Technical Workshops on Role of nutrition in milk production Nutrition is important for a variety of reasons.

Animals need the proper nutriti on for growth and maintenance, and to provide energy for work and vital function s. Proper nutrition is also needed to maintain body temperature, produce milk, r eproduce, and develop proper bone structures. Without proper nutrition, animals can develop health problems, which could result in treatment costs or even fatal ity. This is the reason why 70% of major expense of animal rearing in incurred t hrough feeding. Milk producers must understand not only what nutrition an animal needs but also how to supply that needed nutrition. Producers must know what ration is appropri ate for a specific animal and how to provide a balanced ration. A ration is the feed an animal receives over a 24-hour period. A variety of feedstuffs, or basic ingredients, are used in rations, and producers must choose those that best sui t their needs. A ration with all the nutrients an animal needs is a balanced rat ion. Major classes of nutrients present in any balanced ration are carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, water. Unfortunately all the nutrients are no t present in the feed ingredients; hence animal feed supplements play a major ro le in dairy sector today. Continuous Medical Education (CME) programmes conducted in June by IIL in West U ttar Pradesh for dairy farmers and field veterinarians covered the above concern ed topic along with laying down the advantages of IIL nutrition feed supplements - Calsagar-Plus, Area Specific Mineral Mixture - Goumix, By-pass Fat - Goudhara Shakti, Live Yeast Culture - Gousac and the dewormer - Vetfen 600 for improved p roductivity in dairy farms. The topics during the programme ranged from differen ce between ruminants and non-ruminants with respect to digestion and nutrient me tabolism, role of mineral mixtures in the ration of dairy animals, to the import ance of balanced feed to dairy animals in the last trimester of pregnancy. A spe cial emphasis was laid to make the farmers aware of Goumix- area specific chromi um chelated mineral mixture. Chromium a microelement with requirements less then 100 ppm in dairy ration is e ffective in reducing stress in dairy animals by decreasing the concentration of Cortisol hormone in blood and increase glucose uptake in the tissues by releasin g insulin inside the body of milch animals. Chelation of chromium in mineral mix ture therefore increases the bio-availability of other minerals due to inter-rel ationship between minerals and also reduces stress related diseases like mastiti s in farms. Rising feed costs, improper feeding and non-balanced ration in dairy farms not o nly increase the cost of milk production but increase the risk of anoestrous, re peat breeding, metabolic disorders and stress related cases in dairy farms. The objective behind these programmes is to make farmers aware of the importance of nutrition and the role of supplements for animals in their last trimester of pre gnancy or in their early lactation. With dwindling dairy farming profits and ris ing cost of milk, the time has come for the farmers to understand the importance of scientific dairy farming in India for their better future.