The University of Exeter in the United Kingdom has shown keen interest in extending solar research to the dairy industry starting with the Karimnagar Milk Producer Company Limited for increasing milk production with less cost.
Impressed with the steady growth of the Karimnagar dairy and its sales, the university has decided to help develop the dairy further.
As part of the India-U.K. workshop on transferring knowledge on dairy production technologies between the two countries, the University of Exeter had conducted a workshop in the U.K. from July 26 to 28 and had invited the representatives of Karimnagar dairy to participate and share their experiences. Accordingly, Karimnagar diary advisor V. Hanumantha Reddy had taken part in the workshop and had spoken on the recent trends and innovative methods in milk collection, storage and pre and post-processing.
On his return, he told The Hindu on Thursday that the workshop discussed at length the potential benefits of innovative U.K. photovoltaic and dairy production techniques, including animal nutrition, animal husbandry, robotic milking, renewable energy provisions and waste water treatment as a basis for enhancing the sector productivity.
He said they visited the farm and dairy in Cornwall State in the U.K. and found several innovations in the dairy industry. “There, robots were milking the cows and the dung was removed using machines to keep the cow shed clean and tidy. The cow dung is sent to a chamber where it is converted into gas and supplied to the people in cylinders,” he said.
Each cow produces at least 35 litres of milk a day in the U.K., he said and added that in Karimnagar, the farmers were getting only three litres of milk a day from each cow.
The meeting also talked about the techniques to improve milk production with maintaining proper health and nutrition in animals, he said. A nutrition expert at the University of Exeter, Steve Chapman, assured Mr. Reddy of his visit to Karimnagar dairy to educate the farmers on milk production and give them some tips in that regard.
He also said the participants at the international workshop were all in praise of the Karimnagar dairy for making strides with their reforms and welfare measures for milk producers and their milching animals.