The cows told us… “We want more water!”

Water was provided 3 times per day, but it was offered in small buckets and was likely limiting intake.

Water is the often considered the most important nutrient. No one can survive but for a few days without it. It’s really important to cows to not only survive, but to also cool their body during hot water and, the main reason I’m here, to provide more milk!

In some parts of Ethiopia, they have limited access to water, especially during the dry season, which we are in the midst of right now. It hasn’t rained at all since I arrived on February 1 and there has been almost no rain here since last October!

Luckily at Yaya Dairy in Ziway, Ethiopia, they have plenty of ground water as they are about the length of a football field from Lake Ziway. It is the largest lake of the northern Rift Valley with a surface area of about 170 square miles!

We had some old half-barrels, so we put them in front of the cows with water and the told us… We like more water!

After observing the cow’s behavior for just one day, I suggested the most critical intervention they could do to improve animal health and productivity was to provide more water. I challenged them to consider how we could make it available 24/7. Our goal needs to be to ensure they have access to fresh clean water at any moment of the day.

They had tried that before, but they indicated the cows would end up getting a lot of feed in the water. If that happened, it would waste feed and limit water intake as well.

As I always do when faced with a problem that doesn’t seem to have a solution, I acknowledge the frustration of that problem then ask but how can we solve this. So, I said, I know that didn’t work before, but how can we get water access to all of the cows 24/7?

I realized I need to find a way to let the cows tell everyone here that they want more water. So, we got buckets and half-barrels and started filling them. It was immediately clear that they wanted more water. All of you can see what they told us by watching the video clip below. This “experiment” convinced the dairy farmer that he needed to find a solution. Watch the second clip below and you will hear his passion and understand what he is saying, even if you now speak Amharic! He has now ordered enough barrels so that every cow will have access to water at any time of the day or night!

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Improving the feeding program as Yaya Dairy so Ziway can improve access to safe and affordable dairy products.

Abayineh is showing me how they have been feeding cows.

Assessing the current feeding program at Yaya dairy was the first step in determining opportunities to improve how they feed their cows. This included assessing the ingredients they feed as well as the way in which they feed them. Both are important to ensuring we are meeting the cow’s nutrient requirements to remain healthy and productive.

Forage options:

February is in the midst of the dry season in Ethiopia. They haven’t had any significant rainfall since October. While access to ground water in this area is okay, the soil is very dry and provides limited options to for pasture or fresh feed. Developing a plan for improved feed storage systems so that more forage can be harvested during the rainy season, stored and then fed during the dry season is a longer-term goal.

However, my immediate goal is to identify ways we can make small changes now that will lead to improved feed intake and subsequently increased milk production. We currently have very limited feed options. The primary forage types available right now are Wheat Straw, Barley Straw, Teff Straw, and Maize Stover.

The biggest challenge we have is to find ways to improve the palatability of these dry forages so that the cows will eat them. In other words, we have to find the best recipe we can make and the way we make it, using a set list of ingredients.

Yaya Dairy’s feed formulation consisted of Teff Straw, Brewery By-product (Brewer’s Grain), Wheat Bran and a Grain Concentrate mix that includes a blend of both protein and energy sources). They have some access Barley and Wheat straw and recently received several large totes of Maize (corn) Stover to see how well the cows eat it and perform.

Assessing the current (now old) feeding system

One way of improving palatability of these dry forages is to add moisture. Some in the past have suggested making a wet “mash” as the best option to ensure the cows eat all of the forage. That may work in some situations, but, the cows were telling me that it may not be the best option for Yaya Dairy. Observing cows taking small bites of soggy forage and seeing the more expensive grains settle to a sloppy mess on the bottom of the feed trough, I showed Yared, the dairy farmer, and Teshome, the manager what was happening. The

cows were limiting their feed intake and weren’t getting a consistent diet every day. So, I proposed we try making a TMR (Total Mixed Ration) for the cows.

Introducing a TMR to the cows at Yaya Dairy

We made the change for that afternoon’s feeding and were ready to assess how the cows respond. Since this was just a “test” and because we don’t have a TMR mixer here, we simply brought all the ingredients to the feed bunk and blended them together right there. Within moments, we saw positive indications that the cows really liked this feeding approach. We watched as the entire row of cows stood eating until it was all gone. I was excited to see this progress and thrilled to here Yared declare, “We now have a new feed system!” We have since continued to increase the TMR batch sizes because they are eating more and more every day.

