As 2024 drew to a close, we paid a visit to the ranch in Uganda after our initial visit in October to the Mayogoma Ranch.
The changes we made then – limiting the cattle grazing to just 5% of the farm for the grass to grow and recover – has yielded immensely positive results. The growth we saw surpassed even our own bold expectations, positively reinforcing our goal of increasing the carrying capacity and herd size by at least 3x.
Our objective measure is to now see how long it will take to complete the next full grazing cycle around the ranch. We believe that the first cycle will be three months, and the second cycle, six months. These are figures that we won’t know for certain until we complete the cycles.
Spending evenings around a fire, discussing our project with the team, showed us positive subjective results, too. Dr Joseph believes we can already sustain 50% more animals on the land, and Chris said that the grass hasn’t looked this good for years, when there were significantly less animals grazing. Herders are saying that they “will not go back to the way it used to be”. In addition to the positive results on the land itself, the presence of a more functional ecosystem around the cattle has resulted in less frequent dipping (intervals between dipping have been doubled). From what we can tell, disease incidence has also decreased.
It is still early days, but we are seeing promising initial signs that what we are doing is working, and worthwhile. Our major focus now is record-keeping and tracking the results of the model.
We believe in this project and hope that you learn to share our passion for what we are doing too – ultimately, we want to revolutionise farming in Africa, bringing opportunities and growth that have previously evaded the continent. Not only will this support generations of people and enable prosperity in previously poverty-stricken land, but it will offer a solution to a climate crisis that is hitting Africa hardest.
Be sure to check back in for further updates soon!
