Dairy farm business plan | How to start dairy farming business

Dairy farming is often termed as “ALL SEASON BUSINESS.”It is a very profitable business, as everyone finds it compelling and profitable. You can start this business with just two cows and then gradually you can buy more and more animals as you start earning profit. People who are looking for starting a dairy farm business in the recent years are almost increased.

 

Opening a Dairy farming business is a long term project that requires proper management. Dairy products include milk, curd, cheese, cream, butter and ghee in which milk is always in great demand no matter what the season is. The important part of setting a dairy farm is to select high quality and high yielding cattle’s. Buying the healthy cattle’s is the most time taken step for a dairy farm. You can start on small scale business and expand it to big scale once you are aware ins and outs of dairy farming.

Dairy animals:

Dairy animals include:

• Cows(Dairy cows produce milk from which dairy foods are made)
• Buffalo
• Goats

 Dairy products:

• Milk
• Yogurt
• Ice cream
• Cheese
• Cream
• Butter

Land:

The primary step is to have the cultivated land for growing green fodder crops for your animals for Dairy farming business. The land area depends on the number of animals. Usually one acres of land is quite enough to feed about 7 to 10 cows.

 

Shed:

You need to arrange the proper shed in Dairy farming business for the protection of animals. Carefully construct the dairy shed. Especially to protect the animals from extreme heat and extreme cold. Shed should be ventilated and hygienic for the better health for the animals.

 

Suitable environment for animals:

If you want to get more profit from your Dairy farming business then you need to provide the suitable environment to the animals. Fans, water sprinklers and properly ventilated space will be given to the animals.

Food:

The feed of animals is very important. It should be fresh and clean. The quality of milk depends on the feed you provide to animals. You must special take care of pregnant animals and lactating animals. The lactating animals are usually fed one kg of dry matter feed per 1.75 liters of milk produced.

Water:

Clean drinking water is required for both animals and for growing the green fodder. Especially in summers water is required in great quantity so you must have a proper water arrangement at dairy farm. Normally adult cow consumed 50 to 80 liters of water per day. Milk production capacity depends on the fresh water.

Fodder:

Fodder is the main component of dairy farm. You need to have the basic information about cultivation of green fodder because it directly impacts to your profit. There is three types of fodder for best milk yield;

Dry fodder.

(Wheat hay ,kutti(rice/paddy straw),choker

 

Green fodder.

(Gram crop,barseem,maize/corn,masoor,nipper grass)

 

Feed concentrate.

(To prevent cows from mineral deficiency it is necessary to provide concentrate feed with mineral mixture on daily basis)

Fodder production cost and inputs may slightly vary from region to region

Breed selection:

You should select the good quality breed for cows which yield more milk. Successful Dairy farming needs a good breed selection of cows. Choose the breed that is suitable according to your climate conditions and high milking capacity. You can also visit other farms and can observe the suitable breed types. You need to choose such breed which produces the milk of 20/25 liters per day.

Labor:

Selection of labor for Dairy farming is very major task.Labor should have experience about dairy farming activities like growing green fodder, proper take care of animals. You have to train them about routine activities of dairy farm.

Proper vaccination:

You have to do the proper vaccination of their animals to protect the cow’s health from diseases. For this purpose you need to arrange the veterinary doctor for the proper medication of animals.

Silage making process:

Silage is a preserved pasture/fodder made from green crops. Silage can be fed to animals when natural fodder is not available. Making of silage is very much important for farmers. If you want to go for Dairy farming should learn silage making process. Silage is also a very good source for nutritional food. It helps animals for gaining weight in short period. Especially in summers when there is no scope for natural gazing silage would have been very helpful.

Milking methods:

There are two main milking methods include;

1. Hand milking

2. Machine milking

Hand milking method:

This milking process is done by full hand method or by stripping. Stripping is done by holding the teat between the thumb and fore fingers, down the length of the teat and then pressing it to cause the milk flow down in a stream. Full hand method is considering the best method because it causes less injury to teat.

Machine milking method:

Machine milking is the advanced milking method used these days in Dairy farming. These machines are capable of milking cows quickly.  It is easy to operate, costs low, saves time as it milks 1.5 liter to 2 liters per minute. The milking machine has two main basic functions;

1. It massages the teats, which prevents congestion of blood and lymph in the teat
2. Open the streak canal with the help of the partial vacuum, which allow the milk to flow out of the teat through a line to receiving container.

You need to start Dairy farming business with lesser cows and buffalo at an initial stage  and later on when your business grow then you increased the number of cattle depending upon the demand of milk. The investment required for a small scale Dairy farming business is approximately $4000.If you don’t have a sufficient amount to start this business then you can apply to take the loan from agriculture department.