While it will take a little while for the cows to respond with increased milk production, this change is expected to make a very significant impact on Yaya Dairy Farm’s ability to produce more milk and to make more milk available at an affordable price for the people in the Ziway community.

Visiting Yaya Dairy Farm for the first time… Assessing key opportunities to make the biggest difference

Visiting Yaya Dairy Farm in Ziway, Ethiopia for the first time as part of my first Farmer-to-Farmer training with Catholic Relief Services was a very interesting experience. I have taken many weeks to prepare for this visit but was still feeling quite unprepared! I’ve been around dairy cows my entire life, studied dairy science at Penn State and have spent nearly 30 years working in the dairy industry. So, I should have felt fully prepared! However, I knew Yaya Dairy Farm would be

unique to any dairy I’ve worked with in the past! I knew I would encounter challenges I may find difficult to overcome but prayed that God would grant me the wisdom to help them improve their dairy management practices so that they and other dairy farmers here can improve their livelihoods and have a lasting impact in this community of about 50,000 people!

Yared Abebe in his barn where they milk 18 cows.

Immediately upon meeting Yared Abebe, the owner of the dairy and his farm manager Teshome, I could tell they were very open to new ideas. However, this farm was in fact so different than any others I’ve worked with in the past and certainly different than farms in the United States!

Yared started the farm 6 years ago on a small lot of land within the boundaries of the city of Ziway. He has an option to farm 5 hectacres (about 12.5 acres), but it’s not yet finalized. He has 18 Holstein cows currently milking 11 liters (about 25 pounds of milk) per day. two adult bulls, some younger bulls and raises all of his heifer calves. Yared also stared a cafe and small processing plant, buys milk from more than 20 other farmers, and provides milk and yogurt for 2,000 children in Ziway. He is also in the process of building a feed processing center to that he can lower is cost, have confidence in concentrate he is feeding and finally be a resource for other farmers in this community!

First view when walking through the “Farm Gate” was a few cows in the open barnyard and buildings from Oromia State University in the background.

Throughout the day at the dairy, there are around 7-10 employees tending to the tasks of caring for this relatively large dairy farm. While they have grown some crops, right now, at the end of the dry season, 100% of the feed is purchased. They sell a lot of milk right at their back gate where people line up to purchase fresh milk at 50 Ethiopian Birr per liter. Today this is equivariant to $.93 or $3.52 per gallon. His neighbors come here because they know and respect Yared and because he has milk available at a fair price, lower than what they would pay in the store. That is IF they have milk available in the store.

My first full day at the dairy was focused on learning from all of them. What works well? What do they perceive as their biggest challenges? How do they manage their records? How do they evaluate new ideas to consider? What is most important to them? As we met and at times, worked alongside of each other, I was assessing and taking notes about every aspect of the dairy… the feeding program, milking procedures and milk production, breeding program, employee management, fly control, etc.

My first and most important objective this day was to really understand more about them, their perceptions, values, beliefs and goals before I would even consider jumping into providing solutions. After all, I know other experts have been here, I know Yared is constantly seeking out new ideas, even traveling to Kenya recently to visit other progressive dairy farmers. If fact, at one point, I asked myself “With all of the challenges and restraints, how in the world was I going to accomplish anything good here?

The answer to that question didn’t come easily. I realized that I would be continuing to learn from them for the duration of my time here. Most importantly, I realized the answers were not just solutions me or any other expert would provide. Yared, Toshema and many of the workers have ideas that may make a difference.

The biggest confirmation I had was that the solutions would have to start from within the confines or our current situation. Feed options and financial resources are very limited. I also realized that, like on our dairy farms in the United States, solutions would have to be systemized with clear protocols that will lead to continued improvement long after I go back to Pennsylvania!

So, with faith in God, I embraced this opportunity to learn from them, share ideas, encourage everyone at the dairy to be a part of the solutions.

As the dust settled on this day, I realized the problems we are working on are far greater than just helping a dairy farmer improve milk production. Yes, it is about helping Yared improve profitability of his dairy. Beyond that, it is about improving the livelihoods of all his employees. It’s about passing on the knowledge learned here to the 20 other farms Yared buys milk from. Most importantly, it’s about ensuring more milk is available and affordable to thousands in this community and millions across the rest of Ethiopia and East Africa. The stakes are high, the work is challenging, but I have confidence that the solutions will come “One Cow at a Time!”

