IMPORTANCE OF GREEN FODDER IN COMMERCIAL DAIRY FARMING
DR CHANDRAKIRAN SANT ,DAIRY ADVISOR
Unlike other agricultural products milk gets assured price and year round demand. However, dairy is also facing many problems in recent years. Price for the milk is not going up matching to the price hike for cattle feed and other inputs. Income generated by selling milk is spent entirely for feeding the animal itself. Overdependence on ready cattle feed has created this situation. Milk production and productivity has come down by ignoring green grass and leguminous fodder. Even today many traditional farmers depend entirely on paddy straw to feed their dairy animals. This affects both milk yield and the health of the animal. Realizing this mistake fodder cultivation is given necessary importance in planning new dairy projects now.
Dairy animal needs food 2.5 to 3.5% of its body weight. In other words, a buffalo needs 30 kilograms and cow needs 25 kilograms of food including concentrates. It should have 60% wet and 40% dry fodder. Out of total green-wet fodder 25% must be from leguminous species and 75% from monocot grasses. Dry fodder is a must even if we have surplus of green fodder. Feeding only green will affect the growth of the animal and yield and quality of milk. Do not use paddy straw as dry fodder. The oxalic acid content in it will deplete the calcium from the body of the animal. Finger millet and sorghum stubbles, wheat straw, dicot gram herbage etc. are the best fodders. Among monocot green grasses Napier-Bajra hybrids, pearl millet, fodder maize, Guinea grass, perennial sorghum, Rhodes grass etc. are the important ones. Proteinecious legume includes fodder cowpea, sun hemp, horse gram, lucerne, hedge lucerne, Stylozanthus, Azolla etc. Apart from these tree fodders like Subabul, Gliricidia, Sesbenia, Caliyandra, Coral tree, Ficus, mulberry, jack fruit, Bauhinia, Melia etc. are the useful ones.
Green fodder is an economic source of nutrients for the dairy animals. It is highly palatable and digestible. Micro-organisms present in green fodder help in improving digestibility of crop residues under mixed feeding system. It also helps in maintaining good health and improving breeding efficiency of animals. Increased use of green fodder in the ration of animals may reduce cost of milk production. To reduce the gap between demand and availability of green fodder, there is a need to improve green fodder yield through enhanced use of improved fodder seeds. For ensuring year round green fodder production, farmers need to adopt following agricultural practices:
* Always use certified / truthfully labeled seed / planting material of improved high yielding varieties of fodder crops.
* Follow recommended package of practices for fodder cultivation such as land preparation, timely sowing, fertilizer application, irrigation, weed and pest control and harvesting schedule.
* Growing short duration varieties of fodder crops such as maize, sunflower, chinese cabbage, turnip, cowpea etc. between two main seasonal crops.
* Cultivate cereal fodder crops like maize, bajra and sorghum along with fodder legumes like cowpea, cluster bean and velvet bean.
*Cultivation of high yielding multi-cut perennial fodder crop like Hybrid Napier grass in fields and also on boundaries of other crop fields.
*Cultivate guinea grass, a shade tolerant fodder crop along with forage legumes like siratro / stylos under mixed cropping between trees rows in orchards.
*Harvest the multi-cut fodder crops at regular intervals (30 to 45 days) 10 cm height from ground level to get optimum production and quality fodder.
