Major part of milk is produced by landless, marginal and small landholders of rural India. It is also consumed by urban people. It is major source of income and employment of milk producers. To consolidate this income and supply of quality milk to urban population, viable and sustainable production in dairying is the need of the hour.
Economic feasibility
A dairy farm unit is economically viable and feasible with 305 days of milk with high production and a calf crop in a year (12-14 months) and lactation from 70-75 per cent cows and 60-65 per cent buffaloes of a herd. Proper recording of body weight gain, milk production and physiological activities can be judged by the performance of individual animals. This judging will certainly be helpful in identifying the poorly producing dairy animals.This will also provide future guidelines for increasing production (through productive remedial measures) well in time.
Record keeping
Records act as lifeline for economical and effective handling of a dairy farm. Records provide effective and accurate information for selection of dam and sire in efficient breed improvement and dairy development programme. Records are a reflection of productivity and profitability of a dairy farm and also of good management practices. Records provide history of an individual animal which is required to decide about its continuity in the herd. Ultimately records help in future planning of a dairy farm. Nowadays the herd records can be maintained on computer for getting quick information and immediate decisions.
General Management Empowering women with technical power at village level for dairy farm management in day-to-day activities and managing dairy livestock farm activities scientifically can prove revolutionary. Providing comfortable shelter especially tail to tail system will be helpful in reducing labour cost and will provide better supervision.
Adopting proper selection of superior dam and sire in breeding with special emphasis on artificial insemination, heat detection, P.D. and control of endo-ecto parasites should be given due importance. Feeding balanced and economical ration fortified with minerals and special diet to counter seasonal stress and inclement weather is very important for increasing quality and quantity of production along with reproduction.Following vaccination schedule on prevention is better than cure philosophy, by maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in the shed and milking place with grooming and washing of animals cannot be ignored. Netting is equally important for protecting the dairy animals from mosquitoes and flies. Adopting proper milking method especially full hand method, avoiding knuckling will certainly reduce the production losses. Culling of uneconomical, especially unproductive stock, by maintaining record of all activities mentioned above with effective and regular good managerial skills and management will surely provide sustainable production and will also help in conservation of environment making the dairy business economically feasible.
Rajinder Singh, Senior Extension Specialist (Animal Sciences) Rohtak Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (LUVAS, Hisar) & Varishti, MSc. Tech BITS Pilani