Abeil showing us one of the primary forage sources, Wheat straw.

Tosheman (manager), Abnet, interperter from Catholic Relief Services and Yared Abebe, owner of Yaya Dairy Farm

A day off from volunteering to attend church and broaden cultural experiences in Ethiopia!

Today was a day off from volunteering from dairy farmer training with Catholic Relief Services for the Farmer-to-Farmer program. So, it gave me an opportunity to experience even more of the Ethiopian culture.  

After having breakfast, Yared Abebe, the dairy farmer I’m working with, took me to the local Zewey Evangelical Lutheran Church aka “Mana Amantaa Wongeela Luutaranii Batu.” There are many ways we can experience another’s culture, but going to church with fellow Christian’s enables one to quickly realizes that any difference we may have don’t matter as we are all seen as one and the same in God’s eyes. We worship and pray together while lifting praises to God and give Him thanks for all of the blessings he’s bestowed upon us. I invite you to experience a small but powerful part of this service by watching this video on my Facebook page.

The pastor gave me an opportunity to introduce myself. I everyone for making me feel so welcome. I shared there were times I questioned if I should come all the way here from America but that Deuteronomy 31:8 provided me with comfort and the courage to come to Ethiopia… “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”  I added, worshiping with you today made God’s presence clearly known in our minds and felt in our hearts!

The pastor’s message during his sermon focused on Unity through Christ. That is especially important here in Ethiopia as there are some areas with ongoing conflict between different cultures and tribes. Following the church service, my interpreter and his friend had lunch with me at a local restaurant. His friend, who I just met, extended a tradition of the Hamer Tribe form Southwest Ethiopia by kindly sharing a traditional bracelet as a welcome gift. Just as I experienced coming together with fellow Christians with lots of difference, let us pray that God’s spirit will rest upon all those who experience conflict, in Ethiopia, in the United States and other places around the world, come together in peace.

Jesus is Lord. In Amharic “Eyesus Geta Now”

Preparing for a Farmer-to-Farmer project in Ethiopia focused on Improving Dairy Management Practices

Getnet Assefa & Zelalem Yilma from Land O’Lakes Venture 37.

I did a lot ahead of time to prepare for this Farmer-to-Farmer training project through Catholic Relief Services and US-AID, but there is only so much one can do to prepare to teach farmers in a different country, especially when I had never been to Ethiopia before. While I’ve worked in several other African countries, I couldn’t finish preparing until I arrived and gained more local insights into the specific challenges and opportunities dairy producers face here.

The first meeting I arranged was with two leaders from Land O’Lakes Venture 37, a non-profit organization that is affiliated with that well known and farmer-owned brand, Land O’Lakes. They are doing amazing development work with farmers in many parts of the world, including here in East Africa. They just recently completed a successful project to advance the availability and use of artificial insemination in the dairy sector.

Secondly, I met with the staff at the CRS office in Addis Ababa to gain more insights on Ethiopia and the Farmer to Farmer program here. I also received a security briefing to ensure I’m aware of precautions I need to take to ensure I am safe over the next couple of weeks. Here are a few key insights that are interesting and helpful to better understand the current state of agriculture and the dairy industry here in Ethiopia.

General Agricultural Facts:

• Ethiopia is an Agrarian country with approximately 85% of all employment being related to agriculture.
• Agriculture represents over 37% of the country’s Gross Domestic product.
• Average rainfall ranges from 20″ to 71″ per year. But, that is not uniformly dispursed throughout the year. Some rains begin during “Belg” in March and April. But most of that rain comes during “Kiremt” or “Meher” (Summer) from June through Sepember.
• Elevation ranges from 400′ BELOW see level in Dalol to over 15,000′ in Ras Dashen. The Highlands have more plentiful forage for their cows during the rainy season, but need to have stored forage for the dry season. The lowlands are just the opposite. More to come on feeding cows here in a later post!
• 80% of all energy power used to prepare crop land is Oxen! Some larger farming operations use tractors, but the vast majority of farmers still use Oxen till the soil.  

