Good Management Practices for Successful Dairy farming in India
Introduction
The Indian dairy and animal husbandry sector plays a critical role in providing livelihood opportunities to million of the people in the country and strengthening the Indian economy by contributing the 4.2% to the total Gross Domestic Product (NAS, 2019). While being a sustainable source of livelihood for a bulk of small scale milk producers including landless laborers. The total livestock population in the country is 536.76 million and mostly cattle and buffalo are reared for milk production which contributes 48%, 49% respectively and rest 3% is procured from goat (DAHD, 2019). It clearly reflects that about have of the total milk production of 198 MT comes from buffaloes in India , significantly contributing to per capita availability of milk to 394 grams/day (BAH &FS, 2019). As the production and consumption pattern of dairy products in India is quite unique as compared to some of the Western countries. It has been observed that consumers are progressively more getting health- conscious and here the value-added dairy based products industry is seeing a marginal growth. This impacts a change in consumer mindsets which has led to further more changes. Alterations in standard of living have led to an increase in the demand for value-added dairy products as compared to just the base product, liquid milk. As the expenditure capacity of Indians is escalating, so is their readiness to buy healthier products.
There is a strong increase in the demand for milk in India as people are more attracted towards healthy food in one pack which can be fulfilled by the dairy products and this needs a safe product manufacturing, handling practices starting from the farmers gate to the consumers plate. For ensuring the food safety the first and foremost practice is good management practices which is totally based on the good agricultural practices followed by the dairy farmer.
Dairy farming in India
The dairy industry in India is synonymous to with the AMUL Anand Milk Union Limited . The total milk production has been witnessing an increasing growth rate after the initiation of operation flood. This last wave of the operation flood emerges the nation as the world largest milk producer from the milk deficit nation. At present the total milk production pegged at 187.75 million tonnes which is 6.5% more than the last year production. Exotic animal contributes more to milk production with 7.95 kg/day/animal while indigenous animal have an yield of 3.01kg/day which are usually reared in the rural panorama. The daily milk consumption in the country also rose with high rate of 394gram/ day per person which is far greater than the ICMR recommendation of 280gram/day per person. Uttar Pradesh is the state which is contribution highest to the milk production i.e. 16.3% followed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh with the milk production of 12.6% and 8.5%. (BAH & FS, 2019)
Dairy farming contributes to be a household enterprise of farm families, irrespective to the gender discrimination and crucial in providing assured employment to family labor. Moreover, nearly all of the dairy produce in India is consumed domestically, with the majority of it being sold as fluid milk. On account of this, the Indian dairy industry holds tremendous potential for value-addition and overall development and , the dairy market in India reached a value of Rs 10,527 billion in 2019. The dairy sector in the India has shown remarkable development in the past decade and India has now become one of the largest producers of milk and value-added milk products in the world. India has emerged as the largest producer of milk with 20.17 percent share in total milk production in the world (APEDA, 2020). Exports of animal products represent an important and significant contribution to the Indian Agriculture sector. India’s exports of animal products was Rs. 26,383.99 Crores/ 3,694.29 USD Millions in which dairy products accounts Rs. 1341.01 Crores/ 186.73 USD Millions.(APEDA, 2020).
Most of dairy products have been observed with an excellent safety record, because of well-controlled manufacturing conditions. Dairy Cooperatives are expected to develop among all the direction with an integration and increase the income of the milk producers through cost rationalization and all the way through undertaking value addition function but still facing major food safety issues and challenges. So in order to overcome these challenges there is need for establishment of some set of good management practices in dairy farming sector which would maintain the economic wealth of the farmers so the nation. Here we are going to lookout some of the important management practices which should be followed by the dairy farmers .
Good Management Practices (GMP)
Good Agricultural Practice for dairy farmers is about implementing sound practices on dairy farms – jointly called Good Dairy Farming Practice. These practices must make sure that the milk and milk products produced are safe and suitable for their intended use by the consumer, and also that the dairy farm enterprise is viable into the future, from the economic, social and environmental perspectives. Most prominently, dairy farmers are involved in the business of producing food for human consumption so they must be confident in the safety and quality of the milk and milk product they produced. Good Management Practices are relied on GAP and these practice underpins the production of milk that satisfies the highest expectations of the food industry and consumers.GMP in dairy farming practice also ensures that the milk is produced by healthy animals in a manner that is sustainable and liable from the animal welfare, social, economic and environmental perspectives. So implementation GMPs in dairy farming practice is good risk management for the short and long term future of the dairy farming enterprise and supporting the production of safe, quality-assured dairy products in a sustainable manner that underpins the future of dairy farming on a local, national and international scale.
