Key Notes on Breeds of cattle & Buffalo in India

Key Notes on Breeds of cattle & Buffalo in India

 

A breed is a group of related animals with similar characters like general appearance, size, features and configuration etc. Often, breeds resemble each other with slight morphological differences, but because of constant inbreeding in one locality, independent breeds have evolved. In general, the cattle from drier regions are well built and those from heavy rainfall areas, coastal and hilly regions are of smaller build. There are total 231 breeds of cattle in the world out of which 37 are in India. Most indigenous cattle breeds in the tropics are multipurpose (milk, draught) and that only a few breeds have good milk potential. Indian cattle breeds of cattle are classified into three types as under:

Milch breeds: The cows of these breeds are high milk yielders and the male animals are slow or poor workers. The milk production of milk breeds is on the average more than 1600 kg. per lactation. The examples of Indian milch breeds are Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir and Deoni.

Dual Purpose breeds: The cows in these breeds are average milk yielder and male animals are very useful for work. Their milk production per lactation is 500 kg to 150 kg. The example of this group are Ongole, Hariana, Kankrej, Deoni, Rathi , Mewathi, Dangi and Nimari.

Draught breeds: The male animals are good for work and cows are poor milk yielders and their milk yield on an average is less than 500 kg per lactation. They are usually white in colour. The example of this group is Hallikar, Amritmahal, Khillari, Bargur, Nagori, Bachaur, Malvi, Kenkatha, Kherigarh, Kangayam, Ponwar, Siri, Gaolao, Krishna Valley.

IMPORTANT INDIGENOUS MILCH CATTLE BREEDS IN INDIA

Breed	Habitat	Age at First Calving (Yrs)	Calving Interval (Months)	Lactation Length (Days)	Average Lactation Yield (Lts)	Fat Content (%age)
Gir	Kathiawar (Gujrat), Gir forest and adjoining areas of Rajasthan & Maharastra	4	14 – 16	240 – 380	1225 – 2268	4.5 – 4.6
Sahiwal	Montgomery (Pakistan), Punjab, Hariana, U.P., M.P., Bihar, West Bengal	3 – 4	13 – 18	290 – 490	1134 – 3175	4.0 – 6.0
Red Sindhi	Sindh & Karachi (Pakistan)	3 – 3.5	13 – 18	270 – 490	683 – 2268	4.0 – 5.0
Tharparkar	Sindh (Pakistan), Jaisalmer, Jodhpur (Rajasthan)	3.5 – 4	14 – 18	280 – 440	680 – 2268	4.2 – 4.7
Hariana (Dual Purpose)	East Punjab, Kissar, Karna, Delhi, Gurgaon	4 – 4.5	19 – 21	263 – 320	635 – 1497	4.0 – 4.8
Ongole (Dual Purpose)	Ongole tract of Andhra Pradesh Guntur, Nellore	4 – 4.5	16 – 18	300 – 330	1179 – 1633	5.1

EXOTIC DAIRY CATTLE BREEDS IN INDIA

The European breeds of dairy cattle belong to the species of Bos taurus. They are humpless generally large spread with a fine coat, short ears, without a pendulous dewlap. They are less heat tolerant and less disease resistant as compared to Indian cattle, but are superior in milk production, The exotic breeds of cattle have been used in India on a fairly extensive scale with a view to improve the milk yielding capacity of the indigenous cows. The important European breeds of dairy cattle are Holstein Friesian, Brown Swiss, Jersey, Guernsey and Ayrshire.

Breed	Habitat	Age at First Calving (Months)	Body Colour	Average Lactation Yield (Lts)	Fat Content (%)
Holstein Friesian	Holland	25 – 27	Black and white	6150	3.5
Jersey	Island of Jersey in the English channel	23 -24	Fawn with our without white markings	4000	5.5
Brown Swiss	Switzerland	27 – 29	Distinctly	5250	4
Ayrshire	Scotland	25 – 27	Light to deep cherry red with or without shades	4840	4.1
Red Dane	Denmark	–	Red or Reddish brown	2500 – 3000	4

Guinness World Records- For the record

• Who: Diana
• What: Smallest Cow (Height)
• Where: Kerala
• When: 09 November 2010

The shortest cow is Diana; a seven-year-old “Vechur” cow is a rare breed of Bos Indicus cattle, who measured 77 cm from the hoof to the withers.

