Zipporah Kwambai

Adm No:

Date: 24/09/2023
 Milk Production Trends

Dairy farming and milk production is a field of agriculture that has evolved over years.
Evolution of dairy milk production has been fueled by the ever-increasing need for milk and milk
products for consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, approximately 150 million households around the globe engage in milk production. In
2022, the global production of milk was approximately 970 tons, with 55% of it being processed
for further dairy commodity production while 45% being consumed by households or sold to
traders (Le, 2023). In Kenya, milk produced is between 5.5 to 5.8 billion litres (Ochieng, 2022).
As milk production is poised to increase and improve, there are several emerging trends in this
field that dairy farmers need to be know for better production.

Trends in Milk Production

Dairy milk production has been subject to various trends and changes over the years,
driven by factors such as consumer preferences, technology, sustainability concerns, and
economic forces.

Choice of Breeds

Kenya is a country whose dairy farming contributing to milk production is done mostly in
small scale. Most farmers in small scale milk production still keep indigenous breeds or cross-
breeds which are characterized by low milk production. A dairy animal’s milk yield is largely
determined by the animal’s genetic composition. Exotic cows produce much higher volumes of
milk compared to the indigenous breeds. However, the choice of breed for Kenyan farmers
should be informed by the breed’s ability, production system, environmental factors and
expertise of the farmer (Kiplagat, Limo & Kosgey, 2012). Most farmers in Kenya are moving
away from the indigenous breeds by improving their animal breeds through artificial
insemination. This is a move to increase milk production and profitability.

Technology and Automation

Technology has played a key role in most agricultural sectors including the dairy sector
and more so in milk production. Most medium and large-scale farmers are tapping into
technology, including automation and data analytics to improve dairy farming and efficiency and
milk production (Gillespie, Nehring & Sitienei, 2014). Modern farms use of automated milking
systems to improve efficiency and allow cows set their own milking schedule (Matson et al.,
2021). Some farms are leveraging on internet of things (IoTs) and sensors to monitor animal’s
health. Technology is also helpful in milk production data collection, processing and decision
making as well as record management.

Value-Added Dairy Products

Producing milk is no longer the only goal of milk producers especially the medium and
large-scale dairy producers. Most farms are moving towards value addition of milk they produce.
Value addition in milk production generally focuses on production or manufacturing processes,
marketing or services that increase the value of primary agricultural commodities, perhaps by
increasing appeal to the consumer and the consumer's willingness to pay a premium over similar
but undifferentiated products (Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, 2023). Aside from
unprocessed milk, farmers can produce value-added products categorized as fermented,
unfermented, and byproducts. These include cheese, ghee, fermented milk, yoghurt, ice cream
and pasteurized milk, which have longer shelf lives and can also be sold for premium prices.

Sustainability

There's a growing emphasis on sustainable dairy farming practices. Sustainable dairy is

defined as a dairy industry that emits less greenhouse gas emissions by introducing technologies,
equipment and best practices in production and processing to safeguard nutrition security and
sustain a billion livelihoods for tomorrow, while helping secure a future for us all (Global Dairy
Platform, 2023). This includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing water and
resource use, and promoting animal welfare. Some dairy producers are adopting more
environmentally friendly practices to meet these demands.

Quality and Traceability

Milk is a fragile substance whose quality needs to be preserved from the time it is milked
to its processing and distribution. Consumers are becoming more concerned about the quality
and origin of their food, including dairy products. This has led to increased interest in product
traceability and certifications like organic and grass-fed. Emerging trends require farmers to keep
and be able to produce records of their feeds, medications, milking processes and any other
related milk production activity.

Steps taken in preparation of the advisory report

The advisory report was prepared based on the following steps

1. Defining the purpose and scope of the report. This includes identifying the subject
problem the advisory report addressed which is Trends in Milk Production
2. Gathering information. This step involved conducting research on trends in milk
production to collect relevant data, facts and information. A variety of sources was used
including books, articles, interviews, surveys, and databases.
3. Data analysis. This involves organizing and analyzing the collected data to draw
meaningful conclusions
4. Developing recommendations. This is the step when I drew recommendations based on
the finding of the research.
5. Report writing. This is the step the report was written to reflect the findings and
recommendations of trends in milk production.
6. Citing sources. The sources used in the report for data and information was referenced
using the APA style.
 References

Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. (2023, March). What is value-added agriculture?

https://www.agmrc.org/business-development/valueadded-agriculture/what-is-value-
added-agriculture

Gillespie, J., Nehring, R., & Sitienei, I. (2014). The adoption of technologies, management
practices, and production systems in US milk production. Agricultural and Food
Economics, 2, 1-24.

Global Dairy Platform. (2023, September 13). Sustainability in the dairy sector.
https://globaldairyplatform.com/sustainability/#:~:text=Sustainable%20dairy%20is
%20defined%20as,a%20future%20for%20us%20all.

Kiplagat, S. K., Limo, M. K., & Kosgey, I. S. (2012). Genetic improvement of livestock for milk
production. Milk Production-Advanced Genetic Traits, Cellular Mechanism, Animal
Management and Health, 77-96.

Le, T. (2023, May 31). Key dairy industry trends to watch in 2023. Alltech.
https://www.alltech.com/podcast-blog/key-dairy-industry-trends-watch-
2023#:~:text=Globally%2C%20almost%20970%20million%20tons,2%25%20annually
%2C%20Yunusov%20said.

Matson, R. D., King, M. T. M., Duffield, T. F., Santschi, D. E., Orsel, K., Pajor, E. A., ... &
DeVries, T. J. (2021). Benchmarking of farms with automated milking systems in Canada
and associations with milk production and quality. Journal of Dairy Science, 104(7),
7971-7983.

Ochieng, O. (2022, June 13). Kenya to produce 12 billion litres of milk annually by 2030 - Dairy
Board. The Star. https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2022-06-13-kenya-to-produce-12-
billion-litres-of-milk-annually-by-2030--dairy-board/