Daily milk production in the state is seeing a surplus by 28 lakh litre, with drastic rise in contributions from the drought-hit talukas like Jat and Mann leading to a massive production of milk powder. Of the 1.13 crore lakh litres of milk being produced a day, 28 lakh litre is surplus.

Baramati: In a region where farmers either work in the fields or breed cows, milk production is the indicator for the impact of the drought on the latter section. Many dairy farmers in Baramati’s so-called dry zone have sold their cows in the absence of enough water to feed them but, because of the complexity of the equations involved, supply does not reflect whatever effect that has had on production.

Baramati is divided 40:60 between the green zone of agriculture and the dry zone where water is always short and where dairy farming is the primary source of livelihood.

Chandigarh: Like record wheat harvest, the production of milk, too, is unusually high this year. But that hasn’t brought smiles on the faces of dairy farmers who are reeling under the ban imposed on the export of skimmed milk powder. As a result, most private players in the industry are not ready to buy milk from dairy farmers. This, in turn, has burdened Milkfed, Punjab’s dairy cooperative, which can’t say no to milk procurement. The Milkfed and two other big companies have been forced to buy excess milk.

SHILLONG, May 10 – The Central Silk Board (CSB) and State Space Application Centres has taken up a project to extend the silk cultivation area in the State to meet the growing demand of silk in the country thereby provide employment in the rural areas of the State. The current demand for silk is 30,000 ton but the country produces about 23000 ton, according to the CSB. The board is trying to extend the cultivation of silk in non-traditional areas like Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, etc.

The local administration in Gorkha has banned import of poultry in the district after more than 200 chickens died in Jaubari and Gokhu VDCs recently. Authorities suspect that bird flu may have killed the chickens.

Samples of the dead fowl have been sent to the Capital for tests. As a preemptive measure, the remaining fowls at the two farms were also slaughtered recently. A meeting held at the District Administration Office has decided to inspect the coops for possible infection.

The Supreme Court Wednesday issued notice to the central and five state governments on a petition seeking complete curb on the sale and supply of synthetic and adulterated milk and its products like ghee, khoya and paneer. An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia issued notice on a petition by Swamy Achuthananda Tirth seeking direction to the centre and state governments to ensure the supply of healthy, hygienic and natural milk and milk products.

Chandigarh: Introduced barely three months ago, sexed semen which helps dairy farmers get only female calves from their cows is already a rage. The state had imported 5,000 sexed semen straws from the US three months ago under a pilot project. There is a demand for more even as farmers are scurrying to get hold of the last few remaining semen straws.

A South Korean delegation will conduct a week-long review this week of U.S. mad-cow safeguards and will meet with the top U.S. animal health official on Tuesday in the wake of a new U.S. case of the brain-wasting disease.

A USDA spokesman said it is routine for trading partners to seek details about animal disease outbreaks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote to 28 countries, including major importers, last week to assure them U.S. beef is safe to eat.

Deadly new castle disease has played havoc with the commercial poultry farms by perishing 44.59 million broilers during last five-month, incurring a total loss of about Rs 6 billion in Punjab.

Vice Chancellor of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha said speaking at a meeting on New Castle Disease and its control held at Syndicate room of UVAS here on Thursday.

The civic hospitals in the city are running out of anti-rabies vaccines for the past five days due to the delay in putting the purchase order by the municipal administration. Raising the issue at the general body meeting of the BMC on Monday, BJP corporator Vinod Shelar accused the civic administration of being insensitive towards the health issues of patients. “Since the administration has not placed the purchase order in time, people affected by dog bites are left to fend for themselves. It seems as if the administration is playing with the lives of patients,” he said.