* Cultivate drought tolerant perennial grasses like anjan grass, sewan grass, rhodes grass and fodder trees like desi babool, neem, shisam, kanchan, aaradu, khejri, subabul and Gliricidia on fallow lands/wastelands/community for grazing
Fodder Seed Variety & Approx.Price (Rs/Kg) in the market in India
| Fodder Seed Variety | Price (Rs/Kg) | |
| 1 | ALFALFA DENMOR/JERSEY-581 | 480.00 |
| 2 | ALFALFA HYBRID TEXAS/DALLAS-137 | 456.00 |
| 3 | BERSEEM HYBRID CAIRO-7 | 228.00 |
| 4 | BERSEEM HYBRID JERSEY HIGH PROTEIN | 264.00 |
| 5 | BERSEEM VARDHAN/BL-1 | 228.00 |
| 6 | BERSEEM P.GIANT/JB-1/2 | 252.00 |
| 7 | BERSEEM TETRAPLOID VAREITY | 216.00 |
| 8 | BERSEEM DEPLOID IMPROVED | 216.00 |
| 9 | BERSEEM IMPROVED JAP | 228.00 |
| 10 | BERSEEM MASCAVI/BELLORD | 228.00 |
| 11 | BERSEEM CHHINDWARA-561/J-4 | 216.00 |
| 12 | BERMUDA GRASS | 840.00 |
| 13 | BEANS FT JACK | 240.00 |
| 14 | BAJRA (MILLET) FODDER – 55 VARIETY | 60.00 |
| 15 | BAJRA PEARL MILLET FODDER GIANT H.B | 72.00 |
| 16 | BARLEY G.S. | 48.00 |
| 17 | COWPEA FTX-42 VTY | 102.00 |
| 18 | COWPEA EC-4216/EP-44 | 96.00 |
| 19 | COWPEA RUSSIAN GIANT/F-4/F-5 | 90.00 |
| 20 | COWPEA F. T, – 005 VTY/8401 | 90.00 |
| 21 | CARROT F.T DUKES | 360.00 |
| 22 | CARROT HONEY FODDER/SIRSA SWEET | 390.00 |
| 23 | CABBAGE CHINESE | 420.00 |
| 24 | CABBAGE CHUNGTHONG FODDER | 360.00 |
| 25 | CLUSTERBEANS T-2/HFF-227 | 480.00 |
| 26 | CLUSTERBEANS F.T/DURGA W. | 456.00 |
| 27 | CENCHURUS CILIARIS XX 988 | 240.00 |
| 28 | CENCHURUS SETIGERUS | 264.00 |
| 29 | CHICORY-597 | 168.00 |
| 30 | DINANATH GRASS | 240.00 |
| 31 | DOLICHOS LAB VARIETY | 180.00 |
| 32 | FENUGREEK EGYPTIAN | 84.00 |
| 33 | HORSE GRAM F.T VARIETY | 120.00 |
| 34 | JUELIFLOWRA K77 | 840.00 |
| 35 | LAWN GRASS/TURF GRASS | 720.00 |
| 36 | LEUCAENA SCHWARTZ | 216.00 |
| 37 | LUCERNE HYBRID GREEN LAND | 396.00 |
| 38 | LUCERNE PV-18 VAREITY/CO-1 | 390.00 |
| 39 | LUCERNE PERFECTION PV | 378.00 |
| 40 | LUCERNE H-4 PV | 402.00 |
| 41 | LUCERNE HYBRID RES-707 | 420.00 |
| 42 | LUCERNE T-9 PV | 360.00 |
| 43 | LUCERNE COMP 5 PV | 384.00 |
| 44 | LUCERNE HYBRID PASTURE – 7 AV | 402.00 |
| 45 | LUCERNE ANAND – 2 AV | 360.00 |
| 46 | LUCERNE ANAND – 4 AV | 378.00 |
| 47 | LUCERNE COMP-3 AV/ANAND-3AV | 384.00 |
| 48 | LUCERNE BUNCHING -1303 | 396.00 |
| 49 | LUCERNE TIGRE HIGH PROTEIN | 384.00 |
| 50 | M.P CHARI MULTICUT I.G-997 | 102.00 |
| 51 | M.P CHARI TRIPLE BUNCH (TRIFOLIUM) | 96.00 |
| 52 | M.P CHARI P.GIANT VARIETY | 66.00 |
| 53 | MAIZE A.P.F M-8/VIJAY COMP/A-DE CUBA | 42.00 |
| 54 | MAIZE AFRICAN TALL (WHITE/YELLOW) | 36.00 |
| 55 | MAIZE SOUTH A-TALL | 42.00 |
| 56 | MAIZE 1303 RES (DUAL PURPOSE) | 96.00 |
| 57 | MUSTARD GRASS LAND | 108.00 |
| 58 | OAT ALGERIAN VARIETY/SABZAR | 60.00 |
| 59 | OAT – 8 VARIETY/ JH-826/JS-9041 | 54.00 |
| 60 | OAT KENT VARIETY/HOF-114 | 48.00 |
| 61 | OAT OL-108/UPO-94/JAWAHAR | 56.40 |
| 62 | PEGION PEA | 144.00 |
| 63 | RIO SEED J-47 VARIETY | 48.00 |
| 64 | RIO SEED MULTICUT I.J-441 | 60.00 |
| 65 | RHINO GRASS | 144.00 |
| 66 | RAJKA BAJRI (MILLET MULTICUT H.B) | 72.00 |
| 67 | SAVANA GRASS | 840.00 |
| 68 | SORGHUM BIFIELD | 48.00 |
| 69 | SORGHUM JYOTI FODDER/HC 171-260 | 46.80 |
| 70 | SORGHUM P.C 9/PC 23/ HC 136 | 45.60 |
| 71 | SORGHUM PC 6/FODDER J-1 | 45.60 |
| 72 | SORGHUM SWEET SUDAN HYBRID 992/998 | 54.00 |
| 73 | SORGHUM SSG 59 -3/V.H-998 | 48.00 |
| 74 | SORGHUM SSG HYBRID 77 | 54.00 |
| 75 | STYLO SCABRA 707 | 144.00 |
| 76 | STYLO HAMATA 555 | 120.00 |
| 77 | SUBABUL K8/B-42 | 120.00 |
| 78 | SUNFLOWER RES 40 | 114.00 |
| 79 | SESBANIA IGF | 120.00 |
| 80 | TURNIP F.T 44 VARIETY | 336.00 |
| 81 | TURNIP F.T VARIETY | 312.00 |
| 82 | TEOSNTIE F-4J/SIRSA-I/F-4 | 72.00 |
Feed and Fodder management
