Dairy Farming Business Plan Guide

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Introduction to Dairy Farming:- No matter what the season is and no matter what the place is “There is always great demand for milk” in India. Due to the population increase and consumption of milk tremendously increasing day by day. The rising unemployment and people who are looking for starting a dairy farm in recent years is almost doubled. Milk production in India is expected to grow at about 3 to 4% every year. There are many people who want to get into small scale or large scale dairy farming business. However, due to lack of knowledge and initial investment involved they are unable to setting up a dairy unit. We advise you not to get into this dairy business unless you dedicate your effort and time on your farm round the clock. You are not necessarily start a dairy farm in commercial scale; you can start on small scale business and expand it to large scale once you are aware of ins and outs of dairy farming.

Before starting a dairy farm, makes sure to follow these:

• Dairy Farming Business Plan #1- However as a beginner you should definitely get some professional training from Agriculture Universities or Training centers of Animal Husbandry Department or Krishi Vigyan Kendras or any private training dairy consultancies.
• Dairy Farming Business Plan #2 – Visit local dairy farms and talk to the management so you can get an idea of managing the farm. Always question them about �problems� and ask how they are overcoming them.
• Dairy Farming Business Plan #3 – Read any dairy magazines, online dairy blogs and YouTube videos to get over all idea of farming.
• Dairy Farming Business Plan #4 – If you don�t have capital investment and wants to get subsidy and loan the dairy farm, visit your local agriculture/co-operative banks for more information.
• Dairy Farming Business Plan #5 – As feed or fodder is the main component of dairy farming that directly impacts the profits; you must have good knowledge green fodder cultivation practices and silage making procedure. You can study the feed and fodder market in your region to find out the feasible and economical fodder solution.
• Dairy Farming Business Plan #6 – Initially, you must visit some cattle markets to observe animals on sale and talk with persons engaged with purchasing of animals to get an idea of best breed, animal prices and milk yield of animals. You can also learn some negotiation skills.
• Dairy Farming Business Plan #7 – You should learn good labour management skills.

To encourage rural agriculture sector and increase the milk production as per demand, NABARD (National Bank For Agriculture & Rural Development) helping farmers by providing subsidies on dairy farms and dairy farming loans through approved banks. One can avail this by visiting your nearest commercial or co-operative or rural agriculture banks. One can get decent profits in dairy farming under good dairy management practices. In the following write-up, let us talk about “Dairy Farming Business Plan” in detail. Let us take an example of 15 dairy cow farming.

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Requirements of Dairy Farming in India:- There are some components of dairy farming you should be aware before setting up a dairy farm.

• Land – You must have some cultivated land for growing green fodder crops for your cattle in the farm. The land area depends on number animals (cows or buffalo�s). Usually 2 acres of land is sufficient to feed about 15 cows.
• Shed – There must be proper and covered secured shed inn place before getting cows into your farm.
• Water – Clean and abundant water facility is required for both cattle and to grow the green fodder.
• Fodder – As cows need three types of fodder for best milk yield and high fat content, you must have good fodder management from growing fodder to feeding fodder on daily basis. Dry fodder, green fodder and feed concentrate (for extra nutrition) are required to feed the cows in your dairy.
• Breed Selection – Selection of good breed of cows which yield more milk is essential in dairy farming. Good milk yielding cows such as “Jersy”, “Red Sindhi” “Holstein Friesian (HF cows)”, “Sahiwal”, “Gir”, “Deoni” and “Ongole” etc.
• Labour – Labour is major task in dairy farming, the selected labour should be very good at handling the farm activities including growing green fodder. It is better to give one or two days training so that they can understand routine activities of dairy.
• Vaccinations – To control diseases and protect the cow health, you must have a proper vaccination schedule. For this purpose, you can hire a veterinary doctor for routine checkup and medication of cows. For vaccination schedule, see the vaccination schedule table at the bottom of this article.

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Shed Construction:- Well ventilated and spacious shed is required for dairy farming. Hygienic conditions are very important in the shed for cattle health. When it comes to space, it is recommended to have 8 feet x 12 feet area for 1 cow. So total space required for 15 cows is about 120 feet x 12 feet. However this area is not fixed and depends on cow size. Cow feeders should be constructed in between with a separation wall so that the cows can be fed from both sides facing head to head each other; this is what is called as �Head to Head arrangement”.

