Organic milk : fact or fiction…..

[cnsant]

We keep on hearing about dairy farms who claim to produce milk in as natural form & using only Natural ingredients (specifically WITHOUT THE USE OF Chemicals) which for the sake of convenience of the Customers is being labeled as "organic milk" & is being sold at higher rates.

Is this really true? I would request the “Organic Milk Manufacturers” to please explain:

There are two things which immediately come to mind is the use of Deworming medicine & other is the use of Mineral Mixture.

A productivity of an animal is dependent upon the digestion & all the living creatures have worms in their stomach whose cycle is of 3 months (in cows & buffaloes). These parasites eat off the digested food which is primarily required by the animal to give milk, give part to the growing foetus & thirdly for its maintenance. These “worms” in the stomach eat off as much as 40% of the digested food thereby reducing the milk yield as well the overall health of the animal.

We have to use MEDICINES (every three months to kill these internal parasites): Ayurvedic medicine effect in this respect has not yet been substantiated widely. I would like anyone to please do send detailed reports on the efficacy of these medicines. Thus in this case we have to use various chemical compounds viz. Mebendazole, Albedazole, Fenbendazole & various other products.

Secondly : use of mineral mixture : It is a well known fact that One litre of milk contains about 1.2 gms of Calcium & 0.9 gms of Phosphorous along with 12 other minerals. It is very much essential to replace the minerals lost daily due to Milking, given to foetus when pregnant & for the body requirements.

Unfortunately we cannot get any natural sources to fulfill all these demands (which is economical) to fulfill these requirements in the animal.

(Thus a chemical product is being used which is fulfilling the requirements & is very economical)

Will it be ideal to call this milk “Organic” in this case?

Looking forward to replies

With warm regards,

Dr.Chandrakiran N.Sant
(Dairy Management Advisor)

[sjacob]

I have not seen milk being sold as "organic" in India. Where have you come across it? Do we have a policy in place for organic diary production?

Abroad organic diary farmers have to follow certain rules for certification which include organic feed, no antibiotics, no growth hormones, no feed supplements, limits on allopathic treatments. The price that they get for the milk is double that of conventional one.

[ndjsrangel]

Greetings. I will appreciate if you can let me know the schedule for deworming in pregnant and non-pregnant cows and also the vaccination schedule in pregnant and non-pregnant cows. We have 6 cross-bred cows and have no details of any vaccination status from the previous owner. 4 cows are probably of second lactation. The other two have not yet calved and one of these is pregnant. Can anti-helminthics be given to pregnant cows.Which ones are to be used and the doses.
Thank you
Neil

[cnsant]

The schedule is very simple. You have to use the Deworming medicine every three months. When doing so you have to be certain that you Deworm all the animals at one time only. You may make an entry on that day on a Calendar & mark the date after 3 months for your Reminder.
The main advantage will be that you will be able to see 5-7% improvement in Milk Yield.
The doses on these are given on the packs. Please note that Albendazole cannot be used in Pregnant animals whereas Fenbendazole can be used. Please do ask your local Veterinarian more information.
With regards,
Dr.Chandrakiran N.Sant
(Dairy Management Advisor)

[ishooda]

Originally Posted by cnsant

The schedule is very simple. You have to use the Deworming medicine every three months. When doing so you have to be certain that you Deworm all the animals at one time only. You may make an entry on that day on a Calendar & mark the date after 3 months for your Reminder.
The main advantage will be that you will be able to see 5-7% improvement in Milk Yield.
The doses on these are given on the packs. Please note that Albendazole cannot be used in Pregnant animals whereas Fenbendazole can be used. Please do ask your local Veterinarian more information.
With regards,
Dr.Chandrakiran N.Sant
(Dairy Management Advisor)

Dear Mr.Sant
I wounder if you are really rearing the animal.The animal,humanbeings and plant develop the disorder due to personal mistake.About worms,my animal never been treated with medicine like you describe and never face any problem of worm or infection.The buffalo calf of age of 22 get pregnent and annul in production.So its organic.So is the case with me I never fall ill with same therapy.If you are adopting same thing it can happen at UR end.So there is organic milk.
Thanks
Dr.Hooda

[cnsant]

Originally Posted by ishooda

Dear Mr.Sant
I wounder if you are really rearing the animal.The animal,humanbeings and plant develop the disorder due to personal mistake.About worms,my animal never been treated with medicine like you describe and never face any problem of worm or infection.The buffalo calf of age of 22 get pregnent and annul in production.So its organic.So is the case with me I never fall ill with same therapy.If you are adopting same thing it can happen at UR end.So there is organic milk.
Thanks
Dr.Hooda

Thank you very much for information. However I have been observing for more than 20 yrs that Due to unhygenic conditions most of the animals do have Worms of various kinds; I am talking about the All India situation.

The average age at which buffalo calf gets pregnant ( in Indian conditions ) is around 3-4 yrs.

I am not at all saying that there is no Organic milk ; I have just asked a question that if the animals are given Medicines then will it be ideal to call it as "Organic Milk" since word organic tells that the production is made without any chemicals.

Dr.Chandrkiran N.Sant
Secretary, Indian Dairy Association (West Zone)

[ishooda]

Originally Posted by cnsant

Thank you very much for information. However I have been observing for more than 20 yrs that Due to unhygenic conditions most of the animals do have Worms of various kinds; I am talking about the All India situation.

The average age at which buffalo calf gets pregnant ( in Indian conditions ) is around 3-4 yrs.

I am not at all saying that there is no Organic milk ; I have just asked a question that if the animals are given Medicines then will it be ideal to call it as "Organic Milk" since word organic tells that the production is made without any chemicals.

Dr.Chandrkiran N.Sant
Secretary, Indian Dairy Association (West Zone)

Dear Sant
Yes,if vet.drugs are applied the milk is not organic.Even animal cruelty is very important issue.Our group produce certified organic as per USDA standards.In this nature harmony is the main principle.
Dr.Hooda

[bodkhe]

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