Want to start dairy farm, have queries? Read here
Dairy Consultancy – 5 frequently asked questions of new comers
Is this business is profitable?
Yes, dairy farming is very profitable business but with certain conditions. Anything could be profitable if its cost of production is less than its selling price. Further, anything which has such a high demand that people don’t start their morning work without it, how it would be loss making business. You must know the tricks and techniques to get into the business. Dairy farming is like playing football as in football, it doesn’t matter how good striker you are but if your defense is weak you will lose the game. Dairy farming need aggressive management of resources. You must know that what you need to do at particular time. What your cow require is more important than what you are offering. Many people have invested millions of Rupees but failed miserably on the other hand some people only have hand full of resources but they run their enterprise in profits. Crux is “efficient management of resources” leads to successful dairy farming.
Which breed I should keep?
For commercial dairy farming there are 2 breeds, first is HF and second is Jersey. Although most people kept HF for its high milk production (& no doubt HF are extremely high yielders) but now Jersey is becoming popular due to less management needs, more fat, less maintenance and comparable production parameters as that of HF. So new farmers should start their business with jersey cows and later can introduce HF. High yielding HF keeping is equivalent to rearing an elephant. Its nutrition needs are extremely high and any mismanagement during pre or post-partum transition period could bring plethora of troubles which makes animal redundant. In buffaloes Murrah, Niliravi, Tarai and Bani are good. Murrah can be best choice to start buffalo dairy farm. Due to high demand of Murrah breed its prices are unnecessarily become too high. So avoid brining very costly animals bring only moderate producing animals.
Can I keep both cows and buffaloes together?
Yes, you can keep both together and you should keep both in initial period. But this question and its answer is dependent on demand of your product. Means if you would have to sell milk to the dairies where milk fat and SNF is important then you should keep less cows and more buffaloes. If you are going to retail your milk and your customers do not bother whether it is cow milk or buffalo milk then half cow and half buffalo is fine because in that case milk volume and fat would become moderate. If you are going to establish urban dairy where cow milk demand is high then avoid keeping buffalo in your farm because it would degrade your brand value.
I have this much land how many animals can I kept?
For housing dairy animals do not need much space 2-3m2 close space and 4-6m2 open paddock is sufficient. But for fodder cultivation 10 cows need 1 hectare land is required. Sow, own land plays important part in profitability of whole enterprise. Those entrepreneurs who buy fodder from outside would play on very narrow margins and any minor adverse condition could send them in losses. These losses can be temporary like milk fluctuation due to change in weather or permanent like mastitis. After cow land is most critical resource.
From where I can find good animals and what are their cost?
One thing you should always keep in mind that nobody sell good animals. Good animals are those which eats less produce more and never become diseased. You can think that why someone sell such animal. In market only those animals came for sale which do not satisfied its owner’s standards or have some medical issue. Like many animals having brucella or history of prolapse or torsion or milk fever came into market for sale. So, good animals are developed on farms. They are developed by you though good quality germplasm (semen). That is how you enterprise grows.
