Dairy Cattle Species


There are many breeds of cattle used for milk production in Ethiopia. For intensive dairy production the following five breeds are suitable when crossed with exotic breeds.

  • Berea
  • Fogera
  • Borana
  • Horro
  • Arsi

These local breeds have a low yield potential unless they are crossed with exotic breeds. Yields from unimproved local cows are generally less than 500 liters per lactation. With cross-breeding yields may be increased to 3000 liters per lactation.