Dry Season Feed Shortage: 7 Strategies to Keep Your Animals Alive

The dry season is the most dangerous time for African livestock farmers. Grass dies, crop residues run out, and feed prices spike 30-50%. Without a plan, farmers watch their animals lose 20-30% of body weight, stop producing (milk, eggs), or die. But the dry season is entirely predictable — it comes every year — so there is no excuse for being caught unprepared [1][2][3].

Strategy 1: Make hay during the rainy season (FREE)

Hay is simply dried grass, cut and stored when there is surplus during the rains. When grass is abundant (July-September in most of Africa), cut it, dry it in the sun for 2-3 days, bale it, and store it in a dry place. Hay retains 80-90% of the nutritional value of fresh grass if properly dried.

How to make hay:

1. Cut grass (Napier, Brachiaria, or natural pasture) when it is 60-90cm tall and before it seeds (highest nutrient content).
2. Spread in a thin layer (5-10cm) in full sun.
3. Turn once after 24 hours.
4. Dry for 2-3 days until stems snap when bent (moisture below 15%).
5. Bale or stack in a dry, covered area. Store off the ground on pallets.

Cost: FREE (your labor + a scythe or machete). One hectare of Napier grass can yield 20-40 tons of fresh grass per year, which dries to 5-10 tons of hay — enough to feed 5 pigs through a 6-month dry season.

Strategy 2: Make silage from maize stover (costs ~5,000 FCFA/ton)

Silage is fermented, moist feed stored in airtight conditions. It preserves feed for 6-12 months with minimal nutrient loss. Maize stover (the stalks and leaves after harvesting the grain) is the most abundant crop residue in Africa — and most farmers burn it or leave it in the field [1].

How to make silage:

1. Chop maize stover into 2-3cm pieces (improves compaction and fermentation).
2. Add molasses at 2-3% by weight (provides sugar for fermentation bacteria).
3. Pack tightly into plastic bags, drums, or a pit silo. Squeeze out ALL air.
4. Seal completely. No air = no spoilage.
5. Wait 21-30 days before opening. The pH drops to 4.0-4.5 (acidic), preserving the feed.
6. Once opened, use within 3-5 days (air re-enters and spoils it).

Strategy 3: Store crop residues properly (FREE)

Crop residues (maize stover, groundnut hay, cassava peels, rice bran) are the cheapest dry-season feed. But most farmers lose 30-50% of their residues to mold, rats, and rain because they store them improperly [2][3].

Proper storage:

• Store on raised platforms (30cm off the ground) to prevent moisture wicking.
• Cover with tarpaulin to prevent rain damage.
• Use PICS hermetic bags for groundnut hay and rice bran (prevents mold and insects).
• Treat maize stover with urea (5kg urea dissolved in 50 liters of water, sprayed on 100kg stover, wrapped in plastic for 7 days) — this breaks down the fiber and increases protein content from 3% to 8%.

Strategy 4: Plant drought-tolerant fodder crops (15,000-30,000 FCFA/ha for seed)

Some plants thrive in the dry season when everything else dies:

• Napier grass (elephant grass): Remains green through the dry season if cut at 60-90cm. Drought-tolerant. Yields 20-40 t/ha/year.
• Brachiaria: Deep-rooted, survives 4-5 months without rain. Excellent for grazing.
• Cactus (Opuntia): Stores water in pads. Survives extreme drought. High in water and energy. Cut and feed as emergency feed.
• Pigeon pea: Drought-tolerant legume. Leaves and pods are high-protein feed. Grows in poor soil.

Strategy 5: Use cassava as emergency energy feed (FREE if you grow it)

Cassava is the ultimate dry-season survival crop. The tubers are 30-35% dry matter and 80-90% carbohydrate — pure energy. The leaves are 20-25% protein. Both can be fed to pigs, poultry, and goats.

For pigs: Sun-dry cassava peel (see our article on cassava processing), or boil the tubers and feed with protein supplement (soya meal or fish meal). Safe at 30-50% of ration.

For poultry: Cassava flour can replace up to 50% of maize in poultry feed if supplemented with methionine (cassava is low in this amino acid).

Strategy 6: Reduce stocking density before the dry season

The most profitable decision in October-November is often to SELL animals you cannot feed through the dry season. Sell before prices crash (everyone sells in January-February when they run out of feed). Selling in November at 1,800 FCFA/kg is better than selling in February at 1,200 FCFA/kg after the animal has lost 20% of its body weight.

Strategy 7: Plan the breeding calendar around the dry season

Time your farrowing/hatching so that peak feed demand (young, growing animals) does not coincide with peak feed scarcity. For pigs: farrow in March-April (start of rains) so piglets grow during the season of plenty. For poultry: place broiler batches in the rainy season (April-October) when feed is cheaper and temperatures are moderate.

The dry season feed budget

For a 20-sow pig farm, the dry season feed need (6 months × 2kg/day × 20 pigs = 7,200 kg of feed) can be met with:

• 2 tons of hay (made during rainy season, FREE)
• 2 tons of silage from maize stover (5,000 FCFA for molasses)
• 1 ton of cassava peel (processed, FREE if you have cassava)
• 2 tons of commercial feed (1,000,000 FCFA)
• Total dry-season feed cost: ~1,050,000 FCFA (vs 2,520,000 FCFA for all-commercial feed — saving 1,470,000 FCFA)

Sources & References

• [1] Wiley (ACSESS): Forage conservation in sub-Saharan Africa — hay making and crop residue preservation in mixed crop-livestock systems. Source: acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
• [2] FAO: Strategies for dry season feeding of animals in Botswana — few farmers store crop residues such as maize stover. Source: fao.org
• [3] PMC: Livestock feed resources in the West African Sahel — crop residues are critical dry-season feed but underutilized. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov