DAIRY CATTLE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, PRODUCTS HANDLING AND PROCESSING EFFICIENCY OF BUTTER AND CHEESE IN ALICHO WURIRO DISTRICT, SILTE ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA.

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess dairy cattle management practice, products handling and processing efficiency of butter and cheese in Alicho Wuriro district in Silte zone, Southern Ethiopia. Five kebeles Purposively and 131 households who owned at least one local breed milking cow and /or cross breed milking cow were randomly selected for survey data. From total of 131 households, 31 samples of each raw milk, butter milk, butter, cheese and whey were collected for field measurements and laboratory analyses employed to generate the data. Milk samples were analyzed with lacto scan for physicochemical properties; while butter and cheese samples were aseptically collected for evaluation of physicochemical properties. All the data collected were analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The dairy cattle herd in the study area was composed of local and cross breed (calf, heifers, pregnant cows, lactating cows, dry cow, bull and oxen) which represents with their respective value which was owned by house hold. Most of the households 93.13% were provided colostrum to their calf. The overall average weaning ages of calves were 9.55±2.05 months in the study area. Major sources of feed were natural pasture grazing areas, enhanced fodder species and concentrated feeds. Around 41.98% and 38.17% of respondents were used improved feed and different plants, Water source used for lactating cows were around 74.81%,17.56%, and 7.63% from river water, pond water and pipe water, respectively. The major responsible members of household for milking practice about 68.70% were wife. About 81.68% of respondents processed their milk traditionally by clay pot. The major products of traditional milk processing were fermented milk, buttermilk, butter, ghee, traditional cottage cheese, and whey, which were among the common milk products produced and consumed by respondents. Types of material used to handle milk were clay pots, gourds, and plastic containers (29.01%, 3.05% and 67.94%), respectively. Butter making efficiency is influenced by chemical composition of raw milk especially fat content, volume of milk churned at a time, mechanism of churning, length of churning time and churning temperature greatly affect fat recovery percent and butter production or yield from a given milk source. Chees yield the influenced by chemical composition of butter milk and cooking temperature increases, the cheese yield was also increases due to higher temperature degrades the whey proteins and the accumulation of these proteins. Major constraints of dairy cattle were feed shortage, environmental stress, poor access to input and service, major reproductive disease problem, problems of concentrated feed available, frequently occurring disease, problem of grazing land were constraints of dairy cattle’s. The major opportunity existed in study areas were dairy product demand for conception, indigenous knowledge and livestock genetic resource. Key word; Dairy cattle management, milk handling, processing efficiency, constraints,