Dairy Farming

Dairying is an important source of subsidiary income to small/marginal farmers and agricultural labourers. The manure from animals provides a good source of organic matter for improving soil fertility and crop yields. The gober gas from the dung is used as fuel for domestic purposes as also for running engines for drawing water from well. The surplus fodder and agricultural by-products are gainfully utilised for feeding the animals. Almost all draught power for farm operations and transportation is supplied by bullocks. Since agriculture is mostly seasonal, there is a possibility of finding employment throughout the year for many persons through dairy farming. Thus, dairy also provides employment throughout the year. The main beneficiaries of dairy programmes are small/marginal farmers and landless labourers. A farmer can earn a gross surplus of about Rs. 12,000 per year from a unit consisting of 2 milking buffaloes. The capital investment required for purchase of 2 buffaloes is Rs. 18,223/-. Even after paying a sum of Rs. 4294/- per annum towards repayment of the loan and interest the farmer can earn a net surplus of Rs. 6000 – 9000/- approximately per year. (For details see model scheme enclosed). Even more profits can be earned depending upon the breed of animal, managerial skills and marketing potential.

According to World Bank estimates about 75 per cent of India’s 940 million people are in 5.87 million villages, cultivating over 145 million hectares of cropland. Average farm size is about 1.66 hectares. Among 70 million rural households, 42 per cent operate upto 2 hectares and 37 per cent are landless households. These landless and small farmers have in their possession 53 per cent of the animals and produce 51 per cent of the milk. Thus, small/marginal farmers and land less agricultural labourers play a very important role in milk production of the country. Dairy farming can also be taken up as a main occupation around big urban centres where the demand for milk is high.

The total milk production in the country for the year 2001-02 was estimated at 84.6 million metric tonnes. At this production, the per capita availability was to be 226 grams per day against the minimum requirement of 250 grams per day as recommended by ICMR. Thus, there is a tremendous scope/potential for increasing the milk production. The population of breeding cows and buffaloes in milk over 3 years of age was 62.6 million and 42.4 million, respectively (1992 census).

Central and State Governments are giving considerable financial assistance for creating infrastructure facilities for milk production. The nineth plan outlay on Animal Husbandry and Dairying was Rs. 2345 crores.

Package of Common Management Practices Recommended for Dairy Farmers

Modern and well established scientific principles, practices and skills should be used to obtain maximum economic benefits from dairy farming. Some of the major norms and recommended practices are as follows :

I. Housing:

Construct shed on dry, properly raised ground.
Avoid water-logging, marshy and heavy rainfall areas.
The walls of the sheds should be 1.5 to 2 meters high.
The walls should be plastered to make them damp proof.
The roof should be 3-4 metres high.
The cattle shed should be well ventilated.
The floor should be pucca/hard, even non-slippery impervious, well sloped (3 cm per metre) and properly drained to remain dry and clean.
Provide 0.25 metre broad, pucca drain at the rear of the standing space.
A standing space of 2 x 1.05 metre for each animal is needed.
The manger space should be 1.05 metre with front height of 0.5 metre and depth of 0.25 metre.
The corners in mangers, troughs, drains and walls should be rounded for easy cleaning.
Provide 5-10 sq. metre loaf space for each animal.
Provide proper shade and cool drinking water in summer.
In winter keep animals indoor during night and rain.
Provide individual bedding daily.
Maintain sanitary condition around shed.
Control external parasites (ticks, flies etc.) by spraying the pens, sheds with Malathion or Copper sulphate solution.
Drain urine into collection pits and then to the field through irrigation channels.
Dispose of dung and urine properly. A gobar gas plant will be an ideal way. Where gobar gas plant is not constructed, convert the dung alongwith bedding material and other farm wastes into compost.
Give adequate space for the animals.
II. Selection of Animal :

1.Immediately after release of the loan purchase the stock from a reliable breeder or from nearest livestock market.
2.Select healthy, high yielding animals with the help of bank’s technical officer, veterinary/animal husbandry officer of State government/ Zilla Parishad, etc.
3.Purchase freshly calved animals in their second/third lactation.

