By Iminza Keboge

Zero grazing or cut-and-carry feeding livestock management system for dairy animals has seven distinct advantages over conventional free grazing:

• A higher number of animals can be raised on a smaller plot of land
• Animals are shielded from exposure to parasites, ticks and diseases
• Health issues like mastitis or lameness can be detected and treated faster by farmers

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• Farmers have the ability to carefully measure high-quality feed rations for their cows which in turn helps in boosting milk production

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• By restricting movement, animals conserve energy that is channelled towards milk production
• Confining animals to restricted areas enables farmer to adopt better waste management as manure is used for fertilizer or in biogas
• This practice favours smallholder and urban farmers with limited land to practise animal husbandry.

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