The Indigenous cattle breeds were developed mainly for agricultural operations, therefore, a majority of these breeds belong to draft category (Nagori, Bachaur, Kenkatha, Malvi, Nimari, Ponwar, Kherigarh, Hallikar, Amritmahal, Khillar, Red Kandhari, Dangi, Bargur, Kangayam, Pulikulam, Siri etc.). The milk production of these breeds is very low therefore uneconomical if kept for milk purpose only. This resulted in the decline of many cattle breeds in the present day production system. The mechanization and commercialization of agriculture has influenced the utility of these breeds as draft animals. Dairy type cattle breeds are Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, Gir, Kankrej and Rathi. Cows of these breeds are high milk producers but bullocks are of poor draft quality. The dual-purpose cattle breeds viz. Haryana, Ongole, Tharparkar, Krishna Valley, Mewati, Deoni and Gaolao are fairly good milkers and bullocks provide good draft power. There are three breeds (Punganur, Vechur and Malnad Gidda) which of lesser body weight and suitable for hilly regions. The cattle breeds of North West region adjoining to Pakistan viz. Sahiwal, Red Sindhi and Tharparkar have their breeding tract in Pakistan and very few animals are available in the country. The situation is critical for Sahiwal and Red Sindhi animals, which can be put in a category of threatened breeds. The population of Tharparkar is more than these two breeds but it also calls for conservation through genetic improvement. Due to the mechanization, the use of bullocks as draft power has reduced resulting into steep decline in the population of the most famous dual-purpose breed of North India, Haryana, Rathi and Nagori breed also do not seem to have a bright prospect. Breeds in the central India particularly, Malvi and Nimari have also been exploited by an introduction of crossbreeding and have shown a decline in the population. Dangi, Deoni, Red Kandhari, Khillar and Gaolao breeds in Maharashtra region and Gir and Kankrej in Gujarat region have a better population status due to their economic viability, but the productivity is also low in comparison with Gir in Brazil and other countries. The Red Kandhari strain of cattle of Maharashtra has also a very small population but it secured due to the preference of this breed as a draft animal by the farmers of the area. The Kangayam still have a good population and some improvement programs are going on. Present status of Ongole cattle in India is very dismal. Breed in its pure form is scarcely available even in its native tract. Most of the indigenous cattle in its pure form are scarcely available even in its native tracts. The Scientific Reason being Cross-breeding with exotic cattle, inbreeding, and urbanization had reduced the number drastically. In the last decade, two small sized breeds have been cited namely ‘Punganur’ in Andhra Pradesh and ‘Vechur’ in Kerala, which has a small population and is in the threatened category. Some of other draft breeds such as Ponwar, Kherigarh, Krishna Valley and Bargur cattle also needs immediate attention for conservation.

Lost Indigenous Cattle: 27

Those are Alambadi- Arunachali- Bengali- Burmese Gaur – Cutchi- Devarakota – Devni – Gayal- Gangatiri- Ghumusari- Goomsur– Gujamavu– Hissar –Jellicut- Kppiliyan –Khamala –Khasi- Krishnagiri- Kumauni– Ladakhi– Manapari -Mampati – Mhaswad –Nagami – Nakali– Purnea- Ramgarhi– Sanchori- Shahabadi- Son Valley– Sunandini- Tarai- Taylor- Thillari– Tho Tho– Zosial

