TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIAL DAIRY FARMING IN INDIA & CAUSES OF FAILURE

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIAL DAIRY FARMING IN INDIA & CAUSES OF FAILURE

Compiled & Edited by-DR RAJESH KUMAR SINGH ,JAMSHEDPUR,JHARKHAND, INDIA, 9431309542,rajeshsinghvet@gmail.com

Cow Dairy Farming is now a profitable business. Most of the youth in the country is after the Dairy Farming. This is mainly because of the Profit Margins in Cow Dairy Farming. One has to say that the profits in the Cow Dairy are exciting a number of people. Apart from that, the opportunities for this business are also great in the recent times. Not only that, Government at both state and a central level is helping with loans and subsidies for the dairy farmers. Hence many are showing a great level of interest to start this cow dairy farming business.
Anyone can start a dairy farm by having a little knowledge. In this article, I am going to give you some tips which will help you to start a successful dairy farming business. When you are planning to start your own dairy farm, which is an excellent idea. Milk and milk products plays a vital role in human food consumption. Before starting any business, business plan is very important and there are certain things you need to remember before you entering into this business. Dairy farm business has fabulous opportunities. In these recent years India is showing rapid progress in the field of dairy farming. The given information will help your start your own dairy farm with complete confident.

1. Make a business plan

It is the most important thing to do before starting a dairy farm. Creating a detailed business plan is the key to the successful business of dairy farming. How many animals you are going to keep in your farm? Which market you are going to capture to sell milk? How many employees you need to hire? What is your budget for this business and how much profit you need to earn from this business? Clearing all these doubts and making business plan according will help you to understand the total expenses and investment you need to do for the business.

2. Take advice of professionals

It is advisable to consult and take advice from the experienced people in this field. They can give you idea about the business plans and help to set up the initial structure of your business. Try to visit the other dairy farms to see how they are managing the business. While giving this type of field trip watch the plus and the minus points of every particular farm. While building your business, this experience will prove helpful for you. While visiting others try to achieve more and more knowledge from these experienced people about animal doctors, nutritionists, investors, bankers etc.

3. Think about initial investment

Dairy farming is the business with big investment. The basic requirements are the land, the buildings, the cows and some other equipment. If you are in rural area or in as agricultural family then no need to worry about cow shed or feed. In the initial stage many farmers prefer to purchase cows by investing money and they select the option of renting farms and the land required. As the business grows and settles, you can purchase your own land for farming. Bank loans are available for farmers to start their agriculture based industry.

4. Animal feed

When you are planning for dairy farm, you need to graze your cattle with nutritious feed. This is very important for healthy production of milk and even for the healthy growth of calf. Take an advice of animal nutritionist about the feed to be given for lactating cows and even for dry cows. In many farms it is seen that they produce their own animal feed. Producing own farms and harvesting crops to feed animals or cattle graze can save a very good amount of your investment. But as it needs sufficient place and time, you can hire operators who can help you for planting and harvesting crops. If you have your own land then double cropping technique can be beneficial for dairy farming business.

5. Waste management program

Cattle in the daily farm produce a very big amount of manure. Thought this manure is generally considered as waste, it can be utilized in farms as natural fertilizer. Those who are harvesting plants in their own places can take advantage of this manure in fields. Using more manure will help you to produce more crops which can be sold to make more money. The other important uses of cattle manure is the preparation of organic manure by dumping cow dung, earth worms and dead plant materials. This organic manure can be used by the farmer or you can pack and sell. Bio-gas produced from this waste product is used as a cooking fire.

