Integration of Multifunctional Dairy Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) into a Whole Farm System in Hawaii: economic, ecological and social benefits.

Update 3/8/22

 KOA was able to accomplish all or part of our year 2 objectives except for objective 1 (Use of AI), objective 3 (quantification of milk production) and objective 7 (cheese production) for the reasons given below under each objective; all objectives will be met in Year 3 of this study.  Summaries of objectives accomplished to date are as follows:

Following our 9 objectives above, materials and methods for each are as follows:

1) Artificial insemination (AI): will use frozen dairy buffalo semen imported from a high-production buffalo dairy in Italy; semen is now being stored in a liquid nitrogen container by Kauai CTAHR Extension Agent Savannah Katulski; Dr. Mishra will use hormone injections (Lutalyse and Cystorelin) to synchronize estrus and then use a Continental AI gun to impregnate our three lactating buffalo cows in mid-late November 2019, therefore we will expect three more calves born in September 2020 (and as mentioned above, we are expecting another calf next month in December); this would bring our herd size up to eleven by September 2020;

Update 3/10/21

 Dr. Birendra Mishra, DVM, and Don Heacock used artificial insemination (AI) on three of our adult buffalo cows on December 6, 2019, all of which had calves that were 14 months old and had been weaned since 7 months old. Therefore, having more calving in October or November 2021 will allow us to first document calf birth weights and then document milk volume, and then to start making cheese by March or April 2022.

Update 3/8/2022

Objective 1: Use of AI (artificial insemination) to increase dairy buffalo herd size. 

Update: 03/08/22

As reported in our Year 1 Annual Report (March 2021), Dr. Birendra Mishra, DVM, and Don Heacock used imported frozen Italian dairy buffalo bull semen to artificial inseminate (AI) three of our adult buffalo cows on December 6, 2019, all of which had calves that were 14 months old and had been weaned when 7 months old. Unfortunately, none of the three AI’ed adult buffalo cows became pregnant. It is important to note that AI in buffalo is much more difficult than in cattle because buffalo have “silent estrus” which makes AI very difficult (i.e., very low pregnancy success rate).

It is for this reason that we put our young (2.5-year-old) but mature bull in the same paddock with our 7 adult buffalo cows in December 2020, which has resulted in four new calves born in 2021 (see Objective 5 below) and our 3 non-lactating cows are almost certainly pregnant and should calve in June or July 2022. Additionally, our 4 lactating cows with calves may also be pregnant and would calve between October through December 2022. Because our primary goal is herd-building we want to allow the calves to grow as big and strong as possible so we only milk occasionally (see preliminary milking video on our website: www.koafarms.org) until the calves are weaned at 7 months of age; therefore we will wean three of our calves by the end of March 2022. By early April we will start milking full-time, twice per day, quantify milk production (volume or weight), and start making cheese beginning in May of 2022. These milking and cheese-making videos will be included in our final report in March 2023.

Update 03/08/22

We did not use AI in our second year because of our herd’s existing genetic diversity (original 4 imported pregnant heifers were impregnated by 3 different bulls)  but may use AI in the third year of this project, or one year later, if we are able to use our adult bull, with marking collar and a chastity belt, as a “marker bull” so that he can show us when our buffalo cows are in estrus without impregnating them so that we can use AI at exactly the right time. It is important to note that the original 4 pregnant buffalo heifers we imported were impregnated by 3 select dairy buffalo bulls, so we have relatively high genetic diversity in our existing herd of 12 buffalo. We are now developing a more detailed breeding program with the help of our technical advisor Birendra Mishra, DVM, and we are planning to import frozen Murrah bull semen from top milk-producing buffalo herds in India within the next year or two as our herd size increases and there becomes the greater potential of inbreeding.

