CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DAIRY FARMING IN INDIA
Dr. Shivani Mamane
Veterinary officer, Veterinary Dispensary Belur, Hulsoor taluka, Bidar district, Department of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services, Karnataka
Dairy farming is one among the most important industry in India which provides invaluable economic growth to our country’s overall income. Dairying is an important activity in Indian economy contributing about 27 per cent of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) and around 4.35 per cent of the national GDP. In India many small margin farmers and most of the rural population depends on the dairy practices for their livelihood. The income from the dairy industry exceeds the income from the agriculture produces like rice and sugarcane.
India has a large cattle and buffalo population which inturn makes it one of the largest milk producers in the world. Milk is a major and cheap source of protein for the vegetarian population. Dairy farm provides employment opportunities to many people and comes hand in hand with the agriculture. The rise in this industry is mainly due to a number of functional cooperative societies existing in many corners of the country. Besides all boons the dairy farming comes with a number of tasks which need to be tackled and looked after in order to run the dairy industry smoothly.
Among many challenges faced by the farmers in dairy industry below are some of them along with the strategies to overcome them efficiently-
Selection / Choosing of suitable location for dairy purpose.
Most of the times the area for dairy farming is unsuitable or away from market area which inturn aids in additional transportation cost.
Expert advice/ guidance should be taken to look into the matter so as to avoid future problems. The area should be well ventilated and easily approachable to market i.e., well connected area so that transport expenses can be cut off.
Selection of breeds/ animals for milching purposes
Animals should be of high producing ability now a days crossbreeds are of more importance. Animals should posses dominant milk vein, probably should be in 3-5 lactation so that its production is at peak. Owner should consult a veterinarian/ extension worker for the purpose.
Funding source for dairy farm/ lack of awareness about the various government schemes
Farmer should consult the AH & VS department before the initial setup of dairy farm and ask for any existing schemes/beneficiaries from government either state or central, loan opportunities if any. This can reduce the burden of high initial cost during establishment.
Lack of awareness about profit/ losses of dairy farming
Farmer should consult/ visit the already established dairy farmers and know the lacunae of dairy farms and try to overcome it. He/ she should have thorough knowledge about the working of dairy farm.
Calf per year should be the sigma rule of ideal dairy farm
For dairy farm it becomes important to have a calf per year so that milk production is at peak all year round. This can be achieved by proper estrous detection techniques and timed artificial insemination at estrous.
Failure in detection of estrous/ longstanding anestrous/ repeat breeders/ reproductive disorders
These things hamper the goal of getting a calf per year. So it becomes important to overcome this. Farmers should not ignore/ neglect heat signs. Detection of estrous is essential task. Timed AI is must. Use of modern estrous synchronization techniques to avoid the delay of calving.
Birth of male calves
For dairy farm to be functional it is important to have female calves so that the cycle of dairying never ends. But birth of male calves is bane to cattle dairy farming and they can’t serve the purpose of dairy farm. This can be overcomed by using sexed semen straw during AI.
Calf morality/ calf rearing expenses
Special care and attention should be taken while rearing calves as they are susceptible to a number of infections mainly bacterial which can turn out to be fatal. So earlier diagnosis, attention and treatment is must. No negliability should be enetertained. Separate labour should be assigned to look after the calves and allow them regularly to access their mother cow’s milk.
Hygienic practices
This becomes important when the dairy farm is of highly commercial. Good managemental practices counts for the total output. This also avoids infection among animals, regular fumigation, cleaning of farm, dairy utensils is must. This also avoids milk spoilage.
Nutrition/ fodder expenses
This is very important aspect of dairy farm as most of the farmers are unaware about what to feed the high yielding dairy cows so they do not exhaust during high milk production. Fodder should consist of both dry and greens in order to maintain proper dry matter intake. Feeding of oilcakes is must for dairy animals. Many commercial feeds are also available is the market.
High cost of fodder cultivation and oil cakes
This can be avoided by proper timed nutrition diet setup instead of practicing clumsy diet chart. Cultivation of greens with hybrid crops can be effective KMF feed procurement can be helpful.
Skilled labourers availability
Due to modernization very ample amount of labourers are coming into the dairy practices. Technically sound and experienced labour who is completely involved into the dairy farm becomes important. He/she should be trained and updated with the modern dairy practices. Should also be thorough with the milking methods, detecting heat signs, pregnancy, diseased animal, abnormal animal behavior. He should have good observing ability.
Clean milk production
For a profitable dairy farm, milk should be of high quality/ free from pathogen. This can be achieved by good nutrition regular oil cakes and calcium tonics supplement intake. Proper hygiene milking practices such as dipping teat before and after milking is must. Clean milk production protocols needs to be followed.
Milk market
This is the biggest challenge in the dairy industry. Dairy farm should be well connected with the market. Direct market can prove to be more profitable without involvement of any middle man. Farmers are getting low cost for production of milk when approached by cooperatives per litres. Farmers should have thorough knowledge /idea about the milk market on how to make goof profit.
Milk price
In the present time the cost of milk is not increasing whereas the cost of milk production is increasing exponentially. Good market value fetching becomes important. The farmers should know where to cutoff extra expenses so that cost of milk production doesn’t exceed cost of milk produced and profit should be made. Lack of bargaining in the market also contributes to existing low prices of milk.
Alternatives to the cow/buffalo milk
The vegan diet includes soya milk, coconut milk, almond milk which can be threat to the dairy industry as modern lifestyle is switching to the vegan food habit. This can replace milk and decrease its usage.
