Dairy Farming Business mainly revolves around milk ( a white liquid obtained from cows that is used to drink all over the world ).
Probably you have seen many people in YouTube videos saying they are earning in lakhs but have you ever thought what’s the reality?
Today, through this post I will share step by step process of starting a dairy farm & make it successful.
But first without wasting your time let me shows how I am earning 55,000 per month so that you can understand that I am not telling lie.
I have shared Bonus Tips at the end of the post which can make any dairy farming business successful with proof.👍👍
How I am Earning?
I have 6 cows & each gives 20 liters of milk per day, & one buffalo which gives 15 liters of milk per day.
So my total per day milk will be:
= 20 × 6 = 120 Liters
And for one month:
= 120 (per day total milk yield) × 30 (days) = 3600 liters
I sell my milk at the rate of 35 Rupees per liter, so my monthly money collection will be:
= (30 day milk yield) × (per liter milk rate)
= 3600 × 35
= 1,26,000 Rupees, this is not the actual earning as we need to exclude expenses from this amount.
Expenses on six cows
| Type of Expenses | Amount ( monthly cost ) |
| Transportation of milk to customers in city | 13,000 |
| Labour Cost | 10,000 |
| Electricty Cost | 1,000 |
| Cattle feed Cost | 40,000 |
| Fodder Cost | 14,000 |
| Total | 78,000 or 80,000 |
Total Profit = Total Monthly Collection – Total Cost
= 1,26,000 – 80,000
= 46,000 Net Profit.
Now, probably you are thinking that in the title of the post you have written 55,000 and here you are showing 46,000.
As all the work of six cows is done by my family members, so I don’t need to pay labour cost which is around 10,000 as mentioned in the above table & indirectly my profit is 55,000.🤠 ( No shame in doing cow work )
I haven’t added the income from cow dung otherwise the profit can go above 60,000.
I hope you have understand that how much a person can earn in this business, now’s let see everything from basics.
Cow vs Buffalo, which one to choose for dairy farming?
Many new farmers get into a dilemma that whether they should choose cows or choose buffaloes to start a dairy farming business.
Without having second thought I can say farmers should start cow dairy farming business rather than buffalo, because of the following reasons:
1. The demand for cow’s milk is higher all over India than buffalo, which means in cow farming you need to do less effort to sell your milk.
2. Buffaloes take a long time to come in heat while cows can easily come in heat in less than three months after calving.
3. The equipments related to buffaloes are costlier than cows for example milking machine.
4. The price of a buffalo is very high in comparison with a cow, & is almost equal to two cows’ price.
5. I can give 10 more reasons for this but the main thing is it’s far better to start with cow dairy farming than buffalo farming.
Pick Best Dairy Cow Variety
Always try to buy a cow that is giving 20 liters of milk per day, if you are trying to buy a cow with 5 or 10 liters of milk then your dairy farming business will stop soon.
Because these low milk cows give milk for 3 – 4 months after that they just stop giving milk, no matter how good feed you are giving to these cows.
But a 20 liters milking cow gives milk for 10 – 11 months and at least 4 times more than low milk cows.
I have 6 cows & all give more than 20 liters and I never faced any loss in them but I have faced loss in 5 liters milk cow, so choose cows wisely.🔍🔍
Now probably you are thinking that which variety of cow can I choose?
Always try to buy high milk yield cows from your nearby villages because these cows are resistant to the environment in which you are living.
If you bring cows from other states then they will be less resistant to your local environment and will get ill early.
With How many cows I can start dairy farming business?
The answer is simple if you have experience in cow rearing then you can go with 5 cows in starting & if you have zero experience in cow rearing then start with only one cow.
Some will suggest you to start a big dairy farming business like from 20 cows or more but it’s not good.
As per my knowledge, one cow is enough to learn rearing of cows like understanding her body, which diseases are affecting her, how many months she is giving milk, etc.
If you are starting cow farming in your house on your own then never try to rear more than 8 – 11 cows because if you go above this number then it will be very hard to manage them.
And remember that 10 high milk-yielding cows are enough for a person to earn an excellent amount of money, so take steps wisely. 🤑
Where to Sell Milk?
In the dairy farming business, the main income for the owner is from selling milk.
If he is getting less price for his yield then less profit for him & more challenges but if he can sell his milk at a high price then he will earn a good amount of money.
Here are two ways where every farmer can sell milk:
1. To dairy points: Many private, government, and cooperative companies work in dairy milk collection.
These companies have their milk collection points where they collect milk from farmers, you can contact them directly, they will send their vehicle to your house.
Make sure that your house is nearby the road so that the milk collection vehicle can come and collect milk easily.
These companies pay for milk based on the milk fat rate which keeps on changing but on an average, we can get a price of 27-28 rupees per liter.
When you sell milk to these companies then there are no transportation charges as they pick milk from our house or farm, so we can remove this from the ‘ expenses table ‘.
2. Sell in cities: If your relative or friends live in your nearby city then it’s very good, tell them about your project and also that you want to sell milk in their city.
They will themselves purchase milk from you and also help you to find customers.
The transportation charge which I mentioned in the ‘ Expenses table ‘ ( in the starting ) is of transferring milk from the dairy farm to cities which include the charge of petrol and an employee who drives the milk transportation bike.
