Dairy farming contributes significantly to the human diet all over the world. Its products provide an abundance of nutrients in the form of calcium, minerals, and proteins. However, India has gone far beyond fulfilling dietary and nutritional needs.
Healthy cattle raising is crucial for healthy animal stock. It is the best source to produce milk and other products if raised and appropriately managed. Dairy farming is a good source of income for agricultural farmers. If you are considering raising cattle on a small scale, assess the operation's key aspects while planning your enterprise. it’s always a good idea to take proper guidance to manage and nurture livestock which depends on various factors. Let’s discuss in detail what factors to take into account when raising cattle.
Identify your goal of raising livestock
Land areas and facilities are required to house, feed, and manage livestock. It is generally
described according to the production and sale of stock, milk production, and feeding system to produce calves and heifers that are ready for market. Depending on production goals, farmers can decide to purchase yearling cattle that they need to feed out for their business. The livestock raising system is combined with the husbandry needs such as time, labor, and money to invest in animal production and care.
While milk and other dairy products will account for the primary products of a dairy farm. There are also by-products of dairy farms that make business can be highly profitable.
Thus, farmers need to take prior consideration the overall cost of running the farm and profits. They can analyze different aspects of the dairy farming business.
Choose Livestock Breed Carefully
To maintain cattle livestock, you must consider their breeds and crossbred options, and you must decide which breed to produce for your income opportunities. Your production situation and goals will help determine which breeds to consider for marketing goals and milk production. Talk to experienced producers and breeders to identify which breed is right for dairy farming. Before starting your dairy farm, invest some time in research for choosing a breed of beef and cows.
The breed system is generally described according to the life stage of the production cycle:
■ Cow-calf systems focus on the production and sale of calves.
■ Seed stock systems use artificial insemination extensively and produce bulls and heifers.
■ Stocker systems typically purchase based on the pre-finishing weight phase.
■ Finishing systems focus on the feeding phase to produce cattle for marketing.
Method of Cattle Feeding
Feed is among the major cattle expenses; it is often up to 70% of the dairy farming cost. However, there are several categories of feed pasture, stored forages, concentrated grain, and balanced feed prepared by companies.
Cattle diets primarily constitute pasture and stored forages. Most beef cattle depend on pastures, the most economical method of feeding cattle. In contrast, nowadays there are many brands that ready cattle feed according to the nutritional requirements of the cow, beef, and calf raising. These nutritional feeds are composed of protein, vitamins, minerals, and other significant supplements to nurture them adequately. Growing animals require extra supplements for extra energy which they can attain from the high-quality feed.
Be sure to consider feed categories when raising because supplementary diets provide the opportunity to produce more milk and a healthy breed. If livestock is sufficiently sustained, it boosts production capabilities and will influence your profit margins.
Hence, feeding is the major contributor factor to improving production and reducing expenses. So, carefully determine the feed management system for optimal nutrition levels in cattle.
Ensure animals’ biosecurity & health
Livestock owners must provide safe and efficient handling of animals for health procedures. They must manage properly feeding, housing, and care for their cattle. They must ensure that animals receive proper vaccinations and other appropriate healthcare procedures for reproduction.
To develop an area to safely keep new additions or sick animals quarantined from the rest of the herd. Since new cattle could be more prone to diseases that can affect the other livestock. For healthy livestock, timely prevention and health program need to be taken to prevent them from disease and illness.
Vaccinate, deworm, delice, or treat animals to prevent illnesses and diseases from re-occurring. Another major preventive step is to ensure adequate feed and minerals for maintaining the good health of cattle stock.
In case of an emergency take help from a veterinarian for incurable animals.
Since the health of livestock is very important to recognize a good business reputation and sound production and health protocols.
Adopt Adequate Marketing Strategies
To create a thriving cattle production business, increase your network, and find new ways to run your farming business, you must familiar with marketing strategies.
It helps to promote your product and cattle breed including your pricing and information for creating sales and purchase channels. It is required to ensure profitability and to make timely changes in livestock. Marketing allows you to add new breeds to your farming stock.
Dairy farmers must develop strategic partnerships with other cattle operations to manage their businesses properly. Sufficient marketing creates healthy competition and helps in profit maximization. For ranching, profits business operations, and management skills are essential for any cattle producer.
Marketing in farming is required for improving efficiency, and maximizing your resources helps produce the best possible product. All you need to make complete evaluations and analyses regularly to ensure opportunities for areas for improvement. Farming marketing acts as a baseline to make informed decisions that can yield greater profits to dairy farmers.
The dairy industry in India is growing at a rapid rate consisting of 6.4 percent in the last five years. Its growth shows no sign of slowing down any time soon due to high per capita consumption. Since more people have started taking an interest in the dairy business. All it needs is the input cost of fodder, cattle management, stock category, breeding quality, etc.
Farmers may adopt the above-mentioned strategies for better prospects who aim to convert conventional farming into an enterprise.
