Milk production improves in DK & Udupi, but still 40k litres shortfall

MANGALURU: Barring supply of butter and Samruddhi milk, the Dakshina Kannada Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Limited (DKMUL) has managed to stabilise milk and supply of milk products in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, from the past fortnight.
DKMUL president Sucharita Shetty said that rain in the Belthangady region, and lactation of cows during this season, have helped the union get an extra 30,000 litres of milk per day. Prior to that, the intense summer had seen milk yield dwindle and go down to 4.2 lakh litres.
Now it is at 4.5 lakh litres. "Still there is a shortfall of 40,000 litres, after getting 30,000 litres in the district, which has made good by procuring from Mandya and Hassan milk unions,'' Shetty said. "The sale of ghee and butter was completely off last month. Now ghee is available as per demand, and we have been supplying it to temples, including Dharmasthala and Kateel,'' he said. "Our local ghee production is about 20%, and the rest is procured from other milk unions. Butter is still not available due to decreased milk production,'' he added.
He says that one of the main reasons for farmers here to be disinterested in cattle farming, is unprofitable prices. "The cost of production of milk per litre itself is Rs 35 to Rs 38, and they don't get any extra amount from the unions. If the government gives us permission to hike the milk prices by Rs 5 a litre, then things would change for the better,'' he says.
Milk production is unprofitable in the region because of high use of cattle feed, which is expensive, unlike in other regions. "Here farmers use 80% cattle feed and 20% Napier grass or dry hay, whereas in other regions like Malnad, Mandya and Hassan, their cattle feed dependency is less than 50%, due to availability of other feeds like grass and sweet corn-based grains,'' he noted.