Worldwide Distribution of Indigenous Cattle

• The second most successful group of breeds (in terms of their worldwide distribution) has Indian ancestry. They include the Brahman (ranked ninth overall and found in 45 countries), Sahiwal (29 countries), Gir, Red Sindhi, Kankrej and Ongole/Nellore. These breeds are all of the humped Bos Indicus type, rather than the humpless Bos Taurus. Outside their home area, Indian breeds have been most successful in tropical Latin America and Africa. The Sahiwal, the best Indian dairy breed, originates from Pakistan and India. It has been introduced to 12 African countries. Several Indian breeds have been more successful abroad than at home presumably because abroad they are prized for their milk, and exports (unlike in many areas of India, where cattle are mainly used for milk and draught, and for cultural reasons often cannot be sold for slaughter).
• Pure Indian breeds have had little influence in most developed countries. However, breeds based on Indian stock have had a major impact in the warmer parts of the United States of America and in northern Australia, where they have been bred primarily for beef production. From there, they have been exported to many tropical countries. The Brahman, for example (developed in the United States of America based on stock originally from India), is found in 18 countries in Latin America and 15 in Africa – figures similar to those for the Simmental, the most widely spread European dual purpose breed in these regions.
• Indian cattle have also made a major contribution to composite breeds used elsewhere in the tropics. These include the Santa Gertrudis (descended from Shorthorn × Brahman crosses, and found in 34 countries around the world), Brangus (Angus × Brahman, 16 countries), Beefmaster (Shorthorn and Hereford × Brahman), Simbrah (Simmental × Brahman), Braford (Brahman × Hereford), Droughtmaster (Shorthorn × Brahman), Charbray (Charolais × Brahman) and Australian Friesian Sahiwal (Holstein-Friesian × Sahiwal). Virtually all this breeding work has been done in the southern United States of America and in Australia, beginning in the twentieth century. Many of these breeds have been re-exported to other countries, especially in the tropics, where they generally perform better than the European pure-breeds.
• Other Indian cattle breeds have not broken out of their home region. They include the Haryana, Siri, Bengali, Bhagnari, Kangayam and Khillari breeds – which are found in two or more countries in South Asia – along with numerous local breeds.
• Nellore Cattle: The Nellore originates from Indian Zebu-type Ongole cattle which Brazil started to buy from India in the early 1900s. In Brazil, the breed came to be known as Nellore, after the district of Nellore in present-day Andhra Pradesh, India. The breed thrived in South America, and in the 1950s Argentina started its own breeding program for the “Nellore Argentino”. The Nellore was later exported to the United States of America and there became one of the progenitors of the “Brahman”. In 1995, the breed made up more than 60 percent of Brazil’s 160 million cattle, and in 2005 some 86.5 percent of Brazil’s 190 million cattle, had Nellore blood. Ironically, while the Ongole has been successfully established in a number of countries in North and South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Australia, its population has greatly declined in its original range in coastal Andhra Pradesh, and it is qualitatively inferior to the population in Brazil.
• Specifically, with the Ongole indigenous breed, known as the Brahman breed existing in 45 foreign countries, the cattle population is now estimated at 400 million. Other countries are benefiting from the growth in popularity of one of India’s prized indigenous cattle breeds. Currently, the biggest exporters of Indian indigenous cattle in the world are USA, Canada, Australia and Brazil.
• Comparatively, in India the Ongole cattle breed population is now estimated at 700 to 750 cattle and is presently in endangered status. The famous Gir cows of Gujarat are fast approaching extinction. The cows, which were around 1,500,000 in 1967, have just been reduced to 5,000 today. On the other hand, Brazil which took Gir in the 1890s now has around 4,000,000, Brazilians have shown their respect to Gir as a coin depicting the image of Gir cow was released in Currency of Brazil.
• The Gir of Brazil high yield milk production is 20 times that of the Gir in India present day. Ongole from various other countries high yield milk production is 10 times that of the Ongole in India present day. Indigenous cattle breeds’ milk yields are breaking world records in Brazil, USA, and Canada. In Brazil, the world record holder of milk production, the GIR cattle breed which has been recorded to produce 62 liters of milk in one day. In fact, this record-breaking cow is worth Rs.10 crores.
• When these two indigenous breeds of cattle are compared to the exotic crossbred cows in India, the top milk producers for Gir produce 8 times more milk and the top producers for Ongole produces 4 times more milk. Further advantages are that the indigenous breeds’ milk is more nutritious with higher levels of micronutrients; indigenous breeds are especially known for qualities of heat tolerance, resistance to diseases and ability to thrive under extreme nutritional stress. Global warming is likely to increase incidences of animal diseases, particularly viral and protozoan diseases in crossbred cattle.
• Not many people know that India is the world leader in milk production and that it has about 3 times as many dairy animals as the USA, although over 80% of the animals are herds of 2-8 animals. In fact, India has the highest number of small scale dairy farms in the world, although India leads the world in milk production, there is a dramatic difference in milk yields per animal when comparing to the average annual milk yield of Indian cattle is 1,172 kg, much lesser to cattle from New Zealand (3,343 kg), Australia (5,600 kg), UK (7,101 kg), US (9,332 kg), Canada (9,774 Kg), Israel (10,214 kg) and Brazil (18,000 Kg GIR), the average per day milk production of indigenous cattle being 2.14kg, which is much lower than the crossbred that gives 6.87 kg.

