Embracing digital tools and modern techniques that track various parameters of cows and buffaloes help dairy farmers in Gujarat keep cattle diseases at bay, increase milk yields and, obviously, earn more.
India is home to a huge number of cattle and buffaloes. The country has 13% of the world’s cattle population and 57% of the global population of buffaloes.
While most milk production happens in India’s villages, productivity is low because few farmers are using the latest dairy technology.
If the Indian dairy industry adopted new technology it would boost milk productivity and reduce costs. This “smart dairy farming” helps meet the rising demand for high-quality dairy products. Through different techniques, digital dairy management aids milk producers.
Improved productivity while working in a comfortable environment applies not only to humans but also to animals.
The cattle are housed in reinforced cement concrete structures. They need softer ground for ease of movement and so traditional cow dung floors are used.
While comfortable environment increases the milk yield, it decreases problems such as mastitis and laminitis.
“In a two-month period I got 80 litres more milk after I ensured better comfort for my herd of 20 milch animals,” said Sanjay of Krishda Dairy Farm in Balasinor village. “It has also reduced the veterinary doctor’s visits and manpower.”
Just like people using fitness monitors to track their pulse, pace, etc. belts with digital tags can be used to track bovine health. This is one of the best tools in smart dairy farming.
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These trackers, fixed to an animal’s neck, record the animal’s movement – their eating and drinking habits especially.
If the animal falls ill, the farmer gets mobile alerts. Based on the cow’s movement, the chip-enabled belt warns of illness. The biggest benefit of this technology is that the animals can be treated before they fall too sick, ensuring a quick recovery.
The farmer gets an alert if the animal goes into heat. This helps the farmer expedite the artificial insemination process.
Sanjay Rabari of Shivam Dairy Farm in Gopalpura, uses 250 digital fitness belts for all his cows that are older than 12 months.
Before using these tags, he had employed a night watchman. This saved him around Rs 10,000 per month.
Initially, the dairy farmers were concerned about wasting the genetically sorted semen doses, because sometimes the alerts came at midnight and they had to transfer the embryo through artificial insemination (AI) immediately.
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Prior to the adoption of technology, AI was successful and resulted in pregnancy after an average of 2.8 trials, but it has been reduced to 1.5 in the last five months.
“This is the most significant accomplishment for me because in summer temperature and humidity fluctuate. If you don’t try AI on time, you’ll have to wait for three months till the animal comes into heat again. So there is no milk yield in that period and I lose Rs 12,000 which I will otherwise earn from selling that milk,” said Rabari.
He also said he used to walk around the entire farm, spending 3-4 hours in the morning and evening. But the technology saves him time since he comes to the farm when he gets the alerts.
AMUL helps the farmer buy the digital belts.
Since agriculture has become mechanised and the use of draught animals has declined, dairy farmers prefer female calves that are productive, according to studies.
Dairy farmers considering male calves as a liability also increases stray animal population.
Their preference is also due to cost consideration as maintaining a non-productive animal can cost Rs 60 per day.
Sex-sorted semen insemination – a technology that has been refined over the years – ensures up to 90% female calves, unlike the normal 50% chance.
“With the use of sex-sorted semen, in 100 doses, I got 80 female calves and 20 male calves,” said Rabari. It is also one of the cost-cutting methods.
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It is more profitable to raise calves using sex-sorted semen insemination and digital fitness technology.
Rabari earns more when he sells these high-quality calves.
Last year, he sold 65 cows, each priced Rs 85,000 to Rs 1,50,000.
“You can make Rs 60,000 to 70,000 by selling a calf that is 3-4 months old,” he said.
Due to pre-orders from other dairy farmers, he is able to sell the animals in less than five minutes.
“My breed is born and sustained in the local environment, making it easily adjustable and more productive than the breeds that annually arrive from Punjab,” he said. “Only 40% of those animals from Punjab survive due to the different environment.”
Farmers feed their animals with crop residues, locally available feed ingredients like bran, oil cakes, chunnies, grains and seasonally available green fodder. They rarely give their animals mineral mixture, generally needed at 25–50g per day.
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Most animals receive too much or too little feed/ fodder. This causes protein, energy and mineral imbalances. Animals on such feeds produce milk poorly and cost more to maintain. It affects their health and fertility too.
To educate dairy farmers on the need for balanced feeding of their animals, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has initiated a ration balancing programme.
NDDB has introduced an application that can be used on phones, desktop computers, laptops, netbooks and tablets.
With the help of this software, farmers can give a balanced diet by taking into account the animal’s profile, such as its type (cattle or buffalo), age, milk production, milk fat and feeding schedule.
Accordingly the dairy farmers adjust the amount of locally available feed ingredients and area-specific mineral mixture they generally give to their animals. Overfeeding is a waste of resources because they are expelled through dung without being utilized.
Taking care of the calf is enough for good milk production, say the dairy farmers.
Smallholder farmers in Mujkuva village could install gobar gas plants, with support from NDDB.
From the collected manure, the farmers generate biogas in these plants. On an average they earn Rs 1,500 additionally per month, by selling the slurry – which is a by-product – to people in the manure business. Some earn more.
“I saved money because I didn’t have to buy LPG cylinders. In addition I earn Rs 3,000 per month from selling the slurry,” said Jagrutiben Padhiyar of Mujkuva Village.
This method of biogas-based manure management helps smallholder farmers meet their demand for clean cooking energy while also encouraging the widespread application of bio-slurry, which is rich in nutrients, in agriculture farms.
The model reduces pollution since farmers use cleaner fuel and avoid methane emissions.
The lead image shows cattle fitted with digital belts in a dairy farm in Gujarat (Photo by Inayathaider A Momin)
Inayathaider A Momin is a research fellow at the Verghese Kurien Centre of Excellence in the Institute of Rural Management, Anand.
