Being a Dairy Farmer is no walk in the park, dairy farming industry is quite relevant in most parts of the world. In these lands animals, especially cows are raised so that their milk can be sold in the market. In other words you may say that if there had been no dairy farms then milk, which is the main source of calcium and minerals for humans would be difficult to get. Today, dairy industry is one of the most promising industries all over the world.

It is important to remember that a dairy farm is a business. Development of detailed dairy farming business plan and a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) of your plan and the resources you have available will be critical to the success of your business. How many cows will you milk? Where will you market your milk? Will you hire employees? How much money do you need to live on after the dairy bills are all paid? Your business plan should include a cash flow plan that will help you set reasonable expectations for your expenses and cost of production.

So, if you are probably in the loop that taking up dairy farming in Kenya is next to striking gold. Well this might be right to some extent, but have you considered some of the challenges in dairy farming? Dairy farming Kenya is a lucrative business venture but over the years the sector has been clouded with many challenges. Dairy farming is a booming business especially with the high demand for tea by Kenyans. So if you are thinking of venturing into the agribusiness as a dairy farmer, better be prepared for the following challenges.

On this article we shall focus more on the dairy farmer rather than the dairy industry in Kenya itself, give us your thoughts at the end of the post.

The challenges of being a dairy farmer

When we look into our history, we know that centralized farming existed in most of the villages and cities. Many residents had enough land to keep cows and sell milk to their neighbors. However, in the modern world, very few people have cows due to the lack to space for the cows to grace. Even though people have enough money to buy milk, they don’t have place or time to rear cows. Depending on the location, people today prefer to tame cows and have a farm of their own.

1. Financial stress

Dairy farmers are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. With starting a Dairy Farming Business, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. As a dairy farmer, you will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs.

If you bootstrap your business or choose not to pay yourself (or pay yourself less than you were making at your corporate job), this can be financially taxing. It’s important to adjust your lifestyle as a dairy farmer and set a plan for yourself so you don’t find yourself in a stressful situation.

2. High workload for a dairy farmer

Dairy cows are milked twice a day, seven days per week, and if you can’t afford to employ people, you need to work seven days per week, too. You start before dawn and generally finish after sunset.

Unless you have the money to pay someone to look after the farm, you also miss out on holidays.

3. Time Consuming

With starting a Dairy Farming Business, all responsibilities and decisions are in the hands of the dairy farmer . Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

4. High Employee Turnover

In the Dairy Farming Business, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It’s important as a dairy farmer to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It’s important that you’re able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

5. Low Margins

The gross margins for your Dairy Farming Business are typically around 43%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

6. Competitive Market

Competition is high when it comes to your Dairy Farming Business, so it’s important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

7. Finding the right supplier

Most businesses in this space go the supplier/manufacturer route, which isn’t a bad thing! However, finding the right supplier can take a lot of time, energy and trial/error for any dairy farmer. If done properly, this process can save you months (if not years) of time and energy.

8. A dangerous place for a dairy farmer to work

The many tasks and unpredictability of animals make farms among Kenya’s most hazardous workplaces. Because they are also homes, farm injuries and deaths tragically include children. If you don’t have enough money to pay for assistance, again, you’re more likely to attempt jobs that should be left to skilled people.

Some challenges facing dairy farming in Kenya

1. Poor storage facilities for dairy products The most common problem shared by farmers in Kenya is the lack of proper storage facilities. This results in heavy losses as most of the milk production goes to waste. Ever wondered why during the peak season when the rains are falling but there is a shortage of milk in your area? Well it is due to the havoc that comes with the unpredictable weather pattern. Especially now with the heavy rains and floods currently witnesses around the country expect for milk to be more scarce. Most farmers are feeling the pinch of the lack of storage facilities.

2. Delayed payments to the farmers in dairy farming Milk processing plants have always had a back and forth with farmers especially when it comes to end month payments. This is a really big blow to the morale of the farmers who put in the time and effort. Some of the farmers end up taking law suits against the milk companies but to no avail. This forces many of the dairy farmers to take up initiative and hawk the milk in an attempt to salvage the losses. Sometimes the delays carry on for months and this really affects the budget of the farmers who also bears the cost of buying feeds and supplements.

3. Poor infrastructure for delivering milk products We are in the wake of the heavy rains that rocked the entire country bring every operation at a standstill. Dairy farmers are among those who have been worst hit by the floods which destroyed roads and made it impossible to deliver milk to the processors. Even without the rains, the Kenyan roads are in a pathetic condition. Most farmers have to struggle to get their products to the milk processors who are miles away. Also, there is limited milk cooling facilities in the country. This makes it hard for farmers in rural areas to deliver to the market.

4. Expensive feeds and supplements for feeding dairy cows For enhanced milk production farmers have to purchase feeds and supplements for the cows which are usually at a very high price. Given with the long history of delayed payments and cheap milk prices the farmers end up digging deep into their pockets to finance for the supplements. There are no incentives by the Government for producing commercial feeds hence the burden is passed on to the farmers. Also, regular fodder is becoming a major problem given the unpredictable weather pattern that often has a long dry spell of drought.

6. Lack of economies of scale for dairy farming terms Most of the dairy farmers in Kenya operate small scale enterprises and due to lack of education can’t use the management skills in milk production to turn it into a successful enterprise. However this can be overcome through the use of collective capacity between farmers in the same region. There also exists a challenge of well trained personnel in the entire levels of the value chain. This can be achieved when the farmers pool resources together in order to create and co-own dairy institutions to train on the capacity building in the milk production industry

There are some major benefits of dairy farming:

Since dairy industry is not dependent on rainfall, production is possible even on days when the weather is very dry and hot.
The rate at which milk is sold in the market has never gone down. Even when the supply has exceeded demand it has been noticed that the price has remained the same.
The demand for milk has always increased. Consumption of dairy products is on the rise by both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
Compared to products from other industries, marketing of milk is very easy. There is no need for special shops and expenses of marketing are also low for any dairy products.
Dairy farming is the only industry where income is guaranteed every month.

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