Objective 2: For our grazing management plan (GMP) and intensive rotational grazing system we will establish 6-8 paddocks, each about 2-3 acres, all with portable electric fencing, and we will monitor monthly for:

1. a) forage species composition, growth, production and nutrition (1/4 m square quadrant) and field tape measure used for random sampling forage species composition, height, and for collecting samples for forage tissue/nutritional analyses done monthly;
2. b) buffalo’s control of invasive weeds (e.g., umbrella sedge, Jobe’s tears, Java Plum trees and Hau trees) and relative forage preference will be photo-documented and measured during random forage sampling (above);
3. c) abundance of endangered water birds and species composition will be monitored, recorded and photo-documented weekly;

All survey and monitoring data will be recorded in a field notebook (Rite in the Rain); development of GMP will be photographed, video recorded, and forage nutritional analyses productivity will be graphically recorded. Also important to note that wildlife conservation scientists are recommending and using domestic water buffalo to manage uncontrolled invasive vegetation in and around wetlands; buffalo offer a cost-effective method for opening up clogged wetland areas to enhance waterbirds and other wildlife (BBC News 2014; Natural England 2008).

Update 3/10/21

KOA has developed 6 paddocks (Figure 1), with an average size of 2.5 acres (range= 2.0 to 4.5 acres), dominated by tropical Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus) and the legume Leucaena glauca, both highly invasive but are excellent forage species for buffalo. We graze the buffalo in paddocks 1,2,3 and 6 for 2-3 day intervals, paddock 4 for 4-5 day intervals and paddock 5, the largest, for 5-6 day intervals. Since we receive between 60-75 inches of rainfall per year, with rainfall spaced relatively evenly throughout the year, and because we have very fertile soil, our grass grows and recovers very fast.

Update 3/08/22

KOA just produced a video on “How KOA Farms Established a Rotational Grazing Management Plan (RGMP) for Dairy Water Buffalo” on YouTube (https://youtu.be/4qPE-9FOXpI)  and on Ho’ike (Kauai Public Access TV^[1]).

During the first year of this project, we used the methods described by Thorne, Fukumoto, and Stevenson 2007a^[2], Thorne and Stevenson 2007b^[3], by Savory Holistic Management with Intense Rotational Grazing (Savory Institute 2021), and with this information KOA was able to develop 9 grazing paddocks (Figure 1), paddocks 8 and 9 are new, and all paddocks average size is about 2.5 acres (range= 2.0 to 4.5 acres), dominated by tropical Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus) and the legume Leucaena glauca, both highly invasive but are excellent forage species for buffalo. Generally, we graze the buffalo in the smaller paddocks 1,2,3,7, and 9 for 1-2 day intervals, larger paddocks 4,5,6, and 8 for 2-3 day intervals, and sometimes for 4-5 day intervals depending upon rainfall conditions. Since we receive between 45-65 inches of rainfall per year, with rainfall spaced relatively evenly throughout the year, and because we have very fertile soil, our grass grows and recovers very fast, usually within 6- 7 days. Our exceptional calf growth rates (see below) and excellent body condition of our buffalo cows demonstrate that our rotational Grazing Management Plan (GMP) is working very well.

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[1] To view KOA Farms’ RGMP on Ho’ike go to: Ho’ike.org, Watch Now, Video On Demand, Videos, then Search for Water Buffalo.

[2] Thorne, M.S., G. K. Fukumoto and M.H. Stevenson. 2007a.  Foraging Behavior and Grazing Management Planning. Pasture and Range Management, PRM-2, CTAHR, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1-11pp.

[3] Thorne, M.S. and M.H. Stevenson. 2007b. Stocking Rate: the most important tool in the toolbox. Pasture and Range Management, PRM-4,       College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1-10pp.

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Photos of our current 12 buffalo herd are shown in Figures (2). Photos of the buffalo grazing on Guinea grass are shown in Figures (3). Guinea grass is the most productive forage in tropical and subtropical America and is a valuable pasture grass for cattle and for buffalo; the same is true of Leucaena a highly palatable legume that provides high-quality nutrition for all ruminants.