Dairy animals need food 2.5 to 3.5% of their body weight every day. A big buffalo with good milk yield needs 30 kilograms of food and a cow needs 25 kilograms of food including cattle feed. The total food should have 60% dry and 40% wet portion. The green or wet fodder must have 25% leguminous herbage and 75% monocot grasses. Production of 1 liter milk needs 500 grams of balanced cattle feed. In other words a cow yielding 10 liters of milk has to get 5 kilograms of cattle feed. In addition, 100 grams of mineral mixture per animal per day is also necessary. Most of the commercial dairies do not buy ready cattle feed. Instead they mix 50% broken maize, 15 to 20% cotton seed or coconut or ground nut cake, 20% dicot gram waste and 10% wheat bran. This mixture is soaked in clean water for 12 hours. 3 kilograms of this mixture is fed to each milking animal per time. In addition 2 kilograms of Barley husk per time per animal is also fed. Buffalos get extra 1 kilogram of feed mixture. Additional 50 grams of mineral mixture and 50 grams of common salt are put per animal per day. Apart from all these the animal with more than 10 liters of milk is given 1 kilogram of Milk More special cattle feed.
Daily activities start by 3 am itself in big dairies by putting dry fodder and cattle feed. Drinking water is flood in the same feeding trough after the feed is spent. Green fodder is put after completing milking before 7am. By 9 am the animals are given bath. Later on they are let out for wandering for 2 hours which makes easy for cleaning the shed. Buffalos are sent to water tank for swimming if there is the facility. By 11am the animals are brought back to the shed and given complete rest. Animals masticate and sleep during this rest period which facilitates good digestion and better milk yield. Strangers should not wander in the cattle shed especially in buffalo dairies during this rest period. Otherwise the animals stand up and lay down spending energy leading to poor milk yield in next milking. Again dry fodder-cattle feed and water is given from 3pm. Milking starts by 4 pm. Green fodder is put by 7pm after milking is over. Then the animals take rest. It is advised to restrict putting fodder only 2 to 3 times a day. Feeding throughout the day is not a good practice which gives no time for mastication and proper digestion. Provide clean drinking water 3 to 4 times a day. A big animal needs 75 to 100 liters of water per day normally and still more in hot summer. It is estimated that the production of 1 liter of milk needs 10 liters of water. Hence water shortage for the animal will affect the milk yield.
Provide enough fodder only twice a day, that is in the morning and evening. Feeding throughout the day will affect mastication and the digestion will not be proper leading to the wastage of the food. This affects the growth as well as milk yield. Chop both green and dry fodder to half inch length before feeding. Otherwise the animal will eat only leaves leaving behind the nutritious stem portion. Provide concentrated cattle feed depending on the quality of fodder given. If both green grass and legumes are fed less quantity of cattle feed is sufficient. Normally production of 1 liter of milk needs 500 grams of balanced cattle feed. Of course the pregnant animal needs 1 kilogram extra. Put 100 grams of mineral mixture also. Apart from these give 50 grams each of calcium powder and common salt per animal per day in heavy rainfall areas. Normally the feed mixture is soaked in the water for 12 hours and fed. Few farmers soak the feed in boiling water for 2 hours before feeding. This facilitates easy digestion and minimizes fungal contaminants.
