The Jamaica Dairy Development Board (JDDB) says it has secured a silage packing machine and accompanying new technology that will improve access to nutritious feed material for dairy cattle nationwide.

Made possible through funding from USAID through its Ja REEACH II project, the silo-packer machine — the first of its kind in Jamaica — will allow the JDDB to support small dairy farmers islandwide in storing fodder as silage, in order to continue to provide nutrition to their animals during periods when feed material is scarce or unavailable.

Speaking at the handover of the machine on September 12 at Bodles Research Station in St Catherine, Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw said that for too long there had been a steady decline in the dairy and beef industry, and that serious decisions needed to be taken on how to aggressively rebuild the industry.

New initiatives being undertaken, Minister Shaw assured, include the importation of embryos to accelerate further production, as well as the preservation of local strains of cattle.

Additionally, the agriculture minister said: “I want to see Bodles (Research Station) becoming a major instrument in converting research into on the ground action to improve production and productivity.”

While the making of silage is not new to Jamaica, Minister Shaw said this technology was particularly adapted for smaller farmers to use, as the silage was stored in small bags rather than in large bins or holes in the ground. This, he said, meant that small farmers could feed their herds over a longer period of time, as they were able to mobilise one bag at a time and so lengthen the period over which their total storage of silage remained wholesome.

In addition, the introduction of this silage-making technology to Jamaica gives the dairy farmers an option that could, under appropriate circumstances, be utilised to create a source of cost-saving, thus increasing their income.