General Dairy Farming facts

• Dairy farming consists of four different segments: Pastoralism (30%), Highland smallholder, Urban and Peri-Urban around major cities and finally Intensive Dairy Farming (2%)
  • Local cattle breeds make up over 97% of the dairy cows in Ethiopia, the remining 3% consist of cross-bred, and some pure-bred Holstein and Jersey cattle.
  • Average milk production is <2 liters per day
• Average age at first calving is over 4 Years! Better managed farms may be 2.5-3 years. In the US, we usually target around 22 months of age!

Now its time to head south to Ziway, Ethiopia to see where I’ll be staying for the next 2 weeks and to meet the Yared Abebe, owner of Yaya Dairy Farm. Below we are heading down the road from Adama to Hawassa along with our driver Tedy and in the back Assefa Degef, Senior Project Officer with Catholic Relief Services Farmer- to- Farmer project in Ethiopia (left) and Abnet Dereje my interpreter.

Arriving in Addis Ababa and wondering… how do the 5.4 million people living there get enough to eat?

13 1/2 hours on an Ethiopian Airlines flight and I finally arrived. That was a very long flight! It gave me lots of time to wrap up a few things for work and to further prepare myself for the next two weeks in Ethiopia working with dairy farmers.

Seeing the vast sprawling view of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as shown below, caused me to pause and think about how it is that everyone living here can have enough food to eat. (The reality is that the same can be said about every large city and most towns in the United States.)

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a rapidly growing population over 5.4 million people!

But, lets focus on Addis Ababa and the 5.4 million people living there. Looking at their population trends, Addis Ababa has been growing by millions of people over the past several years and projected to grow by millions more over the next several years. In fact, it took 6 years from 2012 to 2018 to add 1 million more people. That decreased to 5 years and is projected to decrease to 4 and then 3 years to have additional millions more in Addis Ababa! This is like around 600-700 people every day in this city. I’m sure they all want to ensure they have enough food for themselves and their families. But can they?

Data from https://worldpopulationreview.com/

According to research published a few years ago, “There is an immediate and growing shortage of dairy products in all major cities of Ethiopia…” So what is the answer? The researchers continued, “…the trends of economic prospects for dairy industry performance and development are rather good both at small holder and on more commercial levels. (However) There are different constraints affecting milk production potential of dairy cattle in most parts of Ethiopia including shortage of grazing land, disease and parasites, shortage of land for cultivation of improved forage, inadequate veterinary service, low milk production potential of local zebu cattle, inadequate Artificial Insemination (AI) service and labor shortage.” Dairy Production in Ethiopia – Existing Scenario and Constraints

One key part of the answer to address many of these constraints is improving overall dairy management practices on both small holder and larger commercial level herds in Ethiopia will be a major factor in ensuring sufficient food for the population of Addis Ababa and the rest of Ethiopia. I feel blessed to have this opportunity to work with Catholic Relief Services Farmer-to-Farmer Program to contribute a small part of the solution to this massive challenge.

There are over one million small holder dairy farmers in Kenya who have just 1-4 cows. They represent about 80% of the dairy farms and produce about 56% of milk in Kenya.

These farms are spread throughout Kenya, leading to the challenges of getting their fresh milk to consumers.

Heifer International’s efforts to connect farmers to markets is so important for two primary reasons:

• Improving household income: Limited access to markets means farmers may not be able to sell their milk or other perishable crops, limiting their income and ability to afford other basics needs.
• Improving food security throughout Kenya and East Africa: Farmers having the ability to refrigerate, process and distribute their milk enables others who are not farmers to have access to more affordable and nutritious diets.

One of Heifer’s most important solutions is helping farmers to form small local cooperatives where they can work together collectively to connect the entire community of farmers to markets. These dairy cooperatives may have 5,000 or more small holder farmer members who bring their milk to central milk collection and cooling centers. Here’s a picture of the Muthiru Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society where we visited.

Farmers work together to hire “milk collectors” who travel around to farms and pick up full cans of milk. They strap them to their motorcycles and transport the milk to collection centers.  We’ve seen 4-5 large cans of milk weighing more then 100 pounds each strapped to the back of motorcycles!

They deliver the milk to the cooperative where it is tested for quality, weighed, filtered and then pumped into refrigerated bulk storage tanks where is it cooled and ready for transportation to larger processing plants. We’ve posted a series of pictures below showing each step of the process. 