Additionally, unlike cattle or bison, domestic water buffalo also browse readily on leaves of several other invasive trees and plants, including: Macaranga grandifolia, the umbrella tree (Brassia actinophylla), hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus), satin leaf tree (Chrysophyllum oliviforme) (Figure 4 and 5), autograph tree or copey (Clusia rosea), Java plum (Syzygium cumini), Christmas Berry tree (Schinus terebinthifolius), the woodrose vine (Operculina tuberosa), Siris tree ( Albizzia lebbeck), invasive bamboos, and three semi-aquatic to aquatic weeds- honohono (Commelina diffusa), cat-tail (Typha angustata),  the umbrella sedge (Cyperus involucratus), and Job’s Tears (Coix lacryma). Although Albizzia trees, one of the worst invasive species on Kauai, are very large and the buffalo cannot reach their canopy, the buffalo eat seedlings and when very large Albesia are cut down the buffalo quickly eat any new coppiced shoots and finally kill the Albizia stump.

Based on the growth rates we have measured on our eight buffalo calves (see Objective 5 below for detailed calf growth data), our calves have grown faster and larger than those listed in the literature on dairy water buffalo calf growth in Italy and Bulgaria (Borghese 2013),  in the USA in Arkansas (Olson, per. comm.), at the Central Institute for Research on Buffalo (CIRB, 2016; in India) where they found that dairy water buffalo optimal growth rates were between 500-600 grams per day (1.1 to 1.3 lbs per day), and in Columbia where average daily weight gain is 700-800 gm/day or 1.5-1.7lbs/day (Juan Gonzalo Angel, 2015, on YouTube).  In contrast, our calves’ excellent growth rates of over 1,362 grams per day (over 3 lbs per day) are likely due to the abundant and high-quality forages found in our tropical Niumalu, Kauai pastures, on the high protein and high butterfat levels found in buffalo milk, and on our rotational grazing management program. 

In the USA, beef cattle calf growth rates average 1.6 lbs per day, whereas our recently born 4 buffalo calves have growth rates that have averaged about 2.5 lbs per day with some growth rates up to 3.2 lbs per day (see Objective 5 below).

Objective 3: Monitor Milk Production and period of Lactation.

Consumer’s demand for raw organic milk and value-added cheese will be measured in several ways:

1. a) By number of consumers requesting to enter into a herdshare contracts (currently I have 8 local consumers that want to establish herdshare contracts and bill of sale with KOA);
2. b) By the number of consumer requests given on Western SARE survey forms, and on phone calls and emails as a result of our farm demonstrations/workshops, PowerPoint presentations, and those who read or hear about our project through the social and news media and contact us for more information; additionally, survey responses from restaurants that express their willingness to buy our products via letters of intent to purchase after we conduct test marketing with Italian restaurants and pizzerias with fresh organic mozzarella cheese made from raw buffalo milk, which is currently unavailable on Kauai and throughout the state of Hawaii; we will use basic cheese-making equipment in order to make these value-added products, particularly the “mozzarella di bufala” (original mozzarella made from buffalo milk), known as the “white whale” of all cheeses!

Update 3/10/21

Monitor Milk Production and period of Lactation. We had no lactating buffalo cows during year 1 for reasons described in Objective 1 above. We do, however, expect to have lactating buffalo cows later this year, so we will be able to quantify milk production and make cheeses by March or April 2022, during Year 2 of this project.  Additionally, we have completed our corral, milking barn, stanchion and headgate (Figures 6 and 7).

4) Milk yields (kg/day) will be measured and monitored with a certified milk-weighing scale, Surge Bucket Milker, and stainless steel buckets, and recorded daily; lactation durations will also be recorded;

Update 3/08/22 

Because our primary goal at present is herd building, we want our calves to grow big and strong so we want them to consume as much milk as possible; we will start milking right after the calves are weaned at 7 months old. Three of our 4 calves will wean near the end of March 2022 and by April 2022 we will start milking 3 buffalo cows twice per day to quantify milk yields and lactation duration. These data on milk yields will be collected starting in April 2022 and will be presented in our Year3 annual report. A short preliminary video of our milking process can be seen on our website (www.koafarms.org).

Additionally, we have added an extension to our milking and corral area to handle the milking of more buffalo cows more easily (compare last year’s photos, Figures 8 and 9  above with Figures 10-12 below. Red arrows designate extensions with closeups of extensions images above.

Objective 4: Development of a Herd-share Contract and Bill of Sale. 