Cattle feeds of many brands of different qualities are available in the open market. But the cost of this will not work-out for bigger dairies. Instead feed mixture is prepared on the farm itself by mixing ingredients of good quality. This assures nutrient content with less cost. Moisture content of the feed mixture should not be too much. Otherwise the fungal contaminants may grow affecting the health of the animal. Hence feed mixture is prepared once in a week in big dairies and once in a month in smaller dairies. Let the ingredients be like this- broken cereal grains- 45%, rice or wheat bran- 30%, oilseed cake- 20%, mineral mixture- 2%, urea- 1% and common salt- 2%. This is a general formula. Buffalo needs additional oilseed cake since the fat content of the milk is more. Maize, sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, little millet, foxtail millet etc. are used as the source of carbohydrate. Seed cakes of ground nut, cotton, soya bean, sunflower, dicot gram waste, bran, fish powder etc. are the good source of protein. The grains may differ from area to area and season to season depending on the availability and market rate. But do not alter the proportion of carbohydrate, fat and protein. Feed having bypass protein is still better. Few dairies use barley husk brought from wine factories. Food alone constitutes 70% of the operational cost of a dairy farm. Hence calculative feed management will bring more profit.
Fodder Grasses
Now it is the time to learn more about green fodder. Most of the fodder species are rain fed crops. But irrigation is necessary for higher and continues fodder yield. We can preserve green fodder in the form of silage in the rainy season when it is in surplus. However most of the dairies use fresh green fodder itself even though the silage has many advantages. Now there are many high yielding and good quality fodder crops and varieties. The good fodder grass should be smooth enough and without much hairs. Wide leaf blade and less stem portion are preferred. It should not become coarse even if the harvesting is delayed. It should not have negative substances like oxalic acid. Once planted should give good fodder yield for 3 to 4 years. Hybrid Napier stands first by considering all these criteria. It is the hybrid of Elephant grass for higher yield and Bajra for better quality. It gives highest yield with good manuring and irrigation. But it cannot survive in dry land. Oxalic acid is present up to 6 weeks of growth. It is necessary to chop it before feeding due to the thick stem. Hybrid Napier is not useful as dry fodder. It produces no seed. Hence it is multiplied by stem cuttings or root slips. NB hybrid grass is equally suitable for silage making also.
Napier-Bajra (NB) Hybrids
Yashwant Napier is another popular grass variety. Planting once will give good yield for 5 years. It grows to a height of 8 to 10 feet and comes to harvest once in 60 days. Many farmers do not give any manure or fertilizer. Instead cow dung slurry, urine and water from shed washing are given. Few farmers give top dressing dose of urea after each harvest. This Yashwant Napier can produce 40 tons of green fodder per acre per year.
CO-1 is another perennial, multi cut NB hybrid. 16,000 root slips are necessary for 1 acre. Give inter row spacing of 2 feet. It comes for harvest once in 45 to 50 days. Irrigated crop gives 6 to 8 cutting and 40 tons of green fodder per year. Harvesting at half feet height above the ground will facilitate good regrowth by tillering. CO-1 can be identified easily by its light yellow ear-heads.
CO-3 is the parrot green grass variety. Another popular NB hybrid liked by the farmers is CO-4. Dark green colour, broad leaf blade and thick stem make it easy for identification. It grows to a height of 6 to 8 feet and available for harvest once in 45 to 50 days. Putting slurry or urea after each harvest gives excellent growth. Irrigate once in 15 days. The yield potential of CO-4 variety is 45 to 50 tons per acre.
Another popular NB hybrid is BH-18. Plough the land thoroughly and plant the root slips with an inter row spacing of 2 feet. Regular irrigation and manuring will bring 6 to 8 harvests per year. BH-18 grows to a height of 8 to 10 feet and gives 40 tons of green fodder per acre. This variety can be identified by purple colored ear heads and light red colored stems.
APBN or Andhra Pradesh Bajra Napier hybrid is another variety grown widely. 16,000 root slips are necessary for 1 acre. Plough the land thoroughly with sufficient organic manure. Give a spacing of 2×2 feet. Irrigate once in 15 days. It grows to a height of 8 to 10 feet and produces 45 tons of fodder per acre per year. The stem of APBN variety is very soft. Likewise, many Napier-Bajra hybrids are found in different parts of India. Most of them are similar in basic nature, fodder quality and yield with slight differences. Now a day these NB hybrids have become compulsory to fulfill the fodder needs of commercial dairies.