You will not believe me, but you can get a very good price for your milk in urban/city areas, where dairy milk points give 26-28 per liter for cow’s milk but in cities, you can get 35-40 rupees per liter by providing door to door service.
Starting a Dairy Farming Business Properly
After you have decided which cow to buy and where to sell milk then now you need to bring & build some basic things for cows, which are as follows:
1. Buy the Best Cow Feed
There are hundreds of thousands of cattle feed manufacturer companies in India &, trust me I have tried many companies feed, for my cows but the results were not that much good as I expected.
My father is also running a Patanjali store in my nearby city & if you don’t know, then let me tell that Patanjali also manufactures cattle feed and they have a wide range of products for cattle.
I am not promoting or doing any kind of paid promotion, I’m just sharing my personal experience.
Here are some of the images of their Silver Ration feed which I use:
I use this feed for my cows because the packaging comes with a net 50kg weight and costs me around 20-21 rupees per kg at present when I am writing this (Price keep changing so check the latest price from their authorized dealer).
For a cow giving 22 liters of milk, I use to give 6 kg of this Patanjali cattle feed and 4 kg of coarse bajra flour.
Many of you are thinking that why coarse bajra flour? Bajra is rich in iron which increases the blood flow in the udder & directly increases the milk yield.
One another benefit of coarse bajra flour is that it helps a cow to give milk for long time and bajra is cheap as well. 🤑
Important: To make bajra coarse we need to purchase a stone atta chakki.
2. Bring a Cow Milking Machine
Most Indian dairy farmers don’t understand the importance of cow milking machines as they think that it can harm cow’s udder but it’s completely wrong.
I’m using a milking machine for my cows for the last 2 years & I have never faced any problems related to these machines, even my milk yield has increased in my cows.
The biggest mistake which I did in purchasing a milking machine is that I bought a tyre mounted machine, which can be easily carried from one place to another.
But it generates a very unpleasant sound, making cows not give milk properly.
Instead of this one can go with the milking machine which is placed in a room and only milking parts are left outside to reduce the sound of the machine.
This makes a cow to give milk properly without any disturbance.
3. Bring Fresh Water to Dairy farm
All humans drink fresh and clean water in a separate glass, like this cows also need to drink fresh & clean water.
A cow that is giving 20 – 25 liters of milk will at least need 100 liters of water throughout the day to produce milk and she will also require 20 – 30 liters of water for her overall health of the body.
As shown in the above image, with the help of a plumber you can set up a separate automatic water feeding system for each cow, which will help them to freely drink water all the day.
Make sure to build a water backup because let’s say you have five cows and suddenly the water motor stops, & now there is no other way to give water to cows.
So always build a water backup for your cows.
4. Green fodder vs Dry fodder
We cannot deny the importance of green fodder in the dairy farming business.
But the place where I live is in Rajasthan, where the availability of water is less and the available water is also salty which makes it unfavorable for grass to grow.
So can we make a cow dairy farming successful with green fodder?
Yes, but to make dairy farms successful with green fodder, we will need dry Fodder that is comparable to green fodder.
And this dry Fodder is of rice, Rice is grown on a large scale in Punjab and Haryana, so many farmers carry their rice fodder to Rajasthan, we as dairy farmer purchase from them.
Rice fodder is also known as Parali, so if you can buy Parali for your cows then that’s excellent.
But, if you have your own farm and good water availability then you can also grown green fodder, it will be very good for cows.
If you are feeding green fodder to your cows then make sure to forgive green fodder and dry fodder in equal proportion i.e half-half.👍
5. Build and bring some basic things
Here are some of the basic things which you will require in this business:
- Cow barn/shed.
- Buckets and bowls.
- Ear Tags.
- Halter.
6. Bring Cow Activity Meter
No one understands the importance of activity meters in India but these meters are very helpful.
Activity Meter helps a person to know his cows are in heat or not? and much other helpful information about his cows.
Probably you are thinking that which company will provide these meters in India?
The answer is in next point.
7. Select Best Company for equipments in dairy Farming Business
There is a saying in Rajasthan that ” Cheap Cry Again – again & Expensive Cry Once “.
This means if you buy cheap products then these will last only for short period but if you purchase authentic products then you just need to pay once and they will last for years.
This rule also implements in the dairy farming business, equipments are bought once so make sure to buy from a reputed company.
Delaval (nonaffiliate link & no paid promotion ) is the best company to buy cow-related equipments.
They offer many products like milking machines, activity meters, mastitis prevention liquids, automatic itching brushes, and many more.
So, you can check them.
Bonus Tips
1. Do Vaccinations: Vaccinations helps cow to build immunity against dangerous diseases & vaccination of FMD is very important, so make sure to vaccinate your cows on time.
2. Become a Veterinary Doctor: On my dairy farm, I spent a lot of money on the medical treatment of cows, so if you have time you can become a veterinary doctor and do free treatment of your cows. 🤑
3. Avoid buy heavy cows: I never try to buy cows that are giving more than 25 liters of milk per day, as these cows require more attention and caring, so I buy cows having 20 – 25 liters of milk.
4. Maintain Barn Temperature: In both winter and summer season, we need to keep the temperature of the barn under control, in summers I keep it from 15°C – 25°C and the same in winters.
This is the end of the post & I have written many posts on business ideas so make sure to check them.
Thanks👍
Disclaimer: All the information provided in this post is for educational purposes only. This site or I will not be responsible for any profit or loss in any business.