Update 3/10/21

Development of a Herd-share Contract and Bill of Sale. Because Hawaii is one of the seven states that does not allow the sale of raw milk, KOA has joined and worked with the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FCLDF) attorneys, using Hawaii State Contract Law, to develop a Herd-share Agistment (Appendix 1) and associated Bill of Sale (Appendix 2) in order to provide local consumers with delicious and nutritious raw milk. Raw milk has abundant digestive enzymes, probiotics, minerals, and vitamins (A,C, D, B1, E, K), almost all of which are destroyed by pasteurization (Raw Milk Institute; RealMilk.com; Sozanska 20193).

Update 3/08/22

Because Hawaii is one of the seven states that does not allow the sale of raw milk, KOA has joined and worked with the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FCLDF) attorneys, using Hawaii State Contract Law, to develop a Herd-share Agistment and an associated Bill of Sale to provide local consumers with delicious and nutritious raw milk. Raw milk has abundant digestive enzymes, probiotics, minerals and vitamins (A, C, D, B1, E, K), almost all of which are destroyed by pasteurization (Raw Milk Institute; RealMilk.com; Sozanska 2019^[1]). As of February 2022, we have received 23 requests from local families and individuals that want to purchase Herdshare Agistments or Contracts and associated Bill of Sale to purchase part of our dairy water buffalo herd. These local families would pay us a monthly fee to feed, care for and milk their buffalo for them. Note that we are not selling the milk, the milk belongs to them since they own part of the herd. Water buffalo meat is very low in cholesterol. The meat can also be included in the Herdshare Agistment/Contract and Bill of Sale.

Table 3 Comparison of Cholestorol Levels of Various Meats

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[4] Sozanska,B. 2019. Raw Cow’s Milk and Its Protective Effect on Allergies and Asthma. Nutrients 11(2): 469

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Objective 5: For monitoring calf birth weights, weaning, and growth rates, we will weigh calves on a standard stock scale, at birth, and on a monthly basis thereafter;

Update 3/10/21

Calf Birth and Growth Rates. Because none of the three buffalo cows that we used AI on in December 6, 2019 became pregnant (see Objective 1 above), no calf birth rates could be recorded during year 1.  However, our young sexually mature bull has been with our four adult buffalo cows since December 2020, so we expect four calves to be born somewhere between October and December 2021 so that calf birth rates can be recorded, and about 3 months after calving, we can quantify milk production and start making mozzarella cheese.

Halter-Trained Kane, our 18 month old, 1178 lbs, bull (photo above & below)

Update 3/08/22

(Buffalo Calves Born in 2021)

In 2021, we had 4 new calves born:

1. August 26- Samson (bull calf; metal ear tag 0-38), sire Kane (tag 0-36), dam Lani (tag 71AKP6971)
2. August 28- Maui (bull calf; tag 0-31), sire Kane, dam Kala (0-34)
3. September 5- Lamalani (cow calf; tag 0-40); sire Kane, dam Koko (tag 71AKP6969)
4. November 14 – Kekoa (bull calf; tag 0-28); sire Kane, dam PUA (tag 71AKP6970)

With the 4 new calves born in August through November 2021 we had planned to document calf birth weights, but this was not possible because dairy buffalo cows when calving generally separate themselves from the herd and seek out a secluded location in deep forest or brush to have their calves, therefore we were unable to get calf birth weights. However, this second batch of 4 calves born in August through November 2021 was weighed starting at ages ranging from 16 to 37 days old (see Table 2 below).

For comparison, in the USA, beef cattle calf growth rates average 1.6 lbs. per day, whereas our recently born 4 buffalo calves have growth rates that have averaged 2.64 lbs. per day with some growth rates up to 3.2 lbs. per day (Table 2 and Figure 13).

Based on the growth rates we have measured on our eight buffalo calves, our calves have grown faster and larger than those listed in the literature on dairy water buffalo calf growth in Italy and Bulgaria (Borghese 2013),  in the USA in Arkansas (Olson, per. comm.),   at the Central Institute for Research on Buffalo (CIRB, 2016; in India) where they found that dairy water buffalo optimal growth rates were between 500-600 grams per day (1.1 to 1.3 lbs. per day), and in Columbia where average weight gain of dairy buffalo is 700-800 gm/day. In contrast, our calves’ excellent growth rates of over 1,362 grams per day (over 3 lbs. per day) are likely due to the abundant and high-quality forages found in our tropical Niumalu, Kauai pastures, on the high protein and high butter fat levels found in buffalo milk, and on our rotational grazing management program. 