Heifer has worked with thousands and thousands of farmers to help them organize and gain access to these types of milk collection centers and cooling tanks. They have also helped some expand their cooperative business and connect them closer to the consumer.

At Muthiru Dairy Cooperative, they have added a yogurt room where they manufacture about 15% of their daily milk supply into yogurt. Currently, they are making just strawberry and vanilla. They expect to increase their processing capacity and sales significantly in the future. Overall, this has set them up well to improve the profitably of their member farmers while also improving access to nutritious yogurt for people in their communities. By the way, the yogurt is delicious! .This cooperative has also invested into a new technology to make milk available to people at anytime through the introduction of ATM machines. That is “Any Time Milk” machines.

The cooperative stations these ATM milk dispensing machines throughout the community and fills them with up to 1,000 liters (264 gallons) of fresh milk. Consumers bring their own containers, pay for their milk and it is dispensed into their containers. What a great idea to increase and entire communities access to better nutrition!

Meeting with several Cooperative Board leaders and members, it is amazing to see how a little help from Heifer International has lead to these outstanding business ventures that started very small, but are now growing.

Every one of the cooperatives we visited have goals to double or triple the amount of milk they process every day. The majority of this additional milk will come from improved dairy cow management and nutrition. That’s one reason I’m so excited about Elanco’s East Africa Growth Accelerator project where we are training farmers to help them improve animal health and productivity!

These are just a few examples of how Heifer International and all their partner’s efforts, along with God’s everlasting presences, will help end hunger and poverty throughout all the earth. Please consider joining in and supporting Heifer here: https://fundraise.heifer.org/fundraiser/2191593 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We want to share the story of two other amazingly resilient and resourceful farmers we met during our visits with Heifer International. 

First, Lydia operates a farm on just 1 acre of land. She has two milking cows and one heifer. She raises all of the fodder she needs plus many seeding plants she sells to other farmers as well as many fruits and vegetables. Lydia manages to use literally every square inch of her land for some productive purpose!

She began raising Nepier grass (sometimes called elephant grass) several years ago because it yields an abundant amount of fodder. It is particularly well suited for planting in East Africa because it can grow very well even during periods of limited rain and on land with marginal fertility. The biggest problem is that it can grow so fast that it is difficult to harvest before it grows too tall and it’s nutrient content is greatly reduced.

Very tall and abundantly yielding Nepier grass.

She is now in the process of replacing a portion of her Nepier grass with a new combination crop of Brachiaria grass and Desmodium, a legume. Brachiaria is a native grass that also yields well even during periods of less rain. It can be harvested every three months, providing more higher quality fodder that enables cows to produce more milk.

Desmodium that is grown with Brachiara captures more nitrogen from the air moves it into the soil, to provide better growth of the grass as well as improved yields of maize planted in rotation while needing less fertilizer.

This is a small “nursery” area where Lydia has started growing some Bracharia grass that will soon be translated to another patch on land on her farm.

Desmodium, a legume that is often grown with Brachaiera grass seen in the background.

 

Lydia uses manure from her cows to fertilize her land where she raises seedlings, vegetables and many different kinds of fruits.  Below are pictures of papaya, sugar cane, passion fruit and arrow root. She also grow bananas, peppers, onions, and tree tomatoes.

Finally, I want to introduce you to Joseph, one of the many farmers we met at the Katheri Dairy Farmers Cooperative in Central Meru, Kenya. Joseph is now milking 10 cows and his production per cow averages about 25 liters (~57 pounds) per cow per day!

This is two to three times more milk per cow than most other than most other dairy farmers in the area. He has adopted many new ideas and technology to improve animal care and productivity. 

Joseph shared with me that improving feeding and nutrition of his herd has been most important to his farm. He is harvesting and storing fodder as dry hay or making maize and grass silage. He is also refining his grain supplement feeding to ensure his cows receive the proper vitamins and minerals to enable his cows to produce more milk.

Finally, Joseph never stops trying to learn. He came to our meeting at Katheri Dairy cooperative because he wanted to meet with the Heifer International team who came from America. He was extremely interested in learning more about dairy farming in the United States, including learning about the products and services we offer through Elanco.  It was such a pleasure to meet Joseph and so rewarding to help a farmer like him who is striving to get better each and every day!

Up next… Learn about how farmers market their milk through small local dairy cooperatives. 