Guinea grass
Guinea grass grows very well even under partial shades of the plantations. Guinea has 3 major varieties. Guinea hemil is the popular one. This grass has a substance which improves milk yield. Guinea grass is comparatively small in size, but gives 30 tons fodder per acre per year. Sheep and goat like this grass very much. 5 to 6 kilograms of seed is necessary for 1 acre. It can be multiplied even by root slips. Sow the seeds in the seed beds and plant the seedlings of 25 to 30 days in the main field. Otherwise sow the seeds directly. Leaf portion is more than the stem. Hence feeding without chopping is possible.
Perennial Multi-cut Sorghum
It is a hybrid between Sudan grass and sorghum. This being a drought tolerant species survives even in severe dry condition and gives out new flush again in the rainy season. It has thin stem and the leaf portion is more. This multi-cut sorghum is multiplied by seeds and regrowth is by tillers. It needs 15 to 20 kilograms of seed per acre. Give an inter row spacing of 2 feet. Harvest the crop at milk grain stage. Keep 2 to 3 inches of the stem on ground to facilitate regrowth. This grass is useful as green or dry fodder and also for silage making. We get 3 to 4 harvests per year and 15 tons of green fodder per harvest per acre. Irrigated crop gives better yield even though it is a rain fed grass species.
Fodder maize
African Tall is the popular variety of fodder maize which grows to a height of 8 to 10 feet. Plough the land thoroughly with sufficient organic manure. Sow the seeds in rows with an inter row spacing of 1 feet. It needs 25 kilograms of seed per acre. Cultivation of fodder maize is possible throughout the year under irrigation. This is a palatable and smooth fodder. However, the stem is very thick and needs chopping before feeding. It becomes coarse if not harvested within 90 days. Each crop gives 20 tons of fodder per acre. Fodder maize improves milk yield.
Rhodes grass
Rhodes grass is a preferred fodder for stall fed goat and sheep. It is useful even as dry fodder. Goat feeding on Rhodes grass conceives early and gives more milk. It has more calcium which strengthens the bones. Hence the calves grow fast. Rhodes grass is specially used for race horses and bulls maintained for semen collection. 5 kilograms of seed is necessary for one acre. It is multiplied by root slips also. In addition, it roots at nodes and spreads to adjacent area. It grows to a height of 6 to 8 feet and available for harvest once in 40 days. There are 2-3 varieties in this Rhodes grass.
Para grass
Para grass has hairs on leaves and stem. But it is no way inferior in nutrients than other species. Normally it is not cultivated on the farm. It is seen growing along the sewage canals of big cities. This is the main fodder for the animals reared in cities. The stem of the Para grass is very soft. It is liked very much by buffalos.
Basically most of the fodder species are rain fed grasses. However, we get higher yield round the year with regular irrigation and application of organic manures and fertilizers. The general fertilizer recommendation for these fodder grasses is 40 kilograms of nitrogen, 30 kilograms of phosphorus and 16 kilograms of potash per acre. Apply half of the recommended nitrogen as basal doze and remaining half as top dressing after harvest. Most of the dairies use dung, slurry and urine available in plenty on their farm. Water from the cattle shed washing is flooded to the fodder crop. Green fodder in 1 acre can feed 8 to 10 big animals.
Leguminous Fodders
Sun hemp
Sun hemp is popular both for fodder and green manuring. It is commonly grown with the residual moisture of the paddy field after harvest. This being a leguminous plant has more protein and improves soil fertility by nitrogen fixation. It needs 15 to 20 kilograms of seed per acre. No necessity of top dressing fertilizer. Harvest the crop at 35 to 40 day stage and use it as green or dry fodder. Do not feed this to the animals after flowering since it has a negative substance called HCN. Harvest at 1 foot above the ground to facilitate regrowth. Sun hemp is a proteinecious and palatable fodder good for goat and sheep also.
Lucerne
Lucerne is a soft and nutritious fodder with 15 to 22% of protein. Feeding lucerne will overcome the problem of pregnancy failure in dairy animals. Prolactin content in this plant improves milk yield. This is an irrigated crop. 2 to 3 kilograms of seed is necessary for 1 acre. Seed germinates only in winter. The crop once sown gives good fodder yield for 2 to 3 years. It comes for harvest once in 20 days so that 8 to 10 harvest is possible per year. Well drained soil is necessary. It will not come up well in acidic soil. Lucerne is equally suitable for leaf meal production also.