Before purchasing, ascertain actual milk yield by milking the animal three times consecutively.
Identify the newly purchased animal by giving suitable identification mark (ear tagging or tattooing).
Vaccinate the newly purchased animal against disease.
Keep the newly purchased animal under observation for a period of about two weeks and then mix with the general herd.
Purchase a minimum economical unit of two milch animals.
Purchase the second animal/second batch after 5-6 months from the purchase of first animal.
As buffaloes are seasonal calvers purchase them during July to February.
As far as possible purchase the second animal when the first animal is in its late stage of lactation and is about to become dry, thereby maintaining continuity in milk production vis-a-vis income. This will ensure availability of adequate funds for maintaining the dry animals.
Follow judicious culling and replacement of animals in a herd.
13.Cull the old animals after 6-7 lactations.

III. Feeding of Milch Animals

1 Feed the animals with best feeds and fodders. (Feeding schedule is given in Anneuxre VIII).

Give adequate green fodder in the ration.
As far as possible, grow green fodder on your land wherever available.
Cut the fodder at the right stage of their growth.
Chaff roughage before feeding.
Crush the grains and concentrates.
The oil cakes should be flaky and crumbly.
Moisten the concentrate mixture before feeding.
Provide adequate vitamins and minerals. Provide salt licks besides addition of mineral mixture to the concentrate ration.
Provide adequate and clean water.
Give adequate exercise to the animals. Buffaloes should be taken for wallowing daily. In case this is not possible sprinkle sufficient water more particularly during summer months.
To estimate the daily feed requirement remember that the animals consume about 2.5 to 3.0 percent of their body weight on dry matter basis.

IV. Milking of Animals

Milk the animals two to three times a day.
Milk at fixed times.
Milk in one sitting within eight minutes.
As far as possible, milking should be done by the same person regularly.
Milk the animal in a clean place.
Wash the udder and teat with antiseptic lotions/luke-warm water and dry before milking.
Milker should be free from any contagious diseases and should wash his hands with antiseptic lotion before each milking.
Milking should be done with full hands, quickly and completely followed by stripping.
Sick cows/buffaloes should be milked at the end to prevent spread of infection.

V. Protection against Diseases

1.Be on the alert for signs of illness such as reduced feed intake, fever, abnormal discharge or unusual behaviour.

Consult the nearest veterinary aid centre for help if illness is suspected.
Protect the animals against common diseases.
In case of outbreak of contagious disease, immediately segregate the sick, in-contact and the healthy animals and take necessary disease control measures. (Vaccination schedule is given in Annexure IX).
Conduct periodic tests for Brucellosis, Tuberculosis, Johne’s disease, Mastitis etc.
Deworm the animals regularly.
Examine the faeces of adult animals to detect eggs of internal parasites and treat the animals with suitable drugs.
8.Wash the animals from time to time to promote sanitation.

VI. Breeding Care

1.Observe the animal closely and keep specific record of its coming in heat, duration of heat, insemination, conception and calving.

Breed the animals in time.
The onset of oestrus will be within 60 to 80 days after calving.
Timely breeding will help achieving conception within 2 to 3 months of calving.
Breed the animals when it is in peak heat period (i.e. 12 to 24 hours of heat).
Use high quality semen preferably frozen semen of proven sires/bulls.
VII. Care during Pregnancy

Give special attention to pregnant cows two months before calving by providing adequate space, feed, water etc.

VIII. Marketing of Milk

1.Marketing milk immediately after it is drawn keeping the time between production and marketing of the milk to the minimum.
2.Use clean utensils and handle milk in hygienic way.

Wash milk pails/cans/utensils thoroughly with detergent and finally rinse with chloride solution.
4.Avoid too much agitation of milk during transit.
5.Transport the milk during cool hours of the day.