By the Vedic philosophy of this land, it is believed that Holy Cow is the mother of all beings in this world, The Universal Mother. If The Cow is protected it protects us and all beings. A cow is an integral part of Indian culture since times immemorial. All Yajnas and rituals are considered complete and sacred with the presence of cow. The cow is given a divine status in our scriptures. So much so Lord KRISHNA himself served and worshiped cow and identified it as ‘caretaker’ thus the status of ‘MOTHER’. A cow is the source of progress and prosperity. In many ways, it is superior to one’s mother.

In earlier days when modes of transport were not so developed the rivers demarcated the boundaries which helped in maintaining the purity of different breeds of cows. Gradually with the growth in trade; the exchange of different breeds increased as well. Many farmers/traders did not bother much to maintain the purity of breeds. Resultantly, due to cross breeding, the purity of breeds declined but more or less the purity of Indian cows remained intact. Bull’s pride, big horns and high raised back (HUMP) used to describe the style of Indian cow! As the trade expanded more attention was being given to the benefits derived from the cow rather than its sacred status and the main focus was given to milk, The best and strongest bulls and cows of India began to disappear and some were sent overseas. As the number of good cows decreased the milk production also declined; hence exotic breeds were introduced. To increase the quantity of milk time to time the government at center/state level has introduced various schemes under ‘white revolution’ and ‘operation flood.’ Under these schemes to increase the supply of milk from a cow the successive governments have and are importing Semen of exotic breeds and also Bulls of exotic breeds to improve indigenous cows. The farmers/ dairy owners/ cattle owners are encouraged to rear exotic breeds or increase the population of cross-breed cows with the help of these methods. But with the implementation of these schemes, our own Indian milk cattle pure-breeds are on the verge of extinction. Even if we want cross-breed cows at least for that pure Indian breeds are the prerequisites.

In India the purity of the breeds are not maintained and also a lot of inbreeding happens which leads to further deterioration of the Indian cow standards and thus bringing the status of cow further down.

Hence THERE IS A YEARNING NEED TO ESTABLISH BREEDING FARMS TO RAISE THE STANDARDS AND RESTORE THE LOST GLORY OF OUR ‘GODHAN’ (COW WEALTH)

There are 37 Indian breed of Cows; which includes both milk, draught and dual breeds. GIR, SAHIWAL, RED-SINDHI, RATHI, HARYANA, THARPARKAR are considered to be very good milk yielders. Many of these breeds have lost their purity and only a few hundred cattle of pure blood-line are left in India. With good management practices, our own Gir cow is giving record milk yield up to 62 liters/day in Brazil and Mexico. Sahiwal cows in Pakistan and Australia have recorded around 30 Litres/day yield. And these breeds are very easy to rear and maintain without any major diseases and are good tolerant to the tropical environment.

To spread the awareness of the importance of our own Indian cow and of course to save and improve the Indian breeds, ANKUSH’ has come forward for conservation, research and high genetic breed improvement of indigenous cattle. We feel that till we do not improve the standard of breeds we shall not be able to restore the glory of Mother cow (Gomata).

The Society have established a model breeding project and spread awareness amongst our villagers/farmer brothers for bringing prosperity and health. The project aims towards holistic development of villagers. The improved indigenous cows rearing and processing of cow products are the major activities for sustainable income and employment generation. The key resource here is Indigenous cow.

Objectives:

• To Increase the number of Indigenous quality cows which are on the verge of extinction.
• To popularize indigenous breeds.
• To raise standard of Indian breeds.
• To make available good bulls for procreation.
• To introduce/popularize modern dairy management in indigenous breeds.
• To make public aware of importance of ‘PANCHGAVYA’ (cow-milk, curd, ghee, urine & dung).
• To produce ORGANIC MILK, ORGANIC VERMI-COMPOST, ORGANIC COW-URINE.
• To popularize vermi compost usage in agriculture.
• To popularize Indian cow-urine therapies and cow-urine medicines.
• To establish breeding farms (Native Breeds) at different places throughout the state.
• To restore the worship and importance of the Indian breed cows.
• To make the public aware of the benefits of Indian cows by organizing separate cattle shows/ exhibitions for native breeds in different parts of the nation.
• To introduce bull exchange program to avoid inbreeding.
• To increase awareness in maintaining pedigree records in Indigenous cows.
• To start and strengthen Indigenous cow breeders association and establish its branches all over.
• Integrated cycle of cow products and it’s backward- forward linkages for income and employment generation in rural areas
• Generation of biogas for cooking, lighting and electricity generation to achieve self sufficiency in energy demand

The tropical climate of our country does not suit exotic breed cows and hence these breeds of cows are prone to many diseases and we are not able to get very good yield from these cows. In addition to this the upkeep of these breeds cost very high and there are many social stigmas which do not allow killing or culling of cows in our country.