6. Selection of good quality of breed:- While dairy farming one of important point is selection of animals which having good breed character .This perspective mainly for those farmers who want to do commercial dairy farming.The animals which shows true breed characters are to be selected.The main production points like milking and reproductive ability has most concern in this criteria.eg- Crossbred of Holstein frisean has more feed intake ability as well as give good milking than other breeds but it requires high quality balanced feed & fodder and if rearer has not capacity to cadre the need then ultimately he is in loss due to low production as well as imbalanced feeding causes deficiency diseases which requires longer time to recovers.
   While selection of animal parental history is required but in field in regional market you will not get that kind of records so most dependacy is on physical characters of animals as well as direct milking of animals gives you ideas about animals.Also it is good if you take help of Veterinarian while selection of animals.Do the necessary testing of animals like California Mastitis test for mastitis,Plate agglutination test for Brucellosis.
   If it is not possible to provide high quality fodders through out the year to animals then its better to select animals which have capacity to survive in critical conditions.According to market demand ,if you want to prefer to sale the milk with high fat content or want to produce byproduct of milk then it is better to select buffaloes or Jersey or Sahiwal breeds
7. Facilities:-

If you want to rear good kind of animals then there should be provision of good kind of animal shed,feeding facilities ,Watering faclities,Health provisions as well as owner should have knowledge about it.(It means he should also undergo training on dairy farming).In many circumstances ,to reduce expenditure on production cost of milk,dairy farmers must adopt recent techniques to decrease cost on feed and lobours by enhancing quality of feed recidues as well as mechanisation and less labour consuming practices in dairy farming.
Many times owner of dairy farm could not pay attention on daily schedule of dairy farm and always dependant on subordinate or give authorities to labours and you will always find that this kind of dairy farmers are always in loss.

8.Market:-

One of important factor in dairy farming is market.If you sell milk to dairy collection unit then you will get less profit but if you sell it directly to customers with having quality(without adding water) then you will catch market within very few time.It is better to create market on your own than ordinary selling milk to dairy collection plant.

9. Value addition:-

By making Milk byproducts or by making vermicompost or by strengthening value aded practices of Calf rearing,care and management of each stage of animals you will be finally in profit (This also require training as well as exposure to different modern farms).

10. Records:-

dairy farmer should know condition of farm at any stage ,and is only possible through records.For one litre of milk production how much was the expenditure shld be known to owners.In records Pedegree,Reproduction,Calf ,Health,Daily milk production,Feed and fodder registers etc are to be made.Now a days ,our dairy farmers are lacking in this aspect.records are helpful to assess loss related points so that afterwards he can able to correct it and vaoid future losses.

11. Risks :-

In each business ,there are risks,it is to be known that this business is 24 hour service and need individual attention ,then & then you will get profit.Natural calamities like floods,Earthquakes are not avoidable but health related facors likke communicable diseases are to be avoided as it has preventive vaccinations.If dairy farmer is careless then he will suffer ultimately as his carelessness.So for that appoint an veterinary consultant so that he can judge situation regularly as well as be in touch with that expert so that he can clarify the problematic points that you arise in fornt of him.Veterinarian should have at least B.V.Sc & A.H. or M.V.sc degree and should have experience in dairy farm management.It is better to insure animals per three years.

If there is Boaring water then test it as if pH of water is high then it is not suitable for watering of animals as well as not suitable for fooder farm.Fodders and other feeds in balanced state will provide Protein,Energy and other constituents which are needed for milk production and daily activities of animals.Soil testing is also necessary because it may give exact status of soil as it gives clear ideas of fertilizer doses and also minimise the cost on fertilizers which is higher in traditional fertilizers application.
Regarding sanitation and health practise ,you may approach to your local veterinary practioner so that he will give you ideas about various practices followed in your locality.Calf mortality in cattle & buffaloes should not be more than 4%.
In initial stage,if you maintain feed and fodder requirement of animals in balanced stage & according to demand,milk yield is not affected to much.As in new environment,animals are in stress so certain effects are seen on milk production at least for two months.So for that consult the veterinarian for diet as well as stress releaving practices for animals.Labours who are engaged in dairy farming should also be trained so that it will help to improve productivity of farm but even if they get trained,you fully don’t rely on them.

