each lactation stage (3) for each kebele as well as two breeds, were used. For the determination of chemical composition and microbial quality, a total of forty-two (42) milk samples were collected. The collected survey data were analyzed using descriptive analysis whereas the milk quality data obtained from laboratory analysis, data from production, and reproductive performance were analyzed using the general linear model (GLM) procedure of SAS version 9.4 (SAS, 2008). The result showed that the majority (56.4%) of farm household heads were illiterate. The average dairy cow per household in the study area was 2.87±.126. In addition, the average number of local and cross-breed lactating cows per household was (1.14±.04 and 1.06±.02), respectively. The majority (88%) of the dairy farmers were using earthen floors and 12% of farmers were using concrete floor dairy housing systems. The milk yield of Local and cross-breed cows per day per cow for the first, second, and third stages of lactation were (2.76±.13 Vs 8.30±.2.19), (2.57±.17 Vs 6.12±1.39) and (0.93±.02 Vs 6.23±1.50) liters, respectively. The overall mean average age at first Calving (AFC) of the local and crossbreed dairy cows was 3.54±.04 and 2.93±.033, respectively. The overall mean calving interval (CI) for local and cross-breed cows were xix (17.95±.27 and 15.58±.191) months, respectively. The average numbers of services per conception of cross-breed and local dairy cows were 1.68±.051 and 1.72±.06, respectively. The overall mean of local and crossbreed cows' days open (DO) was 320.34±8.02 and 256.36±7.879, respectively. For milk collection, storage, and transportation, the majority of selling points (55.6%) and consumers (43.8%) reported utilizing plastic jerry cans and aluminum containers, respectively. The majority (77.8%) of selling points were washing and smoking containers stored at room temperature before selling raw milk to increase the shelf life of milk, while the rest 22.2% used refrigerators. On the other hand, the physicochemical composition of local and cross breeds cows for lactic acid, density, fat, protein, Solid not fat, Total solid, lactose, and ash were (0.13±.01 Vs 0.13±.01 %), (1.014±.00 Vs 1.010±.00 mg/m3 ), (4.26±.23 Vs 5.06±.24 %), (3.59±.17 Vs 3.50±.18 %), (9.08±.19 Vs 8.73±.21 %), (13.2±.36 Vs 13.72±.39 %), (4.72±.05 Vs 4.58±.05 %), and (0.67 ±.06 Vs 0.74 ±.03 %), respectively. The overall mean density for producers, selling points, and consumers was 1.012±.00, 1.016±.00, and1.016±.00 mg/m3 , respectively. The overall mean of total viable bacterial count (TVBC), total coliform count (TCC), and yeast and mold count (YMC) for udder and equipment were (5.36±.90 Vs 5.92±1.22), (4.66±.38 Vs 4.77±1.46), and (4.73±.7 Vs 4.77±.79) log cfu/ml, respectively. Besides, the overall mean of raw cow milk samples from Selling points for total viable bacterial count (TVBC), total coliform count (TCC), and yeast and mold count (YMC) were 5.22±.57, 5.12±2.14 and 5.75±.57 log cfu/ml, respectively. The overall means of consumers’ total viable bacterial count (TVBC), total coliform count (TCC), and yeast and mold count (YMC) were 5.72±.79, 4.95±1.41 and 5.06±.71 log cfu/ml, respectively. The study reveals that improper housing, feed constraints, nutritional disorders, poor reproductive performance, unhygienic practices, and limited access to extension services contribute to low milk output and productivity in dairy cattle in the study area. Insufficient market knowledge also limits producer revenue. The study suggests improvements in housing, feed, reproductive performance, extension services, milk production and handling techniques, and market information