IX. Care of Calves

1.Take care of new born calf.
2.Treat/disinfect the navel cord with tincutre of iodine as soon as it is cut with a sharp knife.
3.Feed colostrum to calf.
4.Assist the calf to suckle if it is too weak to suckle on its own within 30 minutes of calving.
5.In case it is desired to wean the calf immediately after birth, then feed the colostrum in bucket.
6.Keep the calf separately from birth till two months of age in a dry clean and well ventilated place.
7.Protect the calves against extreme weather conditions, particularly during the first two months.
8.Group the calves according to their size.
9.Vaccinate calves.

Dehorn the calves around 4 to 5 days of age for easy management when they grow.
Dispose of extra calves not to be reared/maintained for any specific purpose as early as possible, particularly the male calves.
The female calves should be properly reared.

Financial Assistance Available from Banks/NABARD for Dairy Farming.

NABARD is an apex institution for all matters relating to policy, planning and operation in the field of agricultural credit. It serves as an apex refinancing agency for the institutions providing investment and production credit. It promotes development through formulation and appraisal of projects through a well organised Technical Services Department at the Head Office and Technical Cells at each of the Regional Offices.

Read More: Get more News from Dairy Sector
Loan from banks with refinance facility from NABARD is available for starting dairy farming. For obtaining bank loan, the farmers should apply to the nearest branch of a commercial or co-operative Bank in their area in the prescribed application form which is available in the branches of financing banks. The Technical Officer attached to or the Manager of the bank can help/give guidance to the farmers in preparing the project report to obtain bank loan.

For dairy schemes with very large outlays, detailed reports will have to be prepared. The items of finance would include capital asset items such as purchase of milch animals, construction of sheds, purchase of equipments etc. The feeding cost during the initial period of one/two months is capitalised and given as term loan. Facilities such as cost of land development, fencing, digging of well, commissioning of diesel engine/pumpset, electricity connections, essential servants’ quarters, godown, transport vehicle, milk processing facilities etc. can be considered for loan. Cost of land is not considered for loan. However, if land is purchased for setting up a dairy farm, its cost can be treated as party’s margin upto 10% of the total cost of project.

Cattle and Buffalo Breeds Important Characteristics / Description

A) CATTLE (INDIGENOUS)

