Meet the world’s most expensive cow
Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy of Canada was bought by two breeders from the US. Maybe at one time Kenyan farmers will enjoy a piece of Missy since the country is a major importer of livestock semen from the US. Photo/ VICKI FLETCHER
What you need to know:
Kenya’s top cow is worth Sh250,000; but Missy was sold for Sh90 million
The world’s most expensive cow can buy the 42 Kenyan Cabinet members two Volkswagen Passats each and leave enough pocket change for fuelling the cars.
In a deal done last year but closed recently, Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy, the cow which sold for about Sh90 million came with another Sh249 million worth of pre-signed contracts.
According to clippings posted on the website of the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute last month, Missy is long and leggy with perfectly shaped teats for efficient milking. It has a big chest that indicates a healthy heart.
It would require almost a whole herd of the best in Kenya to match up with Missy. For example, Olivia, a top milk producer at the Amboni Farm in Mt Kenya and which produces between 40 and 50 litres of milk a day, would fetch about Sh250,000.
According to the ILRI clippings, Missy could calve as many as 75 offspring in her lifetime, and produces 50 per cent more milk than the average cow. This comparison is with the best dairying countries in the world.
A black and white three-year-old Holstein, Missy produces 14,600 kilogrammes of milk per year, milk of a quality that produces more cheese than regular milk.
But her real value lies deep inside her genes. It is estimated that any male she produces could sell for up to Sh40 million for their capacity to sire top milkers. With only six of the expected 75 offspring, she will have more than paid for herself.
Missy of Canada was bought by two buyers from the US. Maybe at one time Kenyan farmers will enjoy a piece of Missy, described by a farm spokesman as having an ego and big personality, since the country is a major consumer of semen from the US.
According to Dr Jon Odhiambo of World Wide Sires in Nairobi, the country is a major importer of high quality semen from the US which have a significant impact in improving the quality of the daily animals in the country.
Dr Odhiambo says top breeds in the country could fetch up to Sh250,000 but on average most will fetch between Sh160,000 and Sh170,000 and which are mainly found in Rift Valley and central Kenya.
A study carried out by J.M. Ojango for the Imperial College, UK, indicates pure bred Holstein-Friesian cows as the main exotic breed used for milk production on large, medium and small farms in Kenya.
The study published in the Journal of Animal Science says bulls from the US are the highest milk produces compared to those from Canada, Holland, UK and Kenya.
Missy may be a prize, but she’s still not the most expensive cow in history. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, that honour belongs to a Friesian from Montpelier in the US in 1985.
