Abstract

An increase in the global population coupled with the increasing demands for milk as an economic food and as an industrial raw food product has necessitated an increase in production by dairy farms. The study was conducted in Nekemte, Gimbi and Bako per urban towns of Western Oromia. The results obtained reveal that the total daily milk yield improved five-fold through improving the gene of Horro breeds. The overall mean of daily milk yield was 12.4, 6.9 and 7.8 L/day at Nekemte, Bako and Gimbi, respectively. The crossbreed cows produced more milk at Nekemte and Gimbi when compared with Bako due to some managemental and environmental factors. Therefore, it can be concluded that the daily milk and income of small scale farmers improved through crossbreeding of indigenous breeds with exotic breeds; with reasonable management of the animals. Future research will include the view of participating farmers in the realization of this project.

Key words: Bako, Crossbreds, Gimbi, Nekemte, per urban dairy.