Core definition and economic significance
Cattle rearing forms an integral component of mixed and integrated farming systems.
- Primary Objectives: Commercial milk production, draught energy for agricultural tillage, dung for organic manure, and biogas energy.
- Income Diversification: Generates regular daily or weekly cash flow, buffering farming households against crop failure during droughts.
- Nutrient Recycling: Cattle convert fibrous crop residues (straw, stover) into high-value dairy protein and nitrogen-rich farmyard manure.
- Livelihood Support: Serves as a vital asset and safety net for small, marginal, and landless rural women farmers.
Major indigenous and commercial dairy breeds
India possesses rich genetic diversity in cattle and buffalo breeds adapted to tropical conditions.
- Indigenous Milch Breeds (Desi Cows): Gir (Gujarat), Sahiwal (Punjab/Haryana), Red Sindhi, and Tharparkar; celebrated for heat tolerance, disease resistance, and A2 milk quality.
- Commercial Dairy Buffaloes: Murrah (Haryana/Punjab), Mehsana, Nili-Ravi, and Jaffarabadi; primary contributors to India's total milk production with high milk fat content (6.5% to 8.5%).
- Crossbred Dairy Cows: Karan Fries, Holstein Friesian (HF) crosses, and Jersey crosses; capable of high daily milk yield under intensive management.
- Dual-Purpose & Draught Breeds: Kankrej, Ongole, Hariana, Hallikar, and Amritmahal selected for field traction and moderate milk.
Scientific housing, health, and government schemes
Modern management emphasizes animal welfare, biosecurity, and institutional credit linkages.
- Housing & Ventilation: Construct well-ventilated, dry sheds with non-slippery grooved concrete floors and adequate manger space (2.5 feet per cow).
- Feeding Management: Provide 20 to 30 kg green fodder (maize, berseem, napier), 5 to 7 kg dry roughage, and balanced concentrate feed with mineral mixtures daily.
- Mandatory