LSD, high feed cost lead to drop in milk production in DK

Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada Co-op. Milk Producers’ Union has gone from a milk surplus union to a deficit in a year. Issues like lumpy skin disease (LSD) to cattle affecting milk production, increase in feed cost making farmers reluctant to add more cows to the stock are some of the reasons being cited for this situation.
The Union is facing a deficit of 60,000 kgs per day, whereas the production was at its peak last January at 5.2 lakh kgs per day.
Union president KP Sucharitha Shetty said though LSD was one of the reasons for milk deficit, there were others like increased demand due to functions, both public like marriages and others auspicious activities and temple fests. Increased feed costs is acting as a deterrent for farmers to manage more milch cows. “The functions have seen demand rise for milk products like milk and curds, and also an uptake in sweets manufactured by the union due to its quality,” he said.
He said LSD prevents a cow from giving optimum milk output and it is halved. Till the cow recovers, for about two months, farmers cannot get the normal output and further, there is a lot of investment in medicines and feed, he added. The district reported 1,699 LSD cases and 32 deaths as in December. Treatment is being given to 1,206 cattle.
The Union has 1.4 lakh members and 67,888 are active. The current procurement is about 4.66 lakh kgs per day as against the January average of 5.2 lakh kgs. Though the Union made efforts to get the deficit from other unions like Mandya and Hassan, Shetty says that too is drying up as the demand in the Unions is also high and they cannot spare to other unions. “Also, we incur transportation charges of Rs 2 per litre of milk, if we get it from other unions, which makes it unremunerative for us,” he added.
Another reason for the drop in milk production is those who lost jobs or were given WFH option, ventured into dairy farming by either investing in it to helping their families or started afresh. When the Covid situation eased and offline mode started, many folded the business or sold their cows to others resulting in a drop-in milk production. During Covid, the Union got 70,000 kgs of additional milk per day.