Economics of milk production and its constraints: A case study of Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

An attempt has been made in this investigation to work out the cost and returns from milk production across different milch species of animals. Tabular analysis was employed to workout the cost and returns while Garrett’s Ranking Technique (GRT)was used to identify the major constraints in milk production. The multistage random sampling technique was adopted to select the sample of 60 dairy farmers. Average milk yield per day per animal was found to be significantly higher in the case of crossbred cows (7.06 litres) as compared to local cows (2.88 litres).Similarly, net maintenance cost per milch animal per day was found to be relatively higher in crossbred cows ( 200.76) as compared to local cows ( 113.76). The per litre cost of milk production was observed to be significantly higher in case of local cows ( 35.09) followed by crossbred cows ( 26.34). The net income per day was relatively higher in case of crossbred cows ( 64.62) as compared to local cows ( 4.29), while it was found lowest in the small herd size category for local cows (0.54). The net return from crossbred cows was more than that of local cows indicating that crossbred milking cow was more economical than the local cow in the study area. High cost of concentrate, unavailability of veterinary services and low milk productivity were the major constraints in milk production in the study area. Therefore, efforts should be made to impart knowledge to dairy farmers regarding advanced animal husbandry techniques through extension services.