So there is a yearning need to save and improve our own milk breeds for proper nutrition and employment, thus making our villagers/farmers economically sound.

Although cross breeds are economically viable the second or third generation populations have shown deterioration and decrease in milk yield. To maintain the performance of these cross breeds at desired level, a large number of progeny tested bulls is required. Indigenous breeds can be made commercially viable within few generations but no organized efforts have been made to improve the genetic potential of indigenous breeds. Cross breeds are more productive as compare to indigenous breeds but their tendency to wilt under Indian conditions of low input and harsh climate, susceptibility to tropical diseases warrants the conservation and development of indigenous breeds. Usefulness of various indigenous breeds has not been fully explored. The non-renewable energy resources are bound to exhaust sooner or later if this happens then we may have to fall back on our animal wealth for providing draught power and hence we cannot take risk of letting these breeds go extinct. The domesticated breeds are integral part of our eco-system, culture and heritage. Thus there is imperative need to develop our indigenous breeds for milk production, draught power etc.

What makes Indian cow special:

• Indigenous cattle breed make an enormous contribution to food production and food sovereignty. Their mobility and hardiness allow them to access distant and remote grazing areas especially in deserts, marginal lands and mountainous regions that could otherwise not be put to productive use. They convert the vegetation in these areas into milk and other products that sustain the urban population.
• Indigenous cattle breed can utilize small and dispersed patches of vegetation, for instance along roadsides, and many types of household and crop wastes, a capacity that is of crucial value to the economic empowerment and dignity of women.
• Indigenous cattle are essential components of organic/natural farming systems through the production of manure. Outside organic production system too, their manure decrease the need for artificial fertilizer and they thereby mitigate climate change.
• Indigenous cattle breed are important source of draught power which saves on fossil fuels.
• Indigenous cattle act as insurance against drought and have the capacity to adapt to climate change due to their tolerance of climate extremes.
• Indigenous cattle breeds are the basis for sustainable livestock production in the future since they are independent of grains and do not compete with humans for food.
• Indigenous cattle are an integral part of the environment and in many cases necessary to sustain wildlife biological diversity as well as balancing ecosystems.
• Indigenous cattle are the product of traditional knowledge and sustainable lifestyles. They represent biological diversity whose survival is intimately tied to traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices. They, therefore, fall under the domain of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to which India is a signatory.
• Indigenous cattle are tolerant to heat and can tolerate up to 48-50 degree Celsius and remain healthy.
• Indigenous cattle’s body size is small to medium. So the food requirement is less.
• Indigenous cattle has HUMP which helps in plowing fields.
• Indigenous cattle have a bigger dewlap which helps in tolerating high temperature.
• Indigenous cattle has smaller udder hence mastitis disease is uncommon.
• Indigenous cattle repel flies and Mosquitoes and remain clean. Foreign cows remain dirty and flies are hovering on them.
• Many drugs are prepared with Indigenous cow urine. Domestic cow’s milk and urine cure many ailments. Even if the chemical infested feed is given to indigenous cows its effect in milk is negligible as indigenous cows take all ill effects on its body.
• Milk (A2) of indigenous cows is more beneficial, micronutrients like cytokines and minerals present to enhance the immune system. Exotic breeds have more milk (A1) but fewer nutrients.
• Beta-casein is a type of protein that makes up one-third of the protein in milk. It is a high-quality milk protein that is a source of essential amino acids, as well as peptides. Most dairy milk today contains 2 main types of beta-casein protein, A2 and A1. A2 milk is rich in A2 beta-casein protein, which helps them produce healthier milk it may assist with your digestive wellbeing. The A1 milk is considered to be associated with diabetic, obesity, cardiovascular diseases.