The basic objective for good dairy farming practice is to procure safe and quality milk should be from healthy animals by using convenient management practices in the farm that are sustainable from an animal welfare, social, ethical, economic and environmental standpoint. For arriving at this objective, dairy farmers should follow good practice in the following areas-
- Animal health
The animals in the farm should necessarily be free from the systemic disease whose causative agents can communicate to human being through milk such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Brucella abortus and many more. Along with the absence of these diseases animals should also be free from bacterial and viral diseases. In order to prevent the entry of contaminants into milk, routine grooming, brushing and washing practices must be carried out in the farm. For washing of teats one should have to wash the teat with towel soaked in bleaching powder or potassium permanganate (1%).The practice of discarding foremilk by separately collecting it to the small pail should be done as the foremilk contains cluster of micro-organism. The animals those produces milk need to be healthy and an effective health care programme should be practice in order to good management of the farm.
- Disease resistant herd
The established herd of the animal should be resistance to diseases. For this kind of herd one have to choose the breeds and animals those are well suited to the local climatic condition and the farming system practiced in the area. Herd size and stocking capacity based on management skills should be determined after observing the , local conditions along with the availability of land, water, infrastructure, feed, and other required inputs. Timely vaccination of all the animals should be done under observation of veterinary officers. These practice will enhance the disease resistance capacity of the herd animals and further reduce the stress.
- Prevent entry of disease
For preventing or emergence of any disease onto the farm , farmer should purchase animals of known health status both herd along with individual animals by checking the record keeping register thoroughly. It is the most effective way to avoid the spread of infectious diseases. Before introduction of the animal to the farm , all dairy herds and animals should be screened for diseases which are prevalent to their area of origin and further changed location. Quarantine facility should also be provided for the newly entered animal to the herd if indicated.
As a potential buyers of live animals should always ask and be told if the animals are sick or diseased. Preferably, sick or infirm animals should not be transported alive. Ensure the animal should not acquire or introduce any diseases during the period of transport on and off the farm. The disposal of diseased and dead animals should be done in a way that reduces the risk of spread of disease with following the guidelines in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Code and/or local regulations. People visiting a number of farms act as the carrier and they may spread disease between the farms. Keep tanker/milk pick up access and public pathways clear of faecal contamination. Risks from adjoining land and neighbors should be monitored by making secure boundaries around the farm. Where needed, limit the access of public and wildlife to the farm and follow a vermin control programme in place. Clean and sanitized equipment from the known sources should be used. This will maintain the biosecurity of the farm, obey the international/ national/regional animal movement and disease controls and keeps the herd healthy
- Herd health management
The diary farm practice should develop an effective herd health management programme in place which must focus on prevention that meets farm needs as well as regional and national necessities. All dairy animals should easily be identifiable by all people who come in contact with them. An identification system should be adapted by the farm that allows all animals to be identified individually from birth to death , such as identification systems include ear tagging, tattooing, freeze branding and radio frequency identification (RFID) measures such as microchips. Sick animals for signs and symptoms of diseases are checked regularly and the sick animal should be attended quickly and isolation is recommended. Milk from the sick animals and animals under treatment must be collected separately and should not mixed with lot. Thorough breeding and reproductive health records should be recorded and animals observed at
suitable stages as many diseases are associated with reproduction.
As it is imperative that the staff, veterinarians, manager and others persons involved with handling dairy animals on the farm should be aware of what treatments have been given to which animals. Set in place an proper system to readily identify treated animals, and maintain appropriate details in accordance with local regulations and to manage withholding periods for milk.
- Veterinarians direction
Follow the routine health checkup program of the animals under the inspection by a veterinarian.
Use medicines that have been assessed and registered for use in dairy production by veterinarian only and use at the recommended dose according to the label directions of the medicines and observe the appropriate withholding period. Dairy farmers should supervise the use of all chemicals to shun the chemicals adversely affecting the health of animal , their productivity, the health and safety of the user, the environment or the safety and quality of milk and meat products. Store the veterinary medicines securely to ensure they are not used inappropriately or do not accidentally contaminate milk and feed of the animal.
