As the dairy sector has been severely hit by the restrictions during COVID-19 lockdown, the farmers need to think of market-led production for a sustainable dairying system in the State, says expert.
The farmers are in distress as distribution networks have been disrupted and the milk cooperatives are unable to procure the entire quantity of milk. The Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (or Milma), which procures 16 lakh litres of milk in three regions of the State, has reduced procurement up to 40%. The closure of hotels and restaurants has also affected the marketing of milk.
“Pre-monsoon showers increased the availability of green fodder and resulted in a jump in milk production. It is estimated that 10 kg of green fodder can substitute one kg of concentrates, thus reducing the cost of milk production,” said T.P. Sethumadhavan, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry, and former director (entrepreneurship) of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).
However, the disruption in procurement and marketing crisis have played spoilsport and prevented farmers from getting the advantage.
Dairy farmers should think of certain scientific interventions through which loss due to excess production could be reduced, said Dr. Sethumadhavan.
“Market-led production strategies can be adapted based on marketable quantities of milk. Quantity of concentrates can be reduced substantially based on the quantity of milk required, which in turn will help farmers save the excess feed cost. Moreover, they need to convert excess quantities of milk into easily marketable value-added dairy products like ghee, butter, curd, etc., using traditional technologies,” he said.
Some farmers used to milk only the required quantity. That was an unscientific practice, which might cause mastitis among the cattle and subsequent production losses, said Dr. Sethumadhavan. Those fully relying on milk cooperatives could even think of unorganised marketing by local interventions to tide over the situation.
‘Dry cow therapy’ (stopping of milking) could be practised among pregnant cows that were beyond seven months of gestation. Initially, frequency of milking could be reduced along with reduction in quantity of milk ration. Antibiotic intramammary infusions could be used at an interval of three weeks to reduce postpartum mastitis, said Dr. Sethumadhavan.
The forthcoming monsoon will be a flush season for dairying in the State and the Departments of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development and milk unions are trying to achieve self-sufficiency in milk production within one year. Dairy cattle must be vaccinated against contagious diseases like foot-and-mouth disease and hemorrhagic septicemia, and scientific management measures must be followed to reduce increasing incidence of mastitis, he added.
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