Care should be taken while constructing the dairy shed. The selected location should be elevated to prevent from any water stagnation around the shed and it also provides well ventilation (sunlight and air). The dairy shed roof should be made with asbestos sheets and floor should be made of either bricks or cement with enough inclination. This can provides good drainage for cattle urine and excrete. Shed should be cleaned daily to maintain the hygienic conditions. Collect the manure on daily bases and store somewhere outside of the shed. You can also make an outlet to shed so that whenever the shed is cleaned the cow urine any leftover manure can flow into the field. All electrical fittings and water supply requirements should be full filled as per need in hot areas, it many need to have fans and coolers for cows, especially in summer.

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Fodder Management:- Fodder management is very important in dairy farming. The daily milk yield of cow depends on the type fodder and nutritional facts of the given fodder. High yielding cows should be given 1 kg of concentrate along with mineral mixture to get 2.5 liters of milk yield. For example, if a cow yields 15 liters of milk daily then these cows should be given 6 kg of concentrate with mineral mixture.

There are three types of fodder can be provided under dairy fodder management practices.

• Dry fodder: wheat hay, kutti (rice / pady straw), chokar (wheat bran),
• Green fodder: Any leguminous crops which are good in protein supplements. For example: Any gram crop, barseem, maize / corn, masoor and hybrid grass like CO-3 and CO-4, niper grass etc.. These green fodder crops can be utilized to make silage. This silage is very nutritious and milk yield will be increased. Silage making is very important and especially it is needed in dry periods. The link will be given at the bottom of the article about “steps in involved in silage making or how to make silage for cattle”. Generally, 2 to 3 acres of fertile land enough to grow green fodders for 15 cows. However, the yield of green fodder depends on many factors.
• Concentrate and Mineral Mixture: Mineral mixture :- It is necessary to provide concentrate feed along with mineral mixer on regular basis to prevent cows from mineral deficiency. All three types such as dry green and mineral mixture should be accurate proportions for best milk yield.

Note: The cost of feed may depend on the animal milk capacity. On an average, feed may cost about 200 to 250 rupees/day/cow.

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Water Supply:- Clean water supply is required for drinking and cleaning purpose of the shed. Arrangements can be done by providing overhead tanks on the shed.

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Selection of Dairy Breeds:- Successful dairy farming requires a good breed selection of cow. Select the dairy cow/cattle breed that is suitable for your climatic conditions and high milking capacity. You can visit your local farms and can observe the different breed types that are suitable. Cross breed of HF cows (Holstein Frisian) with Indian Sahiwal. Or Jersey with Sahiwal or Jersey with Red Sindhi is preferable for the good milk yield. It is preferred to select the breed which produces the milk of 20 to 25 liters/day. Artificial insemination plays major role to cross with high yielding breeds.

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Cow and Calves Management and Care:- Artificial insemination or mating of cows should be carried out after every 3 months (90 days) of calving. Indian cattle breeds take 3 years in reaching maturity phase whereas high yield Jersey cross breed or HF cows reach maturity at 16 to 18 months and they will be ready for mating. In general, for every 13 months cows should be calving. Lactation period of cows should be 300 days and service period should be 90-120 days. Gestation period of cows is going to be 266 days. More attention and care is needed in case of pregnant cows as they need more nutrition during this stage. Concentrate & mineral mixture should be given during gestation period of cows and this feed intake should be increased as time passes to ensure proper growth of calves and its udder.

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Vaccination Program in Dairy Cow Farming:- Before giving any vaccination in dairy, deworming should be done to get better results. However, deworming should be carried out frequently and veterinary doctor is your point of contact for this. The following table is the typical vaccination schedule in dairy farming.

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Vaccination Schedule in Dairy Farming:

Dairy Farming Business Plan – Bottom Line:- The above write-up can be assumed for Dairy Farming Business Plan in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and other states of India. However, the labour cost, Cow breeds, feed cost or green fodder production cost and inputs may slightly vary from region to region. You can expect excellent profits with proper dairy management practices, perfect planning and dedicating completely to the farm 24/7.

Source:

http://www.agrifarming.in/dairy-farming-business-plan-guide