- Milking hygiene
Milking hygiene is based on plethora of events such as milker’s hygiene, milking routine, method of milking, handling after milking etc. Nowadays consumers are demanding milk of high quality and standard , thus milking management aims to reduce microbial, physical and chemical contamination. Milking management covers all aspects of the process of procuring milk from dairy animals quickly and effectively, as assuring the health of the animals and the quality of the milk. Milk should be procured and stored under hygienic conditions and milking pails , and utensils equipment used to harvest and store milk will be well maintained.
- Milking routines
In general, a longer interval between milking associates with more milk and lower fat test and twice thrice time milking in a day has no great effect on the fat test. One should identify individual animals those require special milking management to manage animals those needs special handling at milking, such as treated, sick or animals producing milk that is not fit for human consumption. Before milking the udder of the animal should be prepared by washing and drying of the teats. Udder and teats of the animals are inspected for any kind of abnormalities which may indicate clinical mastitis. Ensure good milking practice and are consistently applied. Incorrect milking techniques may result in a higher mastitis risk and injury to the animal so full hand milking and machine milking used in large and small scale dairy farm.
Milker’s hygiene is of foremost importance in the clean milk production. The milker should be clean and should avoid sneezing, coughing, smoking or chewing tobacco just before or during milking of the animal. Milker should not use any wrong milking practices like knuckling and incomplete milking which leads either injury or place for growth of microorganism . Milker should be free from any contagious disease and should keep hands clean and fingernails trimmed. In machine milking.
- Hygienic conditions
The prerequisite for production of high quality product cleaning as well as sanitization of milk and milk product surfaces which is the major cause for contamination and leads to more than 60 % of total contamination (Sherikar, 2004). Building, equipment, material and design, personnel,, water supply and air quality are the different factors which influence the hygiene of the dairy plant. Maintenance of hygiene in the plant rely upon the design and environment of the building. Uninterrupted and a sufficient supply of potable water should be available for milking operations, for cleaning the equipment those comes into the contact with milk and for cleaning the milking area. The rooms must be designed to provide proper drainage and ventilation and the hosing area have adequate loose bedding which is maintained in a hygienic order. Milking area should be designed to permit it to be kept clean and tidy with clean water supply and have adequate temperature regulation, ventilation and light. The milking equipment and utensils are mostly made up of stainless steel and aluminium alloy and cleaned when necessary, disinfected after each milking.
- Proper handling
The freshly drawn milk has a temperature of approximately 38°C which is highly suitable for the growth of bacteria hence milk should be cooled to less than 10 °C as quickly as possible just after milking. So one have ensure that the milk is cooled or delivered for processing within the specified time, milk storage area is clean and sanitized and milk storage equipment is sufficient to hold milk at the temperature of 10 °C. The contact surfaces of the milk should be sanitized as required in accordance with national recommendations and rules. Unobstructed access to the milk storage area must be provided to enable the safe collection of milk.
- Nutrition (feed and water)
The quantity and quality of the nutritional intake determines the dairy animal’s health and productivity, and the worth and safety of its milk. Milk is often made unsalable due to feed or weed flavour so the feed with off flavor should not be incorporated.
- Secure and quality feed and water supplies-
Planning feed and water requirements for the dairy animals ahead can improve the sustainability of the farm enterprise. Budgeting the particular herd’s feed and water requirements in advance minimizes the risk and may help the dairy farmer to make out less expensive sources of feed. By implementing good dairy farming practice one can manage the flow of nutrients on the farm, with the appropriate use of effluent and fertilizers used for growing feed and fodder. Dairy animals should be provided with sufficient feed and clean water daily, according to their maintenance and other ration diet . The quality and quantity of the feed (roughages and concentrates), should be calculated by analyzing the animal’s age, body weight, stage of lactation, production level, growth, pregnancy, activity and climate. Ensure the feed provided to dairy animals are fit for the purpose and will not pose any risk to animal health or the safety or quality of milk or meat derived from these animals.
- Ensure the traceability
Traceability is the ability to trace back the from origin of a product to the finishing phase. If the farmer buys feed he/she must ensure that the feed supplier has an assurance programme in place which can be monitored to find the appropriate residues and diseases and can trace the ingredients used back to their source. One should maintain the record of all feed or feed ingredients received and fed on the farm will help to trace back the product’s origin.