The Scientific Evidence:

Dr. Keith Woodford, Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness, Lincoln University, New Zealand brings together at least eight strands to the evidence, with more than 100 relevant papers in the peer reviewed medical and science literature.

National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal, Haryana screened the status of the A2 allele of the beta-casein gene in 22 indigenous cattle breeds and the two dominant foreign breeds Holstein Friesian and Jersey. The frequency of this A2 allele was 100 percent in the top five indigenous milch breeds –Red Sindhi, Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Gir and Rathi, A2 allele gene which helps them produce healthier milk – and around 94 percent in other indigenous dual and draught breeds, its status was merely 60 per cent in Holstein-Friesian and Jersey. Indian cows produce more nutritious milk than the exotic breeds like Jersey and Holstein-Friesian.

A European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) review, which canvassed the claims that milk containing A2 beta casein was less likely to cause health problems than the milk containing the A1 form, said that different types of cow’s milk were safe to drink and no one type of milk was safer than another.

The issue is expected to attract new attention in the wake of recent Indian research which showed local cow and buffalo breeds possessed a rich A2 allele gene that “provides a better and healthier quality of milk than foreign breeds”.

A1 versus A2:

Milk of European breeds is addictive, triggers schizophrenia, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

In July 2007, Dr Keith Woodford, a professor of farm management at New Zealand’s Lincoln University published in the Proceedings of the 16th international farm management association Congress a paper titled A2 Milk, Farmer Decisions, and Risk Management (Eds S.O’ Reilly, M. Keane, P. Enright. ISBN: 978-92-990038-3-1) that reported how “approximately 500 New Zealand dairy farmers are converting their herds to eliminate production of A1 beta-casein within the milk” responsible for “Type 1 diabetes, heart disease and autism”.

Dr. Woodford went on to explain: “The alternative (to A1) is A2 beta-casein, and the associated milk is known as A2 milk. Originally all cow milk was of the A2 type. However, a genetic mutation, probably between 5000 and 10,000 years ago, has resulted in a proportion of cows of European breeds producing a casein variant called A1 beta-casein. A1 beta-casein is absent in the milk of pure Asian and African cattle.”

He offered “eight strands of the evidence” to the ill-effects of A1 beta-casein: countries with high intakes of A1 beta-casein are the countries with high levels of Type 1 diabetes and heart disease; A1 and A2 beta-case in digest differently and only A1 beta-casein releases beta-casomorphin7 (BCM7) which is a powerful opioid(addictive) and causes arterial plaque; rabbits fed A1 beta-casein develop considerably more plaque on their aorta and rats show higher incidence of Type 1 diabetes; evidence from American and European investigations show that autistic and schizophrenic persons typically excrete large quantities of BCM7 in their urine; and many who are intolerant to milk are able to drink A2 milk.

Dr. Woodford was worried that most consumers and dairy farmers worldwide remained unaware of the issues surrounding A1 and A2 milk. Within four years, Indian scientists at the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) came up with their own study. “The A2 allele gene in Indian milk breeds of cows and buffalos are 100 per cent, while in foreign breeds, it is around 60 percent,” it said in 2011.

According to Dr. Keith Woodford, the major consumer market for A2 milk is in Australia where it is available in some 800 supermarkets and 200 convenience stores. Currently, A2 Corporation has only one market where they are profitable. That market is Australia where A2 Corporation now claims a 6.8% market share by value of milk sold in supermarkets and similar stores. These sales have increased tenfold over a 5 year period from September 2007. In the most recent 12 months through to September 2012, sales increased close to 50%. A2 milk has been available since October 2012 in some 700 UK supermarkets (Tescos, Morrisons, and Budgens), with more supermarkets coming online in 2016. There will soon also be A2 infant formula on sale in China, with market entry planned for June 2016 using A2 milk. In an increasingly health conscious world, this creates a huge potential for global demand for the A2 milk of our indigenous breeds.

Dr. Keith Woodford says: December 14, 2011 at 10:10 pm; “The issue of A1 and A2 is important for India, because all of the Indigenous cattle are A2, but I doubt whether I would have much influence with your Government”.

