DAIRY FARM OF 50 ANIMALS PROJECT BRIEF: Dairy farming is an agro-based activity, buffaloes and cows can be raised for

milk production in an organised manner for commercial purpose.

For this project, animals can be purchased from the animal markets or breeders in Sahiwal, Sheikhupura, Faisalabad.

More than 70 percent farmers hold less than 5 acres of land. Dairy farming may prove a profitable business for small landholders.

They can also grow fodder on their land to feed dairy animals, without disturbing the main crop.

Dairy farming is one of the best projects if professionally done on small land holdings. The return of the land used for feeding animals is higher as compared to land used for traditional cropping.

The economical size of the herd is 50 animals, which will grow into 180 animals within a few years. Cows are also proposed in the herd, as they are high yields and efficient converters of feed into milk.

This herd would consist of 75 percent buffaloes and 25 percent cows. A cow, on average, yields 14 litres milk a day over a lactation period of 305 days whereas the buffalo, on an average, yields 10 litres a day over a lactation period of 280 days.

The lactation period is the period during which the animals provide milk. These animals are called wet animals. Generally the lactation days of cows are 305 days and that of buffaloes is 280 days.

For calculation, 77 percent of the total number of cows has been taken as wet cows and 67 percent of the total number of buffaloes as wet buffaloes.

The calving interval in a buffalo is about 18 to 20 months, while a cow has 15 to 16 months.

On an average, cows are productive for 7 to 8 years, while buffaloes are productive for 8 to 9 years. Male calves will be sold at the end of year or can also be reared separately for beef production.

Pakistan is the fifth largest milk producer in the world. Milk production is 28 million tonnes from 125 million heads. Milk is used for drinking, tea, desi ghee, yogurt and butter making.

Milk is also used to make Khoya and different types of sweets. Milk processing companies use milk as a raw material to formulate different types of milk ie pasteurised milk, UHT milk, condensed milk, skimmed milk, milk powder, etc Different value added products like yogurt, ice cream, butter and cheese are also produced from the raw milk.

The daily consumption of milk in Lahore is 2 to 3 million litres and that of Karachi is 4 million litres.The demand for processed milk has increased its share in quality conscious consumers. During the last two decades, processed milk has achieved 4 percent share in the milk market of Lahore, which is growing to about 4.5 percent per annum. Therefore, metropolitan cities are the major markets for the sale of milk.

The capital cost will be budgeted for 4 years; therefore the initial infrastructure cost has been calculated on the basis of a 4th year infrastructure requirement.

The total cost of the project is estimated, by Smeda, to be about Rs 2.94 million, out of which the capital cost of the project is Rs 2.67 million. Total infrastructure cost of 13 thousand sq ft would be about Rs 842,388.

Besides hiring a tractor for fodder sowing, only a few simple farm equipment's like a fodder chopper, water pumps, milk utensils will be purchased.

With the green fodder, to increase animal productivity, the ration feed will be given, which includes cotton seed cakes, corn gluten, wheat bran, molasses, and choker. About 1 kg of concentrate is required for the production of 3 litres of milk.

There is no fixed fodder requirement for the animals but a rule of thumb says that an animal needs daily fodder equal to 9 to 10 percent of its body weight. According to estimates, buffalo consumes 40-55 kg fodder daily while cow consumes about 30-40 kg. For a high yield the animals would be fed on a high protein diet concentrate.

For this dairy project, manpower requirement is 7 for performing different activities like feeding, milking, etc, which may cost about Rs 240,000.

Animals are prone to some sort of disease, at any stage of their life. Disease like foot and mouth, diarrhea and digestive disorders are very common in animals, which affect the productivity of the LIVESTOCK.

Only proper vaccination can keep the animals healthy. Healthy and high yielding milk animals are the key to the success of a farm.