Dairy Farm Guide - Best dairy farming information from trusted resource!
Commercial dairy farming provides important source of income to farmers and dairy entrepreneurs. Traditionally dairy farming has been an important means of generating supplemental income and employment for Agriculture farming community particularly those pertaining to the small and marginal categories. But in the recent past dairy farming as a viable commercial enterprise has become increasingly popular among farming community having an eye on maintaining high yielding dairy animals and is being looked upon as a potent means of diversification in agriculture. Besides producing milk and/or draft power, the dairy animals are also the good source of farmyard manure, which is a good source of organic matter for providing soil fertility.
Milk production in a India increases from 17 million tones in 1950-51 to over 102 million tones in the year 2008 and during a period (1990-2006), the milk production had grown at a rate of nearly 4% per annum vis-à-vis world growth rate of 1.5 percent. The exports of dairy products increased from 13.98 million in 1990-91 to Rs 6766.82 million in 2005-06, which imports increased from 40.52 million to 345.66 million during the same period. As the net trade balance of dairy products has changed form negative to positive, the country has become a net exporter of dairy products. Thus there is a scope to enhance the milk production through better feeding management practices and genetical improvement.
Most of the indigenous cattle breeds like Shahiwal, Hariyana, Gir, Tharparker etc. have low milk production. As a result of crossing of native cattle with exotic dairy breeds, large number of crossbreds have been produced and per animal milk productivity have registered marked improvement.
The genetic potential of a cow /buffalo however, could be expressed only if she is provided matching environmental conditions. Thus the genetic potential is greatly modified by the environment in which the animal is kept and the environmental factors those directly influence a lactating cow’s performance include of shelters, milking procedures and technique, feeds and fodders and feeding practices, veterinary care, mastitis treatment, shortfalls of labours and climatic conditions. Only through control of these factors can the true genetic ability of a cow be expressed.
