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 Forage growing for commercial purpose, hay production  Introduction Forage production for commercial use is a model for people who are not able or do not want to invest in dairy production, but are looking for a crop which is relatively easy to cultivate and for which a market already exists.  It is also a possibility to start on a small area with small investments to gather experience and gradually expand once the grower is more confident with the production and marketing the product. In Western Kenya, forages are often sold fresh due to the bad reputation of hay, but Brachiaria can be dried well and transformed to high quality hay, making it a storable product that can be sold in times of higher demand and prices, like the dry season. Case 1 In Western Kenya, young people have started small-scale productions using different Brachiaria (Hybrids and cvs) for commercial hay production. Info on these groups and data is taken from a report commissioned by GfA for the Green Innovation Center (Fodder value chain analysis in Western Kenya: Opportunities for Business development, David Miano Mwangi and Eunice Onyango, 2019) Table 1: Cost of Production of Bracharia Hay in Western Kenya (Establishment Phase) Activity/Item Unit Cost (KES) Units Total Cost 1st Ploughing 3,000  1  3,000  2nd Ploughing 3,000  1  3,000  Harrowing 2,500  1  2,500  Seedlings 3  32,000  96,000  DAP (2 x 50 kg bags) 3,500  2  7,000  Planting 300  12  3,600  Weeding 300  12  3,600  Harvesting and baling (Per bale) 70  740  51,800  Labour for transporting to store (Man days) 20  300  6,000  Total   176,500   Table 2: Cost of Production for Brachiaria Hay Production in Western Kenya (Maintenance Phase) Activity Unit Cost (KES) Units Total Cost Top dressing (1.5*50 kg bag CAN) 2,200  2  3,300  Labour for applying CAN (Man days) 4  300  1,200  Labour transporting 20  300  6,000  Harvesting 70  740  51,800  Total Cost (KES)   62,300         Mwangi / Onyango use a production of 10.000 kg DM/year that translates to 666 hay bales of 15 kg. The price of Brachiaria hay is given with 400 KES/Bale. Using this production figure a turnover of 266,400 can be realized. All the data given for case 1 are calculated per acre, to compare it to other case which are calculated per ha the numbers have to be multiplied by 2,5 which presents  Table 1.1. Cost of establishment of Brachiaria in Western Kenya/ha if bought seedlings are used Activity/Item Unit Cost (KES) Units Total Cost 1st Ploughing 7,500  1  7,500  2nd Ploughing 7,500  1  7,500  Harrowing 6,250  1  6,250  Seedling cost 3  32,000  96,000  DAP (5 x 50 kg bags) 3,500  5  17,500  Planting 300  36 10,800  Weeding 300  36  10,800    Total                  156,350   Establishment costs for Brachiaria plots used over 10 years    15,635 KES/year Yearly maintenance cost (fertilisation, harvest, transport)  155,750 KES/year Yearly cost per ha Brachiaria      171,385 KES/year  Table 1.2. Cost of establishment of Brachiaria in Western Kenya /ha if seeds are used Activity / Item    Unit Cost (KES) Units  Total cost ___________________________________________________________________________ 1st ploughing    7500   1      7,500 2nd ploughing    7500   1      7,500 Harrowing    6250   1      6,250 Seed costs    5000   8    40,000 DAP (5 x 50 kg)    3500   5    17,500 Seeding      300   12      3,600 Weeding      300   36    10,800 Total          100,350    Establishment costs for Brachiaria plots used over 10 years       10,350 KES/year Yearly maintenance cost (fertilisation, harvest, transport)  155,750 KES/year Yearly cost per ha Brachiaria      166,100 KES/year  Establishment costs for Brachiaria plots are about 1/6 of the maintenance costs, it is also a negligible difference between direct establishment by seeds or establishment by seedlings, as establishment costs have to be seen as a cost factor for 10 years. However, the initial investment differs and with seedlings, it is 50% higher.  Table 3: Cost benefit calculation for different Brachiaria from year 2 on (planted with seedlings) Brachiaria Prod cost per ha /year  Prod in t DM / ha / year Value of prod / ha / year (KES) Income – Prod cost = Profit (KES) Not specified by Mwangi/Onyango  171,385 KES  25.00 *  400,000  228,615 Mulato 2 171,385 KES   8.00 ** 213,000   41,615 Cayman 171,385 KES 23.52 *** 627,200 455,815 Cayman 171,385 KES 10.20 **** 272,000 100,615 Basilisk 171,385 KES 17.84 ***** 475,730 304,345       production life of 10 years is base for the calculation (source: CIAT Tropical Forages)  *production data from literature, most possible they are too optimistic, especially when compared to measured production (see below) **production data from 2 farms in Eldoret ***production data from cutting regime trials on 2 sites in Meru ****production data from 2 farms in Eldoret *****production data from cutting regime trials on 2 sites in Meru Value calculated on the base of 15 kg hay bales valued at 400 KES/bale (Mwangi, Onyango, 2019)             Case 2 Table 4: Cost benefit calculation for a professional farm near Eldoret.  Brachiaria Prod cost per ha /year Harvested bales / ha / year ( Total kg DM) Value of prod ha / year (KES Income – prod cost = Profit (KES) Mixture of Hybrids and cultivars  61,000 KES 2250 (27,000) 2250 x 400 KES = 900,000 KES 839,000 KES Mixture of Hybrids and cultivars For production cost given by Mwangi/Onyango     171,385 KES 2250 900,000 728,385   The farm has established different Brachiaria hybrids as well as cultivars and does not separate the different materials while harvesting mechanically. Though the number of harvested bales stand for a mixture of improved Brachiaria and not for a certain Hybrid or cultivar.  The  number of harvested bales for 2 acres of forages is given with 800 hay bales for the 1st cut and an estimated 1200 hay bales for the 2nd cut. The estimation seems to be too optimistic and was reduced to 1000 hay bales. That translates to a production of 2250 bales /ha. Hay bale weights do vary a lot and seldom have the standard weight of 15 kg, thus we used a weight of 12 kg for our calculation. Production costs have been calculated in the cost benefit analysis and represent an average cost calculated on data from 20 farms. Production life of the forage plots is fixed at 10 years.  The production of the forages varies a lot depending on the environmental conditions and the management of the plots, though the better the conditions, the higher the profit possible. The calculated data of Tables 3 and 4 show the possibility to generate an income from haymaking. It also shows that the profit made depends on the (right) choice of forage under the given conditions and the management of the plot, proven by the huge variation of generated profit (41,000 – 839,000 KES / ha/ year respective 728,000 KES/ha/year). The manager of the professional farm, from which the information was received in an interview is judging forage production (Brachiaria hybrids and CVs, Panicum cvs) as a profitable activity. Consequently, he intends to increase the land under improved forages to 5 acres. Other farms in Eldoret expressed the same intentions. The same development can be registered in Meru, however on a smaller scale due to limited land availability.  

Forage growing for commercial purpose, hay production

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Forage growing for commercial purpose, hay production

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