New diet regime for calves
Beneficial and cost effective, says cooperative that introduced feed
a milk cooperative in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, has bagged a patent on one of its products that cuts the cost of calf rearing by half. The cooperative, popularly called Gokul, after its brand of milk products, has launched two calf-rearing products: milk-replacer and calf starter. The group, Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dugdha Utpadak Sangh, is yet to apply for a patent for the calf starter.
Rearing calves is expensive, said R R Patil, animal husbandry head of Gokul. A calf in the first three months requires milk equivalent to around one-tenth of its body weight. For example, a 25-kg calf would need 2.5 litres of milk everyday for proper growth. Monetarily, this means spending about Rs 50 every day on milk alone.