Sustainable Livestock Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Livestock Farm Managers, Agricultural Extension Officers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-AA-057

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with livestock production, agricultural extension, veterinary services, farm management or rural development programmes.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Livestock enterprises must improve output and income while protecting animal welfare, grazing resources, water, soils and community access to land. Managers face recurring decisions on feed shortages, breeding choices, disease prevention, manure handling, water supply and market requirements. Poor records and weak monitoring make these decisions harder, particularly where seasonal variability, animal health risks and volatile input prices affect household farms, producer groups, commercial units and development programmes.

This course develops the practical management skills needed to assess a livestock system, identify priority constraints and put realistic improvements into operation. Participants work through feed and grazing budgets, body condition scoring, preventive herd-health planning, welfare assessment, breeding records, manure and nutrient management, water protection, enterprise budgets, traceability and sustainability indicators. The course uses recognised approaches including the Five Domains model, FAO SAFA, HACCP principles and IPCC livestock emissions estimation methods. Participants learn to balance production, profitability, environmental performance and social considerations rather than treating them as separate workstreams.

Instruction combines short technical briefings with livestock enterprise cases, facilitated group analysis, calculations, planning tasks and management simulations. Cases can be adapted for cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, pigs or mixed livestock systems, with attention to local production conditions. Each participant prepares a farm or programme improvement plan supported by baseline indicators, a risk register, a 90-day action schedule and named management records. The course is delivered over five days, from 08:30 to 16:30, in a classroom in 50+ cities or live online. Participants who complete the course receive a certificate of completion.

The course is suited to professionals responsible for livestock production, extension, veterinary support, agricultural programmes, producer organisations or responsible sourcing. It is particularly useful for staff who need to convert sustainability commitments into measurable farm-level management actions.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess livestock production systems using baseline inventories, seasonal calendars and materiality matrices
  • Prepare dry-matter budgets and rotational grazing plans for seasonal feed security
  • Apply the Five Domains model and preventive herd-health planning to improve animal welfare
  • Develop breeding, replacement and genetic-recording plans suited to local production conditions
  • Calculate manure nutrient flows and estimate livestock emissions using IPCC methods
  • Build enterprise budgets, gross-margin analyses and cash-flow forecasts from farm records
  • Design traceability, biosecurity and food-safety controls using HACCP principles
  • Produce a costed 90-day livestock improvement plan with indicators and assigned responsibilities

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible feeding, grazing and stocking decisions from seasonal production data
  • Identify welfare and herd-health risks before they cause avoidable losses
  • Prepare investment cases for fodder, water, manure and housing improvements
  • Use farm records to explain profitability, mortality and productivity trends
  • Lead a practical livestock improvement plan with measurable milestones

For your organisation

  • Reduced feed wastage and avoidable livestock losses through planned feeding and preventive health controls
  • Better animal welfare, biosecurity and treatment records for customers, regulators and programme funders
  • Lower nutrient losses and improved manure use in crop-livestock production systems
  • More reliable production, sales and cash-flow information for management decisions
  • Consistent sustainability indicators across farms, producer groups or supported communities

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can diagnose a livestock system and define measurable management priorities.

  • Livestock system mapping links herd flows, resources, labour and markets
  • Baseline inventories record herd classes, production, mortality, feed and land
  • Seasonal calendars identify forage gaps, disease peaks, labour and cash constraints
  • Farm-gate assessment separates purchased inputs, outputs, losses and household consumption
  • Materiality matrix ranks productivity, welfare, environmental and social management priorities
  • SMART indicators establish baseline values, targets, responsibilities and review dates

Participants can plan feed supplies and grazing use against livestock nutritional demand.

  • Dry-matter budgeting matches animal demand with pasture, fodder and concentrate supply
  • Body condition scoring guides ration changes for breeding and lactating stock
  • Rotational grazing plans specify paddock rest periods, stocking rates and triggers
  • Fodder conservation calculations size hay, silage and crop-residue reserves
  • Least-cost ration formulation compares local feed ingredients by nutrient contribution
  • Feed hygiene controls prevent mycotoxins, spoilage and contamination in stored feeds

Participants can establish welfare, preventive health and biosecurity controls for livestock units.

  • Five Domains model assesses nutrition, environment, health, behaviour and mental state
  • Preventive herd-health calendars schedule vaccination, parasite control and observation
  • Biosecurity zoning separates clean, transition and isolation areas on livestock units
  • Antimicrobial stewardship uses veterinary diagnosis, treatment records and withdrawal periods
  • Low-stress handling principles reduce injury during catching, loading and restraint
  • Mortality investigation records signs, post-mortem findings, causes and corrective actions

Participants can develop breeding and replacement decisions using production and adaptation data.

  • Breeding objectives balance productivity, fertility, adaptation, temperament and disease tolerance
  • Selection indexes combine performance records with locally relevant trait weightings
  • Controlled mating plans prevent inbreeding and align births with feed availability
  • Genetic recording tracks parentage, calving intervals, litter size and survival
  • Replacement policy sets culling criteria from performance, health and age
  • Community breeding schemes govern sire access, records and benefit sharing

Participants can manage manure resources and estimate priority livestock emission sources.

  • Manure flow mapping identifies collection points, storage losses and field destinations
  • Composting recipes balance carbon, nitrogen, moisture, aeration and turning intervals
  • Covered storage and slurry timing reduce nutrient losses and ammonia emissions
  • IPCC Tier 1 and Tier 2 methods estimate enteric emissions
  • Nutrient budgets match manure applications to crop demand and soil tests
  • Biogas feasibility screens feedstock volumes, water demand, digestate use and maintenance

Participants can protect livestock water resources and prepare for drought-related production risks.