Hedge Lucerne
Hedge Lucerne is another leguminous plant grown normally on hedge or fence. Seed treatment with hot water is necessary for better germination. Crop sown once gives good yield for 7 to 8 years. It grows to a height of 7 to 8 feet and gets ready for harvest once in 35 to 40 days. It withstands repeated harvest. Hedge lucerne with high amount of protein is equally good as dry fodder also. Sheep and goat like this very much.
Stylozanthus species
Another important leguminous fodder is Stylozanthus. It grows very well in waste lands and improves the soil fertility by nitrogen fixation. It is most suitable for soil and water conservation as a mulch crop and a good species for bund stabilization. Stylozanthus hemata is more popular than 3 other regular species of the genus. It grows very well in competition with the weeds and suppresses them. It spreads to the whole area by self-seeding. 2 to 3 kilograms of seed is necessary for 1 acre. Maximum germination is up to 40%. The small seed will not germinate if sown deeper than half a centimeter. For better germination put the seed in boiling water for 10 minutes, drain, dry under shade and sow. Stylozanthus with 18 to 22% protein is equally suitable for leaf meal production. It is available for harvest 4 to 5 times a year. This is very popular in pastures with grass species. The sticky substance oozing out from its leaves has anti-tick property. Hence the animal grazing on Stylozanthus will not have ticks.
Velvet bean creeper
Velvet bean is a very popular creeper grown as cover crop in coconut, areca nut and rubber plantations. It minimizes soil erosion and enriches the soil by nitrogen fixation. Seed dibbled in June gives 2 harvests of herbage in September-October. It is rich in nutrients even though the volume is less. Velvet been creeper climbing on a tree will give 4 to 5 kilograms of seed which can be fed to the animals like cattle feed. We can feed 1 to 2 kilograms of this per animal per day. Growing velvet been with fodder sorghum is also in practice. All these leguminous crops need less nitrogen since they fix it from the atmosphere. However, it needs more phosphorus for better nitrogen fixation. Hence the general fertilizer recommendation is 8 kilograms of nitrogen, 32 kilograms of phosphorus and 16 kilograms of potash per acre.
Azolla
Another important proteinecious fodder is Azolla. This aquatic plant hosts blue green algae called Anabaena on the edges of the leaves which fixes atmospheric nitrogen. Growing Azolla in paddy fields for green manuring is a popular practice. This is an excellent proteinecious fodder also. It is cultivated successfully in water tanks with 1-foot depth. Add cow dung to the tank as food for Azolla. Partial shade is also necessary for its good growth. It multiplies and spreads very fast even if a portion of it is taken out every day. Collect it from the pond, wash with clean water, mix it with cattle feed and feed to the animals. Azolla may be fed to an animal 2 to 3 kilograms a day. It improves the milk yield and brings down the dependence on the cattle feed. Changing of water in the tank once in a month is advised. People without sufficient space for fodder cultivation can go for Azolla. However, Azolla is not yet popular in commercial dairies. Even the poultry birds like feeding Azolla.
Leguminous Fodders Trees
Normally the field fodder crops produce lower yield in hot summer. Situation will be still worse in drought years. Perennial tree fodders can compensate this shortage. Hence it is advised to grow leguminous fodder bushes and trees along the fence, on the bunds and in barren portions of the farm. These deep rooted plants can give fodder round the year without irrigation.
Subabul
Subabul was introduced to India in 80s. This is the most popular and the best tree fodder. Subabul is an agroforestry tree species best suited even for green manuring, firewood and wood pulp for the industry. It comes up well in low rainfall areas and grows very slow in heavy rainfall areas. Herbage from the big Subabul tree has a negative substance called Mimocine which may create problems in pregnant animals. Hence keep on lopping the plant at 5 to 6 feet for fodder. It withstands repeated lopping. Harvest the branches before flowering. Otherwise it may grow like a weed on the farm by self-seeding. Subabul is suitable for leaf meal production also.
Caliyandra
Caliyandra is a leguminous plant species from Indonesia. This is useful for fodder, green manuring and firewood. Caliyandra is a soft, palatable and proteinecious fodder. It is multiplied by seeds. It withstands repeated lopping and is available for cutting 3 to 4 times a year. However continuous feeding of Caliyandra on large scale will create infertility in dairy animals. Hence restrict it to 5 kilograms per animal per day.