Sr. No.	Breed	Habitat / Main State	Breeding Tract Districts	Assembling Centres	Areas of Demand	Remarks
1	Amrithmahal	Erstwhile Mysore State (now Karnataka)	Tumkur, Chitradurga	Erstwhile Mysore State	Karnataka & adjoining areas	Draught breed
2	Dangi	Maharashtra & Gujarat	Ahmednagar, Khandesh, Raigad, Nasik, Thane, Surat	Weekly markets in Ahmednagar, Nasik, Thane & West Khandesh	Rocky ghat areas with heavy rainfall	Draught breed
3	Denoi	Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Maharashtra	Medak, Nizambad, Mahboobnagar, Adilabad, Gulbarga, Bidar, Osmanabad, Nanded	Weekly cattle markets, Jatras & fairs in Bidar & adjoining districts	Bidar & adjoining districts	Draught purpose breed
4	Gir	Gir Hills & forests of South Kathiawar	Junagarh (also maintained by NDRI, Bangalore)	–	Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra	Dairy purpose breed
5	Hallikar	Karnataka	Tumkur, Hassan & Mysore	Dodbalapur, Chickballapur, Harikar, Devargudda, Chikkuvalli, Karuvalli, Chittavadgi (TN), North Arcot (TN), Hindupur, Somaghatta, Anantpur (AP)	Dharwar, North Kanara, Bellary (KT), Anantpur & Chittur (AP), Coimbatore, North Arcot, Salem (TM)	Draught breed
6	Hariana	Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan	Rohtak, Hissar, Gurgaon, Karnal, Patiala, Sangrur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Alwar, Bharatpur	Cattle fairs at Jehazgarh, Mahim & Bhadurgarh (Rohtak dist.), Hansi & Bhiwani (Hissar dist.)	Throughout the country	Dual purpose breed
7	Kangayam	Tamil Nadu	Coimbatore	Avanashi, Tirupur, Kannauram, Madurai, Athicombu	Southern districts of Tamil Nadu	Draught breed
8	Kankrej	Gujarat	Ahmedabad, Banaskantha	Ahmedabad, Radhanpur	Rajasthan, Maharashtra	–
9	Khillari	Maharashtra	Solapur, Kolhapur, Satara	–	Southern districts of Maharashtra & adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka	Draught breed
10	Krishna Valley	Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka	Watersheds of Krishna & adjoining areas	Ichalkaranji (Kolhapur), Chincahli (Gulbarga)	–	–
11	Malvi	Madhya Pradesh	Guna, Vidisha, Raisen, Sehore, Ujjain, Indore, Dewas, Gwalior, Shivpuri, Mandsaur, Jhabus, Dhar	Agar (Shajapur), Singaj (Nimar), Sehore & Ashta (Sehore)	Rajasthan, Jhalwar, Kotah, Karimnagar (AP)	Draught purpose
12	Nagori / Nagauri	Rajasthan	Jodhpur, Nagaur	Nagaur, Parbatsar (Nagpur), Balotra (Barmer), Puskar (Ajmer), Hissar, Hansi (Haryana)	Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh	Draught purpose
13	Ongole	Andhra Pradesh	Ongole, Guntur, Narasaraopet, Bapatla, Nellore	Available in Ongole tract	–	Dual purpose
14	Rathi	Rajasthan	Alwar, Bharatpur, Jaipur	Alwar, Rewari (Gurgaon), Pushkar (Ajmer)	–	Dairy breed
15	Sahiwal	Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Bihar, MP, WB	Sahiwal (erstwhile Montgomery), Jullundar, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur (Punjab), NDRI, Karnal, Hissar, Anhora Durg (MP), Lucknow, Meerut, Bihar, WB	–	–	Dairy breed
16	Red Sindhi	Pakistan	All parts of India	–	–	Dairy breed
17	Siri	Sikkim, Bhutan	Darjeeling Hill Tract	Darjeeling (brought by dealers)	–	Dual purpose
18	Tharparkar	Pakistan (Sind)	Umarkot, Naukot, Dhoro Naro Chor	Balotra (Jodhpur), Puskar (Ajmer), Gujarat State	–	Dairy breed

B) CATTLE (EXOTIC)

Sr. No.	Breed	Origin	Breeding Tract	Areas of Demand	Remarks
1	Brown Swiss	Switzerland	–	India, Pakistan & other Asian countries	Dairy breed
2	Holstein Friesian	Holland	Province of North Holland & West Friesland	Throughout the country (crossbreds)	Dairy breed
3	Jersey	British Isles	Island of Jersey	Crossbreds available in all states/UTs	Dairy breed

Indian Cattle Breeds – Reproductive & Productive Traits

Sr. No.	Breed	Age at First Calving (months)	Calving Interval (months)	Lactation Yield (kg)	Lactation Length (days)	Dry Period (days)	Milk Yield (kg/day)
1	Dangi	54	17	600	300	210	2.0
2	Deogir	48	15	1,500	300	150	5.0
3	Deoni	53	14	810	270	150	3.0
4	Gir	48	16	1,350	270	210	5.0
5	Gaolao	46	16	600	300	180	2.0
6	Hallikar	46	20	600	300	300	2.0
7	Hariana	58	13	1,200	240	150	5.0
8	Kangayam	44	16	600	240	240	2.5
9	Kankrej	48	17	1,800	360	150	5.0
10	Khillari	52	16	240	240	240	1.0
11	Ongole	40	19	630	210	360	3.0
12	Rathi	40	19	1,815	330	240	5.5
13	Red Sindhi	42	14	1,620	270	150	6.0
14	Sahiwal	40	14	1,620	270	150	6.0
15	Tharparkar	50	14	1,620	270	150	6.0
16	Umblachery	46	17	360	240	270	1.5
17	Non-descript	60	19	405	270	300	1.5