INDIAN BREEDS OF BUFFALO:

The domestic or water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) belong to the family bovidae, sub-family bovinae, genus bubalis and species arni or wild Indian buffalo. Buffalo are believed to have been domesticated around 5000 years ago in the Indus Valley. The water buffalo can mainly be classified as River (Chromosome no., 2n=50) and swamp type (Chromosome no., 2n=48). The domestication of swamp buffalo took place independently in China about 1000 years later. The movement of buffalo to other countries both east and westwards has occurred from these two countries. Some of the well-known dairy breeds of buffalo found in India and Pakistan are Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Kundi, Surti, Jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, Mehsana, Godawari and Pandharpuri. Despite potential advantages, little attention has been paid to Buffalo improvement programs. The Buffalo is known as water buffalo. There are a number of buffalo breeds in India but true to type and descriptive breeds are Murrah, Jaffrabadi, Niliravi and Mehsana. The swamp buffalo are concentrated mainly in south-east China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippine, and Vietnam. The skin colour is gray, dark gray to state blue. White animals occur frequently. Animals have swept back horns and are similar in appearance across the countries except for the size. The horns grow laterally and horizontally in young animals and curve round in a semi-circle as the animals get older. Animals are massively built, heavy bodied with a large belly. The forehead is flat; orbits are prominent with a short face and wide muzzle. They weight from 300 to 400 kg when fully grown. Swamp buffalo are primarily used as work animal in paddy cultivation, for pulling carts and hauling timber in jungles. Milk yield is 1-2 kg per day.

BREEDS: On the basis of regions the well defined buffalo breeds are:

MURRAH GROUP

• Murrah
• Nilli Ravi
• Kundi
• Godavari

GUJARAT GROUP

• Surti
• Jaffarabadi
• Mehsana

UTTAR PRADESH GROUP

• Bhadawari
• Tarai

CENTRAL INDIA GROUP

• Nagpuri
• Pandhepuri
• Manda
• Jerangi
• Kalhandi
• Sambalpur

SOUTH INDIA GROUP

• Toda
• South Kanara

Breed	Habitat	Population size	AFC (mnth)	Calving Interval (Days)	Average Lactation Yield (Lts)	Fat (%)	Characteristics
Murrah	Rohtak, Kamal, Hissar, Gurgaon, Punjab, Delhi, U.P	200000	42.52	334.537	1360 – 2270	6.9	Black in colour Massive and stocky animals heavy bones, horns are short and tightly curled. Placid.
Jaffarabadi	Gir forest of Kathiawar, Jaffarabad, Junagarh, Jumnanagar, Kutch (Gujarat)	60000	40 – 45	447.0	1300 – 1400	9 – 10	Black coloured coat. Massive and long-barreled confirmation. Horns are long, heavy and broad and sometimes they cover the eyes.
Bhadawari	Bhadawari estate (Agra), Gwaliar, Etawah	3000	50 -52	453.6	1100 – 1300	7 – 13	Copper coloured coat, scanty hair which is black at the roots and reddish brown at the tip. Sometimes it is completely brown. The neck presents the typical white colour ring. Tail switch is white or black and white. Horns are short and grow backwards.
Surti	Anand, Baroda & Surat (Gujarat)	50000	36 – 38	461.1	1300 – 1400	7.5	Black colour coat, skin is black or reddish. They have two white chevrons on the chest. Animals with white markings on forehead, legs and tail tips are preferred. Horns are flat, of medium length, sickle shaped and are directed downward and backward, and then turn upward at the tip to form a hook. The udder is well developed, finely shaped and squarely placed between the hind legs. The tail is fairly long, thin an flexible ending in a white tuft.
Nili Ravi	Firozpur (Punjab)	650000	40.7 – 53.2	445 – 525	2000	6.5	This breed is similar to the Murrah in almost all characteristics except for the white markings on extremities and walled eyes; horns are less curled than in the Murrah; the udder is well shaped and extend well forward up to the naval flaps. Black in colour, short horns.
Mehsana	Mehasana District (Gujarat)	40000	1287 days	16mnts	1800 – 2700	6.6 – 8.1	Characteristics are intermediate between Surti and Murrah. Jet black skin and hair are preferred. Horns are sickle-shaped but with more curve than the Surti. The udder is well developed and well set. Milk veins are prominent.
Nagpuri	Nagpur, Wardha and Berar districts of Madhya Pradesh	360000	36 – 40	–	825	7.0	Black in color, sometimes there are white markings on the face, legs and switch. Horns are 50 – 65cm long, flat – curved and carried back near to the shoulders. Nasal flap is mostly absent and even if present is very short.

Reference-on request