Dear Sir/Mam,
I am thinking to start a dairy farm in Odisha. So can any one guide me how to start farm.
Thanks and Regards,
Tapan.
Before you start a commercial dairy farm venture please try to study and evaluate following questions and carefully evaluate .
There has been huge interest in dairy farm business among new generation farmers and agro entrepreneurs. Hundreds of dairy farms were opened with most modern design, equipments and best breed of animals but only 15-20 % dairy are successfully and operational, rest are closed after making monetary loss .
India having the highest bovine population in the world and largest milk producer in the world but 80% of the of the milk production is contributed by small and marginal farmers with an average herd size of 2-4 milching animals .
Dairy farm is more successful farm activity among small and marginal farmers but having low success rate in organized commercial small / mid size dairy farms . The reasons are several . I’m just mentioning a few .
(A) High investment costs especially the cow and buffalo prices have increased dramatically.
Marginal farmers do not buy animals as the animals would have grown up in their house, they do not feed quality fodder or concentrates as they do no worry about milk yield. They do not hire farm workers to do 24x7 farm activities , thus saving labour charges.
But commercial dairy farms requires high infrastructure cost . Promoter who burrows fund from financial institutions ,buys land for the farm , builds modern shed , buys quality cattles , hires farm workers for farm works , mechanical installation for milking , storage ,and processing milk etc.
(B) The procurement price of milk offered by milk co-operatives or direct retail price are very low .
For example current milk procurement rates offered by AMUL
1.
AMUL buffalo milk ( 6% Fat & 9 % SNF ) procurement price Rs 660 / kg fat
Or on the basis of this fat / kg system the procurement price per lt buffalo milk works out to
1 kilo (1000gm) fat ÷ 60 gm/L (6%) = 16.66/ L ,
Rs 608 ÷ 16.66 = Rs 39.61/ Lt of buffalo milk .
2. AMUL cow’s milk ( 3.5% Fat & 8.4 % SNF ) procurement rate is Rs. 308 / kg fat
Or on the basis of this fat / kg system the price per lts of cow’s milk works out to
1000 gm ÷ 35 gm/L (3.5%) = 28.57 L,
Rs 308 ÷ 28.57 = Rs. 10.78/L of cow milk
This procurement price does not match the production costs of a commercial run dairy farms - 80% of the milk is produced by marginal farmers and for them it’s just extra money.
For marginal farmers, the net input cost is near to zero so they accept any price offered by milk co-operatives .
( C ) Most of the new dairy farm owners do not have adequate practical knowledge and experience .
( D ) Management of animals : what to do with male calves ? We don’t need them for farming anymore and unclear culling policy of the govt . After 4th lactation, animal milk income is not sufficient for its maintenance . 40% female calves do not conceive and many cows do not conceive in time .
High medical costs ( vaccinations/steroids/medicines/doctor fee).
Dairy farming in India is a supplementary business to agriculture. Means the dairy animals are raised on the residue (leftover) of agriculture mainly. Very few farmers have separate fodder cultivation fields
The shortage and un-availability of green fodder throughout the year is one of the major problems faced by Indian dairy farmers
( E ) Now a days, many younger one think to jump in to Dairy Farming business because they see and hear that Desi Cow Milk selling @ Rs. 50 to Rs. 150 / lt.
Well, only few are able to get this price with smart marketing skill and network otherwise it’s just dream to sale milk at this high rate.
(F ) Lack of value addition knowledge and skill .
But before taking a decision careful consideration needs to be done on
