Opportunities in Dairy Farming

Farm management is the scientific practice of controlled rearing, grooming, caring, feeding, and breeding of farm animals. This is to give a highly necessary boost to food production. Milk-producing animals such as cows, buffalo, goats, sheep, and camels, are considered dairy animals. Dairy farming is an integral part of the Indian economy.

Dairy farming in India

Dairying or dairy farming includes careful handling of dairy animals for milk and its products concerning human consumption. A dairy farm is an enclosure used for keeping and breeding dairy animals. Milk is considered the ‘perfect food’ for human consumption. Various products that are made from fresh milk in a dairy farm include pasteurised milk, fermented milk, buttermilk, condensed milk, yoghurt, cheese, buttercream, and khoa.

In India, the dairy industry is a significant contributor to the Indian economy as it contributes around 4.2 percent of the GDP. India is the largest milk producer and accounted for 23 percent of the global milk production, as per 2018 statistics. Dairying is the main income source for around 7 crore rural households. 

For rural India, the dairy business is regarded as a “treasure” of the economy. It delivers draft animal strength, cash income, supplementary employment, and protects the population from drought. In India, small-scale and commercial dairy farming is an essential part of the entire milk yield and the economy of the country. In India, nearly every area is appropriate for setting up dairy farming. Still, many dairy farmers raise animals in a small-scale, conventional manner, lacking modern practices and techniques. With proper business planning and handling, one can guarantee decent production and economic gains from dairy farming.

Income opportunities in dairy farming

The following are income or entrepreneurship opportunities in dairying:

Advisory services for Animal Ration balancing and management

Imbalanced feeding of animals may lead to negative impacts on their growth rate and yield, which may, in turn, reduce the average daily income of the milk producer. Overfeeding can also lead to an increase in the cost of milk production. Thus, a balanced quota of food is essential for animals. Animals are usually given one or two locally available feed ingredient(s), which are namely seasonal grasses and crop residues. The National Dairy Development Board has developed a ration balancing software that will educate milk producers on scientific animal feeding.

Implementation of the Ration Balancing Programme requires the establishment of an advisory service chain that provides guidance to producers and also makes arrangements for the sale of fodder and its supplements that helps in sustaining the activity. This can be a great opportunity for dairy entrepreneurship.

Field artificial insemination services 

Using artificial insemination services, increased yield in dairy animals can be achieved by fetching a sizable population of breedable female bovines. The entrepreneurs who can provide technical services for artificial insemination, on the move, have a great opportunity in this field.

In the dairy industry, an individual can set up their dairy farm revolving around milk production activities or work as a dairy farm manager. Other jobs that can be pursued in this sector are the roles of milkers, testers, stockmen, managers in cooperatives or vets. One can also manufacture cattle feeds or import-export machinery, ingredients, and products.

Operation Flood

One of the essential dairy developments in Indian history was the cooperative dairy development through the Operation Flood program. It was initiated under the ‘Anand Model’ which included a three-level approach – (1) village-level dairy cooperative societies; (2) District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Unions (DCMPUs); and (3) State Cooperative Milk Marketing Federations. 

Operation Flood was introduced in 1970 with the aims of:

• supporting self-sufficiency in milk production, 
• improving nutrition, and 
• boosting rural incomes.

Operation Flood was conducted in three phases and expanded at each level. It brought about the ‘White Revolution’. It made a huge impact on the rural population and encouraged them to take up dairying as an occupation. According to estimates, dairy cooperatives account for roughly 60% of processed liquid milk in India. The import of milk has declined substantially. India today holds the first rank as the leading milk producer in the world, all because of this White Revolution.

Advantages of dairy farming in India

• Milk is a nearly perfect food, with high demand in India.
• Milk is an agricultural product that does not require land for production. With the livestock population of India, dairying offers an income opportunity even to those who do not own lands.
• Dairying contributes significantly to the Indian economy and its products will never be out of the market or face a demand crisis.

Conclusion

Dairying involves the handling of dairy animals intending to produce milk and its products. Milk is an essential food product produced and consumed in India and hence, provides a large number of economic opportunities, especially in rural India. 

Operation Flood, launched in 1970, was a revolutionary developmental program that improved the dairy sector ten-fold, making it more profitable and enhancing rural income. It opened up new opportunities in the dairy sector, generating employment and regular income for many.