BY-
Dr. Chandrakiran N. Sant
(Dairy Management Advisor)
B/10, Shiv Shakti, Irla Passage Road,
Vile Parle (West), Mumbai 400056.
Tel : (+9122)2671 3343
Mobile: (+91) 98606 00133
E-Mail: cnsant@gmail.com
Improving (Milk) Productivity without increasing costs
( Practical tips on profitable dairy farming )
The average animal gives about 10-15 litres of milk every day. It will not be wrong to say that the average cost of production of this milk is in the range of 250-300 Rupees depending upon the location of the farm.
We can safely take expense ( on lower side ) of Rs. 250/- per day per animal for producing the milk. Thus it’s important to focus on the following points viz.
- Heat :
Animal comes into heat once in 21 days. If we were to miss a single
(Observation of) heat then it will be coming after 21 days only & not before.
As such we will incur additional expense of Rs. 5250 ( 21 X 250 ) which
Will eat into our profits. Observation of heat is important as this is the only PERIOD when the animal can be inseminated & not any other time.
It is also important to note that more than 90% of the animals come into heat at night whereas we observe for heat only during milking which is in the morning & evening. Thus it’s important to observe for heat as late as possible.
- Timing of Insemination:
It has been proven scientifically that animals inseminated between 12-18 hrs from the time animal has come into Heat (not from the time you have seen heat ) will have a conception rate of more than 90%.
Thus it is essential to maintain the accurate time for insemination. Failing this we have to wait again for a period of 21 days adding to our losses by Rs. 5250/-
- Water :-
Milk contains more than 85% of water. It is essential to note the requirement of water of animal is 5 litre for producing One liter of Milk
thus for 20 litre animal it is = 100 Litres
For Maintainenece 30 Litres
If pregnant (for the calf) 20 Litres
Total Water required = Minimum 150 litres per day
Thus total requirement exceeds 150 litres. Commonly many a times it is observed that animals are given water only twice a day.
If we increase the watering once then we will be able to get a minimum 5% increase in the milk yield.
- Digestion :-
Unlike human beings the cows have to RUMINATE to digest the food. Rumination is a process where the eaten food (gone in stomach) returns to the mouth where it is chewed which makes it smaller in size. While it is becoming smaller, Saliva is produced which gets mixed with chewed food.
More the animal chews; more is the Saliva production which maintains the condition of stomach to optimize the digestion process. Animal ruminates only when it’s awake & secondly when the manger is empty thus it’s advisable to keep the manger empty for minimum 8 hours in a day for better digestion which results into better milk yield & increased fat %.
- Worms :-
Worms are present in all the living creatures. However they don’t digest the food but eat digested food. In animals, not dewormed worms may consume around 40% of the digested food which will result into decreased milk production as well as decreased immunity.
It is important to DEWORM the animal every 3 months but equally important to DEWORM all the animals ( in the shed ) at one time, If not then the animals which have not got the medicine can transfer the worms to others.
- Dry ( Pregnant) animal :
Animal which is Pregnant but not giving milk i.e. last 2 months of Pregnancy is called Dry Pregnant animal. The calf in the uterus grows more than 5 times its body weight. For growth of Calf (foetus) it’s important to have optimal nutrition.
It is advisable to give at least 2 kg. of Concentrate feed to meet the requirements of the growing calf. Failing this the cow may end up with Milk Fever & may never give Milk again in its life.
- Mastitis :-
This is primarily a disease associated with Management ( viz cleanliness ). Unclean farms have lot of Cow dung & urine lying under the cow. Usually milking takes about 7-10 minutes. However the teat canal which opens during the milking stays open for more than an hour after milking is OVER. It is usually
seen that cow sits down immediately after milking. This will result in udder going in cow dung / urine which contains the organisms causing Mastitis. These organisms enter the udder through the open teat canal & start DOUBLING every 20 minutes.
This is possible since for the growth of organisms ; 3 things are needed viz. Medium. Temperature & Protein. Unfortunately milk contains all these. The organisms will be killed only if the cow has good immunity ‘; if not then this results into Mastitis.
Mastitis is an expensive disease as the losses occurring DO exceed Rs. 5000/- in first 5 days ( for Treatment alone ) however even after curing the animals NEVER return to their original capacity of milk.
Thus it is better to prevent Mastitis than to treat this.
- Common Dairy Problems :
The most common conditions from which an animal suffers ( resulting into
Losses which amount to more than a minimum of Rs. 5000/-) are
- Not coming in heat
- Repeat : coming in heat after insemination
- Retained Placenta
- Prolapse of uterus
- Milk fever
- Mastitis
- Abortion5
- Birth of dead calves
- Intercalving period ( between 2 calving ) is very high
- Less number of lactations ( only 5/6 instead of 9/10 )
- Heifers coming in Heat a late stage
All the above conditions occur mainly due to a single factor i.e. absence of “Balanced Feeding”. This means a proper combination of Green & Dry grasses along with Cattle Feed & Mineral Mixture in certain quantities.
It is essential to give minimum 50 gms per day of Mineral Mixture to all animals who give around 10 litres of Milk. For every EXTRA litre of milk Additional 5 gms per litre is required. For Calves it will be from 10-20 gms is essential for faster growth depending upon age of the calf.
- Chaff Cutting:
Grass which is not Chaffed (CUT) will be wasted to a tune of more than 30% resulting into heavy losses. If the grass is cut to a size of 1 –1.6” the it will help in better digestions as well as improving the Fat %. At the same time savings will occur since no wastage.
“Prevention is investment & treatment is Expense.”
