Robustness of dairy cattle farming industry against Covid-19 pandemic in business group (KUB) Tirtasari Kresna Gemilang, Malang

Abstract

The impact of Covid-19 pandemic disrupts the supply chain for livestock breeds, feed, medicines, and others interfere sustainability of livestock businesses. This study aimed to determine the dairy cattle business’s changes during the pandemic at Business Group (KUB) Tirtasari Kresna Gemilang, Malang Regency, Indonesia. The data were obtained using the purposive sampling method. Respondents consisted of 17 dairy farmers (10%) of the total KUB members. The results showed that the farmer had been farming for 10-30 years with a population of three to eight cows. The average milk production of a cow can be maintained at 20 liters/head/day. Cows were given forage and concentrate (made by KUB) two to four times a day. The total cost of feed per month has not changed, which is around IDR 500,000 to IDR 3,000,000. The selling price of milk is IDR 5,400 before and during the pandemic. Health management methods include routine sanitation, injection vitamins, pre-dipping with warm water, and post-dipping with iodine. From this study can be concluded that the farmer of KUB Tirtasari Kresna Gemilang can survive with their management and farming experience, so they were able to sustain and have no problems with their business during the pandemic.