Analysis of factors affecting milk yield of Ankole cows grazed on natural range pastures in Uganda

Abstract

Effects of seasonal rainfall (RF) and maximum temperature (T_m) variations on milk yield of Ankole cows grazed solely on range pastures were investigated. The resulting changes in herbage growth (HG), herbage yields (HY), herbage crude protein (CP_h) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF_h), as well as body condition score (BCS) of ten milking cows taken every two weeks were analysed for their correlation with milk yield (MY). Results showed that MY was significantly correlated (P = 0.05) with BCS and NDF_h, but not with RF and CP_h. The correlation with T_m, HY and HG were not significant.