Lack of dairy cooperative societies
This can be proved to be a disadvantage for a small/ medium margin dairy farmers as they lack the approach to the market. More farmers and local village bodies should come together to create the cooperative and also a medium where they can sell their produce.
Industrialization/ urbanization
People need to be stick to their roots and the dairy farm practices should not be considered the work of illiterate. Even educated person can invest and do wonders in dairy industry. Enough grazing space should be present/ allotted to each village by government as Gomalas. Complete intensive farming can be of high expense.
Disease outbreaks and its control
There are a number of infectious/contagious diseases which can be spread from one to another animal. Separation and isolation of diseased animal is must. Early consultation from a vet is must. Immediate treatment should be given. Regular vaccinations before start of extreme weather conditions. Ample amount of mineral and vitamin supplements should be added in diet in order to avoid their deficiencies.
Udder hygiene and mastitis control
Subclinical mastitis is common among the high yielders. Regular screening of dairy animal’s milk is must by milk side test. Often checking of udder and teat abnormalities is advised.
Seasonal management
Heat stress hits harder in the dairy animals. So during summer season it becomes important to use sprinklers and water foggers in the dairy farm whereas in winter it becomes important to look after the calves keep them warm to avoid the hypoxia. Cold stress also leads to decrease in milk yield which can be avoided by using heat waves or hot fans installation in farm during winters.
Milking methods and time of milking, milking person consistency
Faulty milking can decrease the milk let down. Proper full hand milking is advised. Early morning and evening milking is recommended and milking time should not be altered. Irregular milking also causes change in milk outlet. Changing of the milking person oftenly can also contribute to the less milk let down.
Maintenance of proper records
It becomes crucial to maintain proper registers containing the updates of animal estrous date, AI dates, calf born, daily milk outlet of each individual animal. Any changes in the animals can easily be tracked by looking into the registers.
Storage of milk
Large production of milk needs to be stored by maintaining cold chains. Since milk is highly perishable product it becomes primary duty to provide it to the sellers/consumers as early as possible. So that the milk quality doesn’t spoils. Maintaining cold chains prevents the bacterial growth temporarily.
Utilizing overproduced milk as milk byproducts
Dairy farms can also further be extended by utilizing the excess milk produced into the milk byproducts which are in high demand in market such as paneer, curd, ghee, khowa etc. These all aids in the value addition to dairy farm provided the owner has enough man power and the funding
Sudden death of animals
High producing crossbreed animals are susceptible to a number of infections and most of them may be of acute so to avoid loss it becomes important to have the animal’s insurance. Awareness should be spread among the owners related to the insurance proposals of the animals.
External Parasitic infestation
This is the most common problem faced by the dairy farmers as crossbreeds are not resistant to ectoparasites mainly ticks which inturn results in tick borne diseases outbreak in farm premises. Seasonal screening of blood smears of animals is advised and early treatment can be helpful.
Endoparasites
Gastrointestinal parasites are the common guests in the dairy animals and their number increases during the lactational stress, seasonal extremities. They have very good potential to hamper the normal functioning of the dairy farm. This can be taken care of by following deworming protocols regularly with rotational use of effective anthelminthic.
Silent heat management in buffaloes
Buffaloes are animals showing silent estrous where it becomes difficult for farmers to look for the estrous signs and artificial insemination is not that effective in them as that of cattle. So regular timely per rectal examination is must not to miss out the estrous cycle in buffalo and better to go for natural service for better conception rates.
Conclusion
Ideal dairy farm can only be achieved by practicing clean milk production techniques. It takes a lot of dedication and time for a dairy farmer to look after the farm. Adaption of local crossbreed animals for the dairy purpose instead of other climatic zone animals which cannot acclimatize to the surrounding environment. Regular deworming and vaccination can reduce the risk of major disease outbreaks. Balanced feed and supply of vitamins and mineral supplement is must. Getting a calf per year by following accurate and effective AI. Dipping of teat in PP solution before and after milking can reduce risk of mastitis, and also the farmer should wash his hand properly during the process. Good managemental practices prevents spoiling of milk, which is perishable commodity. Modern equipments such as milking machine should be brought into practice and inturn reduce burden to farmer to some extent. Creating a own milk market channel becomes essential in order to rule the market and inturn not being a puppet to the middlemen/cooperatives who still are the kingpin in this dairy industry. Cutting of cost expenses of milk production also becomes important.
The farmer should not only depend on the milk sale, it should only be his daily source of income. Other value addition milk byproduct should be prepared such as ghee and paneer in wedding and festive season and buttermilk, lassi in summer according to the demand so that he can make good profit out of it. Selling of calves can be practiced as an annual income source. Vermi Composting can also be done once in six months according to the availability of the manure which can fetch good money in the organic farming practices. By following the above strategies one can have sustainable profitable dairy farm in India.
References
Karki, B. B. (2005). Strategic Planning in Co-operative Sector: A Study on Dairy. Journal of Nepalese Business Studies, 2(1), 72-80.g.
Khan, M. A., Chander, M., & Bardhan, D. (2013). Willingness to pay for cattle and buffalo insurance: an analysis of dairy farmers in central India. Tropical animal health and production, 45(2), 461-468.
Sarkar, A., & Dutta, A. (2020). Challenges and opportunities of dairy sector in india vis-à-vis world: a critical review. Exploratory Animal and Medical Research.
Joshi, R. M. (2014). India’s dairy exports: opportunities, challenges and strategies. In Invited Article. National Seminar on “Indian Dairy Industry—Opportunities and Challenges”. AAU Anand.
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