Note: We’ve been so busy over the past several days, it’s been challenging to keep up with our posts here. So, we’ll try to catch up over the next couple of days!

Susan generously shared a cup of Uji to show her appreciation to all of us who visited her farm!   Uji, is a Kenyan Fermented Porridge made with dried maize, millet and sorghum that is mixed with water and left to ferment for a few days before cooking.

During our time working with Heifer International, we met several farmers who have demonstrated the profound impact Heifer made in their lives.

One of those farmers was Susan. She started with one cow and now has four cows! We  learned about how Heifer helped her to improve her farm through improved animal care as well as improved farming practice to have more, higher quality fodder available to feed her cows.  She was very proud to demonstrate her fodder chopper and even taught us how to chop maize, napier grass and other plant material into smaller particles. This enables her cows to consumer more fodder and increase the digestibility of that feed, both of which lead to improved milk production.

Susan taught us how she uses this fodder cutter to chop her maize (corn), Napier Grass and other fodder into small pieces to improve consumption, digestion and milk production.

Her four cows are producing 65 liters per day. This is about 16 liters or 36 pounds per cow per day.

Her family consumers 1 liter per day and she feeds 4 liters to young calves, leaving 60 liters per day to sell at about 38 Kenyan Shillings (about 38¢) per liter. Total milk sales are 68,400 KSH  (about $684 USD) per month!

While this is still significantly below the average production per cow in the United States, she is doing better than many other farmers and is focused on continual improvement for her own farm as well as with her  entire community of farmers.

I shared insights on determining the best time to harvest this yellow maize demonstration plot based on the”milk line” in the maize kernels.

In fact, Susan serves as a Heifer International “Peer Farmer Trainer” and leads a discussion group of 25 other neighboring farmers. First learning from Extension and Heifer farmer advisers, she then shares with other farmers is  a great example of how Heifer International participants “Pass on the Gift” of knowledge to others. This helps improve the ability of all farmers in a community to improve animal care and productivity, which leads to a better livelihoods for each farmer and more milk being available for all people living in the communities where Heifer International is working to over come hunger and poverty!

As Susan has learned from Heifer over the past several years, her farm has grown from one cow to four cows, and she now “Passes on the Gift” of knowledge to other farmers in her area.

New farmer striving to provide more food for her family

Lauren and I after we met with Dorothy, a relatively new farmer holding her 2-week old daughter.

Today we met with farmers in Central Meru, Kenya who have only recently started to work with Heifer International. Dorthy and her family are just one example of the significant challenges of food insecurity. She shared great appreciation for the support Heifer International, and all of you, bring to help her improve!

One of the most important things has been the ongoing training and support coordinated and facilitated by Heifer. You see, Heifer leverages the support we all provide through donations with support from local county governments in Kenya as well as dairy cooperatives and the private sector to support Extension Officers and Peer Farmer Trainers. Together, we can all help Dorothy and other farmers, improve their knowledge and animal husbandry practices.

Dorothy chopping corn fodder and peanut tops as she prepares to feed her cows.

Dorothy currently owns three cows, but only 1 is milking. She calved 5 months ago and is producing 10 liters (about 2.5 gallons or 22 pounds) of milk per day. Dorothy is doing her best to provide the fodder and other feeds her cows need.  The cow’s ration consists of chopped corn stover, peanut plant tops, and a limited amount of grain.

While meeting with Dorothy, Heifer’s Animal Well Being Manager and I discussed the importance of ensuring her cows have more energy and nutrients. We explained that providing more nutrients would enable her cows to stay healthy and produce more milk which will help keep her and her family healthy. This training is so important because Dorothy’s cow could be producing at least twice as much milk right now!

Dorothy’s three cows. The two on the ends are dry and the one in the middle is currently milking.

Regarding her other two cows that are about to have their calves, we encouraged her to review our suggestions with her Extension Officer and Peer Farmer Trainer and consider making these small changes in her feeding practices. She is so interested in improving her farm, I’m certain she will continue to learn and will soon be producing much more milk from each of her cows soon. That will help her, her family and her entire community to overcome hunger and poverty!

We hope you’ll consider supporting farmers like Dorothy as Heifer works with them and helps them lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. Please consider making a contribution to Heifer by clicking here! 

Dorothy and her husband along with her mother.