Gliricidia
Gliricidia is another common leguminous fodder rich in protein. It is seen growing along the fences and bunds of the farms. The stem is thick and hard which needs chopping before feeding. Gliricidia just cut has some bad odor disliked by the animals. Hence wilt it for some time and feed. It needs few days for the animal to like feeding Gliricidia.
Sesbenia
Sesbenia is another proteinecious and palatable fodder. This is popular as a support and shade plant for betel vines and also as wind breaker in banana plantations. It withstands repeated lopping and gives out good regrowth. Regular irrigation gives higher yield of biomass.
Mulberry
Mulberry is also a popular green fodder in its traditional belts. Stem is hard and chopping is necessary before feeding. However continuous feeding of mulberry on a large scale will lead to infertility and low milk yield. Hence restrict it to 2 to 3 kilograms per animal per day.
Traditional Fodder Trees
Traditionally there are many tree fodders in use for sheep and goat. Bauhinia is one among them. This will not produce seeds. Multiplication is by planting stem cuttings. Likewise, Rain tree an avenue tree planted on the roadside is also a good leguminous fodder species. Buffalos like the tender leaves of this rain tree very much. Abundantly available pods of this tree can also be fed to the animals. Melia is another popular fodder tree in the villages. Tender leaves and fruits are given to sheep, goat and other cattle. It withstands repeated lopping. This popular agroforestry tree grows very fast. Apart from these jack fruit is one more nutritious fodder. Leaves, tender fruits and ripen fruits may be fed on a small scale. Likewise, herbage and fruits of fig is also in use as fodder. 5 kilograms of tree fodder is recommended per animal per day.
In traditional areca nut area leaf sheath is used as fodder. It is chopped, dried and fed to the animals. Farmers experience indicates the improvement of milk fat by feeding areca nut leaf sheath. However, feeding the wet sheath may create problems in mastication since it has a thin upper layer like plastic. Likewise, cocoa farmers feed cocoa fruit rind to the dairy animals after extracting the beans inside.
We can conclude that without using green-nutritious-monocot and di-cot fodders dairying cannot be a viable profession. Fodder crops play a vital role in the successful continuation of dairy units despite the sharp price hike of cattle feeds.
Silage making
Even though silage is an excellent method of fodder preservation it is seen only in stall fed goat and sheep farms in India. Silage making is the systematic and scientific method of preservation of nutritious green fodder with sufficient sugar content. Regular yellow maize is grown for this purpose on commercial farms. Otherwise any fodder species with high sugar content like fodder sorghum varieties SSV-73; PVK-01 etc. are also good for silage. Even the green fodders like CO-1, AP-01, Guinea etc. may be utilized for the purpose. But we need to add 2 kilograms of Jaggary or molasses per ton of fodder since the sugar content is less. Growth of useful microorganisms and fermentation of the fodder needs comfortable sugar content. However, the silage from these green fodder grasses will be slightly inferior in quality due to absence of grains.
Big farmers producing silage grow yellow maize of regular variety for the purpose. The crop is harvested with cobs at 85 days when the milk grain stage is just over. Few farmers construct stone chambers above the ground for silage making. For small scale production even the plastic barrels are in use. Making silage in the pit is common in India. It is better to put granite slabs for the walls to prevent rats and mice entering the pit. However, mud pit lined with thick plastic sheet is also seen. Plastic is necessary even if it has granite wall to prevent rainwater and air entering the silo pit and to avoid drying of the silage. Technically speaking silage making is the process of anaerobic fermentation of green fodder. So the silage gets spoiled if the air enters the silo pit.
Whichever may be the fodder variety, harvest the crop with the grains. Chop the fodder in the cutter machine to quarter inch length. It is made to fall in the pit directly. Adding leguminous fodder to this will enrich the nutritional value of the silage. Put 150 liters of water in a barrel and dissolve 20 kilograms of molasses. Take 50 liters of water in another tub. Add 250 grams of silage microorganism culture to it. This culture is available with few private laboratories. 1 kilogram of this culture costs about INR 15,000 and is sufficient for 100 tons of silage. This is most important for better fermentation and easy digestion of the silage. Now pour the culture solution in to the barrel containing molasses water and mix it thoroughly. Spray this solution at the rate of 10 liters per ton of chopped fodder. 1 kilogram of common salt per ton of fodder is also added.