12. Other things to consider

• Works with professionals:
Experts empower you with dairy standard operational procedures to support you up to the last production goals. Identify and build trust to get the best out of them.
• Herd fertility and calf rearing: Future of any dairy enterprise heavily relies on these; using the right breeding techniques and managing your calves well are steps forward in achieving these.
• Labour efficiency:Good rapport and mutual working relationship with the farm assistants.
• Waste management:Manure from dairy animals is not environmental friendly if left to accumulate or when not properly disposed. Develop a system to allow for easy removal of manure from the barns. Other useful options include construction of a biogas.
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• pedigree of the cows/buffaloes(importance of the breed & or health of cattle at time of purchase).
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• availability of sufficient green fodder/ drinking water (can the cattle be fed boring water if fresh drinking water not available?).What is the importance of quality of feed in the survival of the cattle & its newborn?
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• soil/water analysis of the land where green fodder has to be grown
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• sanitation & environment of the cattle sheds
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• health of lactating cattle(vaccination & medicines).
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• survival of the new borns( in some farms most of the newborn of murrah did not survive & then the lactating buffalo stopped giving milk).What is the average % or success rate of survival of new borns in murrahs & hf cows?
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• What is the importance of quality/knowledge/experience of labour involved in milking/cattlecare in the success of the project?
• First of all, you have to visit some of the old dairy farms to know how the things will go on in the dairy farming business.
• You should attend some workshops which will help you to give the exact and precise knowledge about the dairy farming business.
• You should take a good advice from the experts. They can either be the old dairy farmers or Animal husbandry department or from the KVKs.
• You should select high yielding Cows for your Dairy Farming Business.
• Try to know all the management practices in the Dairy Farming Business.
• Have a better understanding of the Daily Operations of Cow Dairy Farming Business.
• Get to know all the diseases that will attack the Cows. You should also know the management practices of those diseases.
• Apart from these, you should have a veterinarian available all the time.
• You should place your cow dairy farm business, near to the market.
• Your Cow Dairy Farm should have better transportation facilities.
• Make sure that you provide good fodder and water facilities to the Cows.

13. Miscellaneous Tips For Profitable Dairy Farming

You will need the following, to keep every cowshed clean and well sanitised – shovel, iron basket and wheelbarrow (removing dung, leftovers and used bedding); floor brush (cleaning the water trough and floor); wall brush (removing cobwebs); broom (sweeping the floor); lime mixture (whitewash walls and water trough); and disinfectants (cleansing walls, stanchions, railings, etc.).
Request an experienced dairy farmer to help you select your disinfectants, germicides, fungicides and insecticides wisely, such that your animals face no harm from their usage, insects, plant growth or microbes. You may go in for iodine/iodophores, sodium carbonate, quick lime, slaked lime, bleaching powder, phenol, etc.
Food must comprise of dry fodder (paddy straw, wheat hay, etc.), green fodder (protein-rich leguminous Rabi crops) for good milk yield, and mineral mixture for supplementation.
Provide your animals with plenty of fresh and clean water, during all seasons.
Consult a veterinarian for advice on timely vaccinations, care of pregnant cows, mating and insemination, management of newborn calves, etc.
Examine your cows every day, preferably every morning, to check if they are ruminating well. If a cow is not ruminating, it indicates that it is unwell.
Feed the cow prior to milking, and lubricate its udder with mustard oil.
A cow must not sit down immediately after milking (at least for half-an-hour), since its udder may become infected. Feed it, such that it remains standing.
Avoid giving raw rice, raw wheat, etc, for an animal’s metabolism is different.
Feed it twice, once in the morning and evening, and allow it to graze too.
If winter is too severe, place jute bags over the cowsheds and light a fire in a safe place for providing heat.

All these coupled with high level standards hygiene and best management practices will make dairy cows work for you, not vice versa!

Reasons for failures of modern dairy farms in India—–

Introduction

There has been huge interest in dairy farming as a business in India in the last 10 years. Thousands of dairy farms were opened with most modern design, equipment and best breed animals. But not even 50% of those dairy farms are operational now. Frankly speaking, professional dairy farming has gone through a crisis in India in the last 10 years. The intent of this article is not to demotivate new dairy farmers but to genuinely analyse the reasons for failures of many dairy farms. Below are a list of reasons for failures for new dairy farms:

1. Started by people who did not have any knowledge on dairy farming.

There were 4 groups of people who started modern dairy farms. First group were the local people who suddenly became rich (by whatever means) and had surplus cash. The second group were the NRI’s who pumped in their hard earned money. The third group were the software professionals who were frusted with their jobs and wanted to get back to their farming roots. The fourth group were the unemployed educated youth from upper middle-class families. All the four groups of people never had any kind of dairy farming experience. (some never touched a cow or a buffalo before!!!) All of them had good intentions and wanted to apply modern design and technology. But nothing works, if you don’t know how to differentiate a male and a female buffalo.

