What grasses and pastures can I plant in order to help me fatten my cows for beef?

Ask the Harvest Money expert

Compiled by Joshua Kato

What grasses and pastures can I plant in order to help me fatten my cows for beef?

Zurah Nalwanga, Nakaseke

Answer,

The traditional systems of selling cattle in Uganda recognize that meat is a by-product. Cattle are kept mainly for milk, while bulls are usually killed especially if a farmer is a dairy keeper. Save on a few farmers, cattle being prepared for beef ‘suffer’ much more than those for milk.

However, there is obvious scope to improve this traditional and inefficient system through strategic feeding of good forage to fatten young bulls for beef or to buy animals from others and fatten them.

The common practice has been that fattening is done using the natural grasses on free range. This cost a lot of time, hence a need to plant additional exotic grass from you are to get quick value.  As a caution, do not stock cattle for fattening unless you have the supplementary grasses ready on the farm.

These grasses include;  Napier grass; Guatemala grass, lablab, Sorghum and Brachiaria Mulato. All seeds can be got from the National Agriculture Research organization/National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NARO/NaLIRRI), Namulonge, Tororo and private dealers.        

Setting up Napier (elephant grass-ebisagazi) farm

Napier grass remains the dominant forage for cattle, especially under intensive/zero grazing systems.

The grass can withstand at least four to six cuttings per year, yielding 50-150tons of fresh forage. It grows in altitudes ranging from sea level to 2000m above sea level. It does best in areas that receive at least 1500mm of rain per year. Napier can grow in almost any soils but does better in deep, fertile well drained soils. It is however very drought resistant. To plant it, you need canes with 3-4 internodes. These are inserted in the soil leaving one inter node uncovered.

Cane planting materials can be obtained from plants about to flower where the stems are still green. You dig up a hole with width of 15-20cm and a depth of 15-20cm at a spacing of 3ft (90cms) between rows and a 2ft (60cms) between crops. Apply one or two handfuls of farm manure before planting.  It takes 3-4months before the first harvest is made. Harvesting can continue for an interval of 6-8weeks for 5years.

Setting up Guatemala grass   

This grows well in areas that also sustain napier grass. To plant it, you prepare root splits of 30cms in length.

A root split is when the root of a mature plant is cut into lengthy pieces. Plant one root split per hole. You can apply one handful of farm yard manure in each hole. At 3-4months, it is ready for harvesting. You can keep harvesting for 3-4 years with an interval of 8-12 weeks between harvests.

Setting up brachiaria mulato grass 

It grows in well drained soils of medium fertility with a pH of 4.5-8.0. However, it can also grow in less fertile acid soils like those found in most of the cattle corridor, including Nakasongola, where farmers are planting it. 

Mulato can be established using seeds, planted in a well prepared seed bed with a spacing of 1x1 metres or prepared vegetatively from cuttings and splits of mature grass. The rooted splits are then planted at a spacing of 1mx1m. It grows faster, establishing 85% of ground cover in 2months after planting. It will be ready for harvesting after 4 months.