Buffalo Breeds – Reproductive & Productive Traits

Sr. No.	Breed	Age at First Calving (months)	Calving Interval (months)	Lactation Yield (kg)	Lactation Length (days)	Dry Period (days)	Milk Yield (kg/day)
1	Bhadawari	50	15	1,080	270	180	4.0
2	Murrah	42	16	1,800	300	180	6.0
3	Nili-Ravi	54	16	1,950	300	180	6.5
4	Surti	44	16	1,765	330	150	5.5
5	Mehsani	50	14	1,620	270	150	6.0
6	Jaffarabadi	50	14	1,620	270	150	6.0
7	Pandharpuri	56	14	1,350	270	150	5.0
8	Marathwadi	50	14	1,015	270	150	3.5
9	Nagpuri	50	14	1,350	270	150	5.0
10	Dharwari	50	14	1,350	270	150	5.0
11	Non-descript	50	16	540	270	210	2.0

Two-Animal Buffalo Unit – Project at a Glance

Parameter	Details
Unit Size	2 Animals
Breed	Graded Murrah
State	Karnataka
Unit Cost (Rs.)	18,223
Bank Loan (Rs.)	15,400
Margin Money (Rs.)	2,823
Repayment Period	5 years
Interest Rate	12%
BCR at 15% DF	1.50 : 1
NPW at 15% DF (Rs.)	29,187
IRR	>50%

MODEL PROJECT – Investment Cost

Sr. No.	Items	Specifications	Physical Units	Unit Cost (Rs./Unit)	Total Cost (Rs.)
1	Cost of animals	–	2	8,200	16,400
2	Insurance	–	2	689	1,378
3	Concentrate Feed (4.5 kg/day/animal for 30 days)	135 kg	1	3.3	446
Total Cost	–	–	–	–	18,223
4	Margin Money (15% of total cost)	–	–	–	2,723
5	Bank Loan (85% of total cost)	–	–	–	15,500

Techno-Economic Parameters

Sl. No.	Particulars	Details
i	Number of milch animals	2
ii	Cost of milch animals (Rs.)	8,200
iii	Lactation period (days)	280
iv	Dry period (days)	150
v	Milk yield (L/day)	7
vi	Sale price of milk (Rs./L)	7.75
vii	Sale of manure/animal/year (Rs.)	300
viii	Insurance premium for 5 years (%)	8.4
ix	Veterinary aid/animal/year (Rs.)	150
x	Labour (Rs.)	Family labour
xi	Cost of electricity & water/animal (Rs.)	100
xii	Interest rate (%)	12
xiii	Repayment period (years)	5
xiv	Income from sale of gunny bags (20 bags/tonne @ Rs. 5/bag)	100

Feeding Schedule

Type of Fodder / Feed	Price (Rs./kg)	Quantity (kg/day) – Lactation Period	Quantity (kg/day) – Dry Period
Green fodder	0.2	25	25
Dry fodder	0.5	5	5
Concentrate	3.3	4.5	1

Lactation Chart (Days)

Particulars	Year I	Year II	Year III	Year IV	Year V
Lactation Days
First batch	250	280	250	210	210
Second batch	180	210	210	210	210
Total Lactation	430	490	460	420	420
Dry Days
First batch	110	80	110	150	150
Second batch	–	150	150	150	150
Total Dry Days	110	230	260	300	300