- Animal welfare
The basis for our decisions in the dairy farming practices must not be weighed by economic interests or science alone but by ethics also, as our exploitation of animals incurs an massive debt, a moral obligation to maximize their well-being in return for their contribution to our own.(Fox et al., 1983). Animal welfare is the application of sensible and sensitive animal husbandry practices to the livestock on the farm. Animal welfare is chiefly concerned with the wellbeing of the animal. Animal welfare are set with the five freedom were developed by UK Farm Animal Welfare Council and these are mentioned below (FAO, 2011 ) must be followed by the dairy farms
1Ensure animals are free from thirst, hunger and malnutrition.
2 Ensure animals are free from discomfort.
3Ensure animals are free from pain, injury and disease.
4 Ensure animals are free from fear.
5Ensure animals can engage in relatively normal patterns of animal behaviour
- Environment
As milk is the perfect and nature’s ideal food for both new born and mature human beings , brings more concerned about the sustainable production and is undertaken in harmony with the environment. All dairy farmer can take part in protecting their industry and the future of their enterprise by adopting good management practices which improves the environmental sustainability of their farming system.
- Cow shed/Barns
The shed should be cleaned , well ventilated and well lightened . The shed must be in North-South direction in length, it gets benefitted by both morning and evening sun. The air in the barn should always be fresh, pure and free of dust and dirt.
- Environmentally sustainable farming system
A number of dairy farming systems rely deeply on external inputs such as irrigation water, fertiliser and feed. They need to consider the duration of impacts of using these resources on the land they practice either it is long or short term and can improve the productivity by using farm inputs efficiently and in a sustainable mode. The production of environmental pollutants from dairy farming practices should be managed and reduced further. Greenhouse gas GHGs (methane and nitrous oxide)emissions can be much difficult to control but can be reduced therefore we should implement the practices that improve productivity such as feeding a more digestible diet and applying fertilizers appropriately in respect to the quantity of milk produced.
- Waste management system
It is very essential that the place of milking should be cleaned at least 1hour before the milking is done .Accumulation of dung and urine must be avoided. Implement practices to reduce waste for good dairy practices. The potential breeding sites for flies and other disease carrying vermin rodents should be eliminated. Manage the storage and disposal of wastes to reduce environmental impact. One should not dispose of agricultural or veterinary chemicals where there is potential for them to get enter the local environment.
- Socio-economic management
Being ‘socially responsible’ and ‘economically sustainable’ are integral to good manage mental practice in dairy farming practice in country as they address two key risks to the farm venture. Managing and looking after the farm’s human resources is critical to the sustainability of the enterprise. In many parts of the world this will primarily apply to the farmer and others living on the dairy farm. However, dairy farmers must also believe the role their enterprise has in the wider population as an employer, user of natural resources and its potential impact on neighbors. Likewise, dairy farms are businesses producing a product, as here it is the milk , meat and livestock and its further processing. Like all other businesses, dairy farm businesses ought to be financially feasible to have a long term future and profit . The considerable good manage mental practices for dairy farming practices to the socio-economic management of dairy farms are implementation of effective and responsible management of human resources . Ensuring farm tasks are carried out safely and expertly managing the enterprise to ensure its financial feasibility are three important points (FAO, 2011).
Conclusion
For running any kind business like dairy farming business one should have to think technically to execute the work in proper and scientifically manner with effective business plan which ultimately leads to success. Here the set of good management practices must be applied in dairy farming to boost the economic status of the farmer, procure safe and quality milk from healthy animals by implementing management practices those are sustainable from an animal welfare, social, economic and environmental viewpoint. The proper implementation of mentioned set of practices by the dairy industry leads to run the business successfully in the country.
Dr. Vandita Mishra
Ph. D. Scholar, Division of Livestock Products Technology, ICAR-IVRI, Izatnagar, Bareilly, UP
References
- T. Sherikar. V. N. Bachhi & D. C. Thapliyal. 2004. Textbook of Elements of Veterinary Public Health. New Delhi : Indian Council Of Agri. Research. 36-45 pp.
APEDA. 2019.Agri Exchange. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
BAH & FS. 2019. Basic Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Statistics, 2018-19. Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and, Dairying, Government of India.
DAHD. 2019. 20th Livestock Census, 2019. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, New Delhi.
FAO and IDF. 2011. Guide to good dairy farming practice. Animal Production and Health Guidelines. No. 8. Rome. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and International Dairy Federation.
- W. Fox. 1983. Animal Welfare and the Dairy Industry. J. dairy Sci. 66 (10):2221-2225.
NAS. 2019. National Accounts Statistics. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Central Statistical Organization, Government of India, New Delhi.
