Small dairy farms running dry in region

VISAKHAPATNAM: Small dairy farms in the region run by farmers are running dry thanks to the steep increase in cattle feed prices. Sources in the dairy industry say that scores of small dairies having 10-20 cows and buffaloes have gone out of business over the past five years or so and many more are staring at the same fate.
"Over one third of the 60-70 small dairy farms in the district have downed shutters as dairying is no longer a lucrative proposition," said a source from the dairy industry.Agreed, R Satyanarayana an agriculturist from Pakulapaadu near Narsipatnam, who said he had quit dairying because it was no longer feasible for him.
"Most of the farmers here have stopped dairying mainly because we are not able to provide for the cattle. Things are so bad that the sum we get from selling milk is not enough even to feed the cattle," said P Sivayya of Bheemaboyinapalem village in Makkavaripalem mandal.
A tractor of hay, usually paddy residue, costs anywhere between Rs 3,500 to 4,500 per tractor and on an average a normal sized cow or buffalo weighing 400 kilos consumes about 15 tonnes of hay per annum, which works out to six tractor loads per annum, say dairy industry sources.
Apart from hay, the bovines need to be fed lucerne, oilcakes, grains and extra dry matter that costs around Rs 2,000 to 3,000 per cow per month. On the other hand, the average milk output per cow roughly comes to about 6 to 8 litres per day.
Dairy farmers sell milk to local cooperative agencies, which fix the price of milk based on the fat content. Each litre of milk fetches around Rs 16-22 per litre, depending upon the variable fat content, where buffaloes score more than cows.
Admitting that many farmers felt that cattle rearing was no longer a profit making venture, K V Prasad, procurement manager, Visakha Dairy, said, "There has been a decrease in the number of cattle, especially buffaloes. But the procurement of milk has been increasing by around 10% every year over the past five years. This is because of various government agencies as well as Visakha Dairy focusing on increasing the yield through inter-breeding with high yielding varieties, better feeding practices and other productivity enhancing activities."
Apart from the rising feed prices, adding to the woes of dairy farmers is the perennial problem of male calves as not all are put to use as draft animals. Many of the castrated bulls are left to fend for themselves because farmers cannot spend much on feeding them as they are unproductive.
"We do not know what to do with the male calves. Earlier they were used as draft animals, stud bulls and also to plough fields but today they have become redundant because few people use bullock carts and today tractors are increasingly being used for ploughing," said another dairy farmer.
The other problem with male calves is that many of them end up as fodder for butcheries. "While I cannot get rid of the male calves, be they cows or buffaloes, there are some villagers who do sell male buffalo calves to the butchers as it is a financial priority for them. Dairying promises continuous income and some believe that by selling male calves to the meat packers, they are only making it profitable and sustainable," said agriculturist R Satyanarayana.
While admitting that beef trade was on the rise with India becoming one of the leading buffalo meat exporters, Prasad of Visakha Dairy feels that this was the key reason why a number of farmers were moving away from the dairy industry. "At the end of the day, a vast majority of our farmers cannot and will not be involved in beef trade. On the other hand, male calves are becoming unproductive and redundant assets thanks to the rise in mechanised methods of farming," explained Prasad.
Prasad, however, said that despite these reasons many farmers are engaged in rearing cattle, especially cows, because dairying is a continuous source of income and farmers get paid every once in 15 days.