Annual Costs and Benefits

I. Costs (Rs.)

Particulars	Year I	Year II	Year III	Year IV	Year V
Capital Cost	17,777	–	–	–	–
Recurring Costs
Feeding – Lactation	9,611	10,952	10,281	9,387	9,387
Feeding – Dry Period	1,188	2,484	2,733	3,240	3,240
Veterinary aid & breeding	225	300	300	300	300
Electricity & water	150	200	200	200	200
Total Costs	28,951	13,936	13,514	13,127	13,127

II. Benefits (Rs.)

Particulars	Year I	Year II	Year III	Year IV	Year V
Sale of milk	23,328	26,583	24,955	22,785	22,785
Sale of gunny bags	205	232	218	200	200
Sale of manure	450	600	600	600	600
Closing stock value	–	–	–	–	8,200
Total Benefits	23,982	27,414	25,773	23,585	31,785

III. Discount Factors (DF) and Net Present Value (NPW)

DF @ 15%	0.870	0.756	0.658	0.572	0.497
Discounted Costs	25,175	10,537	8,886	7,505	6,526
Discounted Benefits	20,854	20,729	16,946	13,485	15,803
NPW @ 15%	29,187
BCR @ 15%	1.50 : 1

IV. Net Benefits & IRR

DF @ 50%	0.667	0.444	0.296	0.198	0.132
Net Benefits	-4,969	13,479	12,259	10,458	18,658
Discounted Net Benefits	-3,313	5,990	3,632	2,066	2,457
IRR	>50%

Housing Space Requirements for Crossbred Cattle

Age Group	Manger Space (m)	Standing / Covered Area (sq.m)	Open Space (sq.m)
4-6 months	0.2–0.3	0.8–1.0	3.0–4.0
6-12 months	0.3–0.4	1.2–1.6	5.0–6.0
1-2 years	0.4–0.5	1.6–1.8	6.0–8.0
Cows	0.8–1.0	1.8–2.0	11.0–12.0
Pregnant Cows	1.0–1.2	8.5–10.0	15.0–20.0
Bulls*	1.0–1.2	9.0–11.0	20.0–22.0

Feeding Schedule for Dairy Animals (Individual Housing)

Type of Animal	Milk Yield	Period	Green Fodder (kg)	Dry Fodder (kg)	Concentrate (kg)
Crossbred Cow	6–7 L/day	Lactation	20–25	5–6	3.0–3.5
		Dry	15–20	6–7	0.5–1.0
	8–10 L/day	Lactation	25–30	4–5	4.0–4.5
		Dry	20–25	6–7	0.5–1.0
Buffalo – Murrah	7–8 L/day	Lactation	25–30	4–5	3.5–4.0
		Dry	20–25	5–6	0.5–1.0
Buffalo – Mehsana	6–7 L/day	Lactation	15–20	4–5	3.0–3.5
		Dry	10–15	5–6	0.5–1.0
Buffalo – Surti	5–6 L/day	Lactation	10–15	4–5	2.5–3.0
		Dry	5–10	5–6	0.5–1.0

Vaccination Programme for Farm Animals Against Contagious Diseases

S. No.	Disease	Type of Vaccine	Type of Vaccination	Duration of Immunity	Remarks
1	Anthrax (Gorhi)	Spore vaccine	Once a year, pre-monsoon	One season	–
2	Black Quarter (Sujab)	Killed vaccine	Once a year, pre-monsoon	One season	–
3	Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (Galghotu)	Ocladjuvant vaccine	Once a year, pre-monsoon	One season	–
4	Brucellosis (Contagious abortion)	Cotton strain 19 (live bacteria)	At ~6 months of age	3–4 calvings	Only in infected herds
5	Foot and Mouth Disease (Muhkhar)	Polyvalent tissue culture vaccine	At ~6 months + booster 4 months later	One season	Repeat vaccination annually in Oct./Nov.
6	Rinderpest (Mata)	Lapinised/avianised vaccine (exotic/crossbred), Caprinised (zebu)	At ~6 months	Life long	Better to repeat after 3–4 years