2. People got into dairy farming for money.
   As the name (dairy farming) suggests, dairy farming is a type of farming and farming is not business (in pure sense). Dairy farming is not a business but a passion. Primarily, new dairy farmers failed to understand that they were dealing with live animals and not some machines. Farming requires extensive knowledge and tons of patience. Many of the failed dairy farms were started by highly educated people. Most of these people built castles in the air. These people used excel sheets and project management principles into dairy farming. This is not bad but that alone is not good enough. Many new dairy farmers stupidly calculated that a buffalo will give 12 liters of milk for 365 days.
3. Big bang formula.

Most of the hitech farms went for a bing bang formula. They constructed huge sheds and bought large number of animals at one go. When you are new to dairy farming and have a large herd, it is very difficult to manage problems. The procurement of animals should have been staggered to maintain consistent monthly milk yield. Some even made the mistake of setting up high end processing plants when their farm did not even produce a single drop of milk.

4. Not understanding reproductive cycle.

Many new farmers after procuring the animals were only focussing on milking. Most of them did not have the knowledge that the animal should conceive by 4th or 5th month after calving. They did not know how to detect heat and surprisingly even those farms that had large number of lactating buffaloes did not have a bull in the farm. So they were totally dependent on local government vetinary doctors for artificial insemination which led to missing heat cycles. By the time these new dairy farmers realised the mistake, the animals were already in their 8th or 9th month of milking. If you have 50 animals and if most of them are not pregnant and are in 8th month of milking – it means they have to feed 50 non-milking animals for next 9 to 10 months which obviously resulted in huge losses.

5. Not taking care of calves

Many of these failed farms did not take proper care of the calves. Proper care of female calves is very very important for being successful in the long term. I have seen farms with 100 lactating buffaloes but only with 20 to 30 calves. Rest of the calves were already dead. This might not be a big issue in the short term but huge loss in the long term. All successful dairy farmers will tell you the value of female calves because these will start giving milk in 3 to 4 years.

6. Improper feed and fodder management

Many farmers provided good feed (dhana) and fodder(grass,hay) during initial phase. When milk yield reduced after 5 or 6 months, these guys reduced the feed and fodder. Some people cut down the feed so drastically that the animals were half the size. Feeding is according to body weight and yield of the animal. During dry months you can cut down feed a bit but should not reduce it drastically. Due to nutritional imbalanes, the animals had health and reproductive issues.

7. Failure of automation and labour problems

Most new farm owners wanted to fully automate the farms. It’s difficult to adapt the hand-milked buffaloes to milking machines which requires time and patience. When it did not work the way they planned they just discarded the milking machines and other machinery. I have seen farm after farm with unused milking machines. And when suddenly workers who milk quit, it’s a nightmare situation.

8. Depending on others

Many owners depended on others to take care of the farm who themselves did not have much knowledge on dairy farming. Dairy farming requires owners attention 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Others will not be able to do that for you. If you can’t spend time on your farm (atleast till the farm operations stabilises), please do not get into dairy farming.

9. Easy exit paths

Since the farms were mostly started by people with surplus cash or had the capability to go back to their original professions, when things did not go well, they just shut down the farms. The sad part was that they created a bad name for dairy farming and even worse was that the best breed animals were sent for slaughtering (cutting). If these people did not have easy exit paths, they would have hung around and made it successful. One should have the will-power to stick around for the long-term when things are not going your way.

Conclusion
The intent of this article is not to frighten people who want to get into dairy farming but to learn from other’s failures. Dairy farming is only for people who are passionate about it. It requires time and lots of patience to be successful in dairy farming.

Reference-On Request

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