On V-Day,milch beauties catch the eyes on ramp

This was the Dairy Expo 2011,the biggest show of its kind in the country,and the fifth such annual event to be organised by the Progressive Dairy Farmers’ Association (PDFA),Punjab. The expo,held on the pattern of the annual World Dairy Expo,Wisconsin (USA),featured a contest for cows that judged their ‘beauty’ and performance alike. On a ramp especially created for the purpose,cross-bred cows now referred to as the ‘Punjab Holstein’ were introduced. The owners spoke about the yield of the cow,its mother and the pedigree of its father.

A major feature for outer beauty was their udder,leg and feet formation,which indicates good pedigree of the animal. The second criterion was their milk yield. The champion cows that won the top prizes were much in demand at the expo,organised from February 12 to 14.

These cows,which are the progeny of desi cows inseminated with the semen of Holstein-Freisian bulls over several generations,also recorded the highest on-the-spot milk yield in the country. PDFA president Daljeet Singh said the cow that stood first gave a record yield of 54 litres,and the one that finished second yielded 53 litres. “It is a normal phenomenon that the yield of a cow goes down when it is shifted from its shed for any such contest,since it leads to some stress in the animal. The farm yield of these cows is in the range of 62 to 63 litres at a time,” he said.

About 1.25 lakh farmers from 13 states in the country visited the dairy expo over three days. Said Uday Shanker Tiwari,country manager for ABS India,one of the key partners for the dairy expo: “Dairy farmers from other states were amazed to find that commercial dairy owners in Punjab are the only ones into modern practices like silage making and use the latest techniques in artificial insemination. Punjab has emerged as a role model for farmers in other states to increase productivity and profit.”

Albert Reurink,a Holland-based geneticist for cattle who has been adjudging cattle shows abroad for about 30 years now,was one of the two judges here. The other judge was Robert Parker from UK. Reurink told The Indian Express: “The level of the show and the quality of the animals here is impressive. I was happy to observe that the Jagraon show turned out to be a major place for exchange of ideas,with the farmers evaluating themselves and learning much. Dairy shows in the US are definitely more professional,but the Punjab farmers are in a rapidly-growing phase and are fast catching up,” he said.