Cattle Production From Native Pastures in the Semi-Humid Grasslands of Uganda

The cattle population of Uganda, estimated at 6 million, consists of more than 95% indigenous stock, raised on the semi-arid and semi-humid grasslands that make up 48% of the total land area and which supply over 85% of the marketed milk and meat. Native grassland pastures, which vary seasonal in quantity and quality due to rainfall and temperature variations, are the sole feed resource for cattle (Mbuza et al., 1992). This study examined the effects of seasonal herbage mass (HM), dietary crude protein (CPd), detergent lignin (ADLd) and digestibility (DiG) on body condition scores of milking cows grazed only on natural grassland pastures