At the farm, October 2010

Last Saturday I went to our small farm at Kyenda, which is right after Kiboga town, on the road to Hoima. I went with aunt Agatha, because she was headed for her kyankwanzi farm, some kilometres ahead. So she dropped me off when I reached the area and she continued.

I hadn't been at the farm in about two years, so I needed to do some auditing of activity there, especially since my brother Muheirwe, who has been staying there and taking care of the farm and cattle, has moved his cows back to Kyenkwanzi.
I headed straight to where the cows were grazing at, and found them nearby, with the children of the current manager tending to them. It was refreshing to find new Fresian cross-breeds growing up.

There are about 100 cattle here, which have primarily been the Ankore long-horned type. But for the last 3 years, our plan has been to cross-breed them into diary cattle for commercial milk production, given that the farm is right on a main road, providing ease of access to transportation.  So all the calves and heifers are cross-breeds born between long-horned mothers and a Fresian bull. The bull, I had been informed by dad when I called him the previous day, that it has grown old and is constantly sickly, so he needed to take it back to his farm in Kyenkwanzi where there is greater care under his watch, and send a younger one here -so it had been loaded onto a truck and taken back that same morning.

I did an evaluation while there, of the inputs and outputs, established costs of running the farm on monthly basis and so on, to see if I can begin to provide drugs and equipments needed there, and making sure the workers are doing everything properly. I found some gross mismanagement going on there, and had quite a discussion with the current man managing the farm, called Ninsiima, who happens to be a relative from my mom's side. He asked to come here in April and my dad allowed him.
We took the cows to water at around 2 pm and later to the spray, because they had skipped the scheduled every Saturday morning activity for Sunday, for unknown reasons. Aunt Agather called me later on at around 4 pm that she was on her way back and I should meet her at the road as agreed, and we head back. But I couldn't make it without making her wait for too long. I returned to Kampala by taxi later that evening.

So I have been visiting the Vet Centre quite frequently these days, to inquire more on drugs and their costs. I will be going back at the end of the month.