  • Water-point mapping identifies access distances, contamination risks and seasonal shortages
  • Drinking-water demand estimates use species, weight, climate and production stage
  • Riparian buffers and off-stream troughs protect waterways from livestock access
  • Runoff controls use contour strips, drainage channels and sediment traps
  • Water-quality testing interprets microbial, salinity, nitrate and hardness results
  • Drought contingency plans define destocking thresholds, feed reserves and water priorities

Participants can use farm records and financial analysis to select viable management improvements.

  • Enterprise budgets separate fixed costs, variable costs, depreciation and family labour
  • Partial budgeting compares feed, health and housing changes before investment
  • Gross margin analysis identifies profitable species, products and production cycles
  • Farm records reconcile births, purchases, sales, deaths and closing inventory
  • Break-even calculations test prices, yields and cost assumptions
  • Cash-flow forecasts schedule feed purchases, veterinary costs and sales receipts

Participants can align livestock products and producer systems with buyer and food-safety requirements.

  • Market channel mapping compares buyers, grades, volumes, payment terms and transport
  • Quality specifications align liveweight, milk hygiene or egg handling with contracts
  • HACCP principles identify biological, chemical and physical hazards after production
  • Traceability records link animal identification, treatments, movements and product batches
  • Producer-group governance defines aggregation rules, payment systems and dispute procedures
  • Gender and youth analysis identifies control of assets, labour and income

Participants can monitor sustainability performance and respond to operational risks using structured evidence.

  • Risk registers score disease, drought, price, theft and conflict exposure
  • FAO SAFA themes structure sustainability assessment across governance and farm practices
  • Indicator dashboards track feed efficiency, mortality, welfare, emissions and margins
  • Sampling plans define data sources, frequency, owners and quality checks
  • Corrective-action logs assign root causes, actions, deadlines and verification evidence
  • Monthly review meetings use variance analysis to adjust management decisions

Participants can produce a costed, accountable plan for implementing livestock management improvements.

  • Farm improvement plans sequence actions by impact, cost, ownership and timing
  • RACI matrices clarify responsibilities for feeding, health, records and maintenance
  • Procurement specifications define quality requirements for feed, vaccines and equipment
  • Change-management messages address worker routines, incentives, concerns and supervision
  • Implementation budgets link activities, inputs, cash requirements and funding sources
  • 90-day review plans set milestones, evidence requirements and escalation routes

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Livestock system baseline assessment template
  2. Seasonal feed and grazing budget model
  3. Preventive herd-health and biosecurity checklist
  4. Manure nutrient-flow and emissions worksheet
  5. Farm enterprise budget and cash-flow template
  6. Costed 90-day livestock improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Livestock Farm Managers — need practical controls for productivity, welfare, costs and environmental performance
  • Agricultural Extension Officers — advise producers on feed, health, grazing and record-keeping improvements
  • Veterinary and Animal Health Officers — integrate preventive health, welfare and antimicrobial stewardship into farm plans
  • NGO Programme Managers — design and supervise livestock livelihood interventions with measurable results
  • Producer Cooperative Managers — improve member services, aggregation systems, quality controls and traceability
  • Responsible Sourcing Specialists — assess livestock supplier practices against welfare, environmental and market requirements

Skills and tools covered

Livestock systems assessmentFeed and grazing budgetingAnimal welfare managementHerd health planningManure nutrient managementFarm financial analysis

Tools and standards

FAO SAFA, Five Domains model, HACCP, IPCC Tier 1 and Tier 2 methods

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by livestock cases, small-group calculations, record reviews, planning tasks and facilitated discussion. Participants interpret farm data, prepare feed and financial estimates, assess welfare and disease risks, and compare management options under drought, disease and price scenarios. Trainers adapt cases to relevant species and production systems. Application planning links each method to participants’ own farms, supplier networks or programme portfolios. A certificate of completion is issued to participants who complete the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with livestock production, agricultural extension, veterinary services, farm management or rural development programmes. They should be comfortable reading simple farm records and working with percentages, quantities, costs and production figures. Experience with one livestock species is useful, but participants may work with cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, pigs or mixed systems. Prior training in animal science, accounting, carbon accounting, food safety or environmental management is not required. The course does not assume advanced spreadsheet skills or specialist laboratory knowledge.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic livestock production or have experience in agricultural, veterinary, extension or development work. Specialist animal science, carbon accounting and food-safety qualifications are not required.

Bring a laptop if possible, plus any non-confidential farm, project or supplier records you want to use for application planning. Typical useful information includes herd numbers, feed costs, production figures, mortality records and seasonal constraints.

It suits farm managers, extension officers, veterinary personnel, NGO programme staff, cooperative managers and responsible sourcing staff. Participants should have a role in advising, managing, assessing or supporting livestock enterprises.

The course connects production decisions with welfare, environmental controls, economics, market requirements and management records. It does not train clinical diagnosis or advanced animal nutrition science, although it covers the management information needed to work effectively with specialists.

Participants leave with a baseline assessment, priority indicators and a costed 90-day improvement plan for their own setting. The methods can be applied to individual farms, cooperative member support, supplier assessment or livestock livelihood programmes.

The five days provide about 32.5 contact hours, delivered from 08:30 to 16:30 each day. Time is divided across ten modules covering assessment, feeding, health, breeding, environmental management, economics, markets, monitoring and implementation planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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