BIDAR: A silent dairy revolution is taking place in Aurad taluk, one of the most backward taluks in the State. Dairy units by progressive farmers in the taluk are producing three times more milk than is collected by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) from all five taluks in the district. While KMF procures 25,000 litres of milk a day, Aurad alone produces nearly 70,000 litres.

A will to make a difference, use of advanced techniques and good advice from professionals are reasons behind the success of these ventures.

Modern methods

The first person to set up a dairy unit based on modern methods was Ramesh Garne. "I am not from a farming family. But a workshop by the Department of Animal Husbandry made an impression on me and I decided to set up a dairy unit," he said.

He started with a set of nine female buffaloes and one male buffalo of the Murra variety. He made a trip to Haryana to buy the animals and hired dairy labourers from Uttar Pradesh to look after them. After nearly a year, he found that the results were really good. He expanded his farm by adding more animals and diversifying into milk products. He recently started a poultry farm with birds of the Giriraj variety.

Department's help

For this venture, he was assisted by the Veterinary Department and taking the advice of veterinary officials Gautam Arali, Satish Biradar and Sanjeev Patil, Mr. Garne bought a chaff-cutter machine that conserves fodder by nearly 40 per cent.

He has also installed a cream-separator, a khova-maker and a packet-maker on his farm. Mr Garne now sells milk to hotels and other commercial establishments in Aurad and the neighbouring Maharashtra.

Prabhurao Kasture has also adopted scientific principles in his farm. His dozen animals produce enough milk to help him save money each month and he plans to build an animal shelter soon. Mr. Kasture has hired local youth trained in animal rearing to assist him. "I am happy doing this as I earn a decent amount. I do not understand why young men from agriculture families are choosing salaried jobs over their family profession," he said.

Financier Bandeppa Kante has also set up a farm on the outskirts of Aurad.

He has a collection comprising of Murra and Jaffarabadi variety of buffaloes. "I spent around Rs. 30,000 on each animal, and if fed with a balanced diet, they yield around 10-15 litres a day. I am confident of breaking even by next summer," Mr. Kante said. He plans to set up a small processing plant in his field.

"Bidar has a climate conducive for dairy farming. There are around 20 dairy units in the taluk, and of these, five are in and around Aurad. These have been set up in the last two years and they have contributed significantly to the milk produce of the district. We are encouraging young farmers to take up dairy farming by organising workshops and interactions," Dr. Arali said.

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