Complete the filling of a silo pit on the same day. Do not continue the work for next day. Compact the chopped fodder falling in to the pit at each layer by trampling by clean bare feet. This is necessary to take out air in between. Cover the whole mass in the pit by plastic sheet after the completion of filling of the fodder. Place stones or sand bags as weight on the silo pit. A pit having 20 tons of fodder needs 5 tons of weight on the top. Provide roofing to the silo pit to prevent rainwater entering inside. Avoid rats and mice burrowing the pit. Otherwise it leads to aeration and development of insect larvae inside spoiling the silage. The fodder turns in to silage in 15 days and gets ready for feeding. Silage keeps good for 2 years. Size of chopping, amount of trampling, the weight put on the pit etc. decide the quality of the silage produced. Silage is a nutritious, palatable wet fodder for cows, buffalos, sheep and goat.
1 cubic foot volume of the silo pit holds 12 to 15 kilograms of silage. It is difficult to take out the silage if the depth of the silo pit is more. Do not take out entire plastic cover and weight while getting the silage for feeding. Instead exhaust 1 or 2 feet width from top to bottom. If the maize is cut with cobs silage will have about 10% grains by weight. Hence the animals feeding this silage need less cattle feed. Animals can digest the silage even if they eat more. Silage making brings down daily labour requirement for fodder management. Silage has more available nutrients than the same green fodder. In spite of all these advantages silage is not yet very popular among dairy farmers of India.
Complete Feed Block
National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology (NIANP), Bangalore has developed a technology called Complete Feed Block. It is to prepare feed blocks from a mixture of dry fodder and cattle feed mixed in required proportion. Fodder may be straw, any crop residue or dry leaves of fodder trees. For cattle with an average milk yield feed block is prepared with 60% dry fodder and 40% concentrated cattle feed. Add molasses 7 to 10% by weight of the total material used to keep the block intact. For using green grass or leaves, dry them under shade before mixing. Otherwise the block may be spoiled by fungal infection. The mixture is filled in the box of the hydraulic machine and subjected to 3000 to 4000 PSI pressure. This complete feed block remains unspoiled for 1 year if stored in dry place. The animals like this feed block due to its palatability. 4 to 5 feed blocks may be fed to a big animal per day. This machine runs with 7 HP 3 phase electric motor. It costs about half a million Indian rupees. However, this being a manually operated machine can produce hardly 25 to 35 blocks per hour. This machine may be established in Dairy societies for community usage. Feeding this block increases food intake of the animal. And hence the body growth and milk yield goes up. Complete feed block reduces the space needed for fodder storage. It makes transportation less bulky and easy.
First aid and Home remedies
The dairy farmer must depend on an expert veterinarian for complex health problems. However, it is better if he is aware of first aid and treatments for simple illnesses. There are many useful home remedies or ethno-veterinary practices for the purpose. Now let us list the health related materials to be kept always in a dairy farm.
- Potassium Permanganate- put 2 tinges of this crystal to 1 liter of water and use it for washing the wounds.
- Bleaching powder- use this to clean drinking water at the rate of 10 grams for 1000 liters. It is useful even for cleaning floor of the cattle shed.
- Phenyl- a germicide for cleaning the shed.
- Dettol- a germicide for cleaning the udder.
- Turpentine oil- use this to kill maggots in the wound.
- Iodine ointment- useful for applying to wounds.
- Tetracycline tablets- give 2 tablets twice a day in case of fever and diarrhea.
- Himalayan Battista- it is useful for indigestion. Put 50 grams of this powder in Jaggary/molasses and give twice a day.
- Neem oil- apply it for skin diseases and for wounds to avoid maggots.
- Tick insecticide- useful to kill ticks and other ecto-parasites.
- Antibiotic ointment- useful to apply on wounds.
- Camphor- fill the camphor powder in the wound to avoid maggots.
Dear readers, we have studied lot of issues on dairying in this article. There is one last word left. Dairying is a biological industry. We cannot consider the animal as a machine producing milk. We need to develop affection towards the cattle. We will come across many problems while managing this sensitive live stock. We have to nourish the cow properly as Goddess Laxmi along with worshipping it as Govmata. Scientific attitude, proper planning and involvement of the farmer will definitely bring success in this dairy industry. These innocent animals will never disappoint us if we manage them properly.