Objective 6. Training our Young Bull as a Draught Animal.

Update 3/10/21

To train our bull as a draught animal will need to obtain a harness (collar, hames and straps, tugs and heel chains); we will also use a harrow to help prepare the pondfields, and to puddle and level them prior to planting taro; we will use the wooden farm wagon for delivering produce to local Farmer’s Markets and for hauling agrotourists around our farm during agrotours; Dr. Peter Edwards at the Asian Institute of Technology, found that by replacing the typical wooden yoke on draught buffalo with a padded harness and hames, that the buffalo could pull twice the weigh in half the time because the harness and hames do not constrict the buffalo’s breathing ability as do the straps/lines on wooden yokes;

Update 3/08/22

Our bull Kane is now halter trained  We are making the bull a custom wooden yoke and we have purchased the bull’s yoke bow, britchen, hardware for the yoke, and the single tree, all of which are needed for harrowing and leveling our taro pond fields, and for pulling our agrotourism wagon in Year 3 of this project.

Objective 7:  Produce Value-added Cheeses.

Update 3/10/21

Cheeses will be made in Year 2 or 3 of this project for reasons explained in Objective 3 above.

Update 3/08/22 

Some research into cheese making has been accomplished. Still waiting for milk production.

Objective 8.  Conduct Educational Outreach.

Update 3/08/22

KOA FARMS developed an educational PowerPoint presentation entitled, “Integration of domestic Water Buffalo into a Whole Farm system on Kauai: ecological, economic and socio-cultural benefits” (see YouTube link below). This educational PowerPoint was presented at the annual meeting of the Hawaii Farmer’s Union on October 15, 2020, it was discussed on the “Garden and Farming Show” on Kauai Public Radio on January 20, 2021 and was narrated and presented on YouTube on February 24, 2021 (youtu.be). Additionally, this PowerPoint presentation can be viewed on Ho’ike, Kauai’s Public Access TV program, by going to: Ho’ike.org, then Watch Now, Video On Demand, Videos, then Search (Water Buffalo).

Additionally, we have made a preliminary video of milking our water buffalo that can be viewed on our website (www.koafarms.org). Also, we plan on making another video to be placed on YouTube entitled, “Basic Biology, Ecology, Care and Feeding of Dairy Water Buffalo” within the next month or two. Because all public libraries on Kauai were closed due to Covid pandemic these educational venues could not be used for public educational events.  Our draft website (www.koafarms.org) for both business and for educational purposes will continue to be updated and refined. Also, Dr. Birendra and I have drafted an article about this WSARE funded project for the Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources quarterly newsletter.

Begin KOA "agrotours" using draught buffalo bull to pull wagon carrying 6 passengers during farm tours; agrotourists will be required to fill out and sign the WSARE Survey. Finally, KOA has completed the construction of our wagon that will be used for agrotourism and for produce delivery on year 3 of the project (Figure 13), and we have completed making a yoke and bow (Figure 11) that our bull Kane will use to pull the wagon.

Dairy Water Buffalo fact sheets and pamphlets will be made available at all of our PowerPoint presentations, farm demonstrations, and workshops, which will also be video recorded and placed on YouTube; a final YouTube video of the entire projects goals, objectives, findings, and recommendations will be made available in April 2023 to SARE, UH/CTAHR, producers, collaborators and to all public libraries on Kauai; among others, these educational outreach efforts will clarify the confusion that exists in regulatory agencies and the general public regarding the difference between domestic dairy water buffalo (domesticated for over 5,000 years) and wild buffalo (e.g., African cape buffalo and American bison, neither of which have ever been domesticated and are very dangerous wild animals).  

KOA Farms is looking forward to a productive year in 2022-2023!

Aloha, Don Heacock