Foreign experts to judge cattle at Jagraon show

For the cattle breed,yield and other contests to be held as part of the expo,the judges are coming from Holland and USA,two of the most advanced countries in dairy technology.

PDFA is bearing the expenses for the travel of these judges from their country and back,and their stay here. President PDFA,Daljeet Singh,says their visit and comments will ultimately benefit farmers here.

The pride of all commercial dairy farmers in the state is what is now being referred to as the Punjab Holstein — the cross-bred offspring of Indian cows inseminated with the semen of Holstein-Freisian bulls. These prized cows are now yielding up to 10,000 litres of milk per lactation period. Due to lack of good management,the average milk yield of the native breeds is a paltry 1,700 litres per lactation.

With such high-yielding cows,commercial dairy farmers in Punjab are not just turning into major producers of milk,but also breeders of quality cattle. It is here that the ranking given by international experts in dairy will be highly valuable,says Daljeet Singh.

“The judges will tell us why they judged a particular animal to be the best. They will also give us valuable inputs on how to ensure better breeding and management of dairy animals,” he says. In addition,interaction with these and other visiting experts will also be organised. Last year,dairy farmers from seven states in the country visited the expo. This year,more than 1 lakh farmers from 13 states in the country are expected for the show.

Since women have traditionally been associated with dairy in north India,the second day of the expo ¿ February 13 ¿ is Women’s Day. Rajpal Singh,a senior executive member of PDFA,says it is time that women in rural Punjab take to dairy farming commercially. “Even if a family owns only two acres,a woman can earn Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 a month with the right dairy equipment and management practices. Our association now has 4,200 members. Many of our successful dairy farmers started with a dairy on only two acres,and about 20 animals. Our returns have been so high that we now have banks ready to associate with us,and give loans to new entrants. We want women to benefit from our experience,” he says.

The expo will showcase the best machines for dairy management,and educate farmers on the right practices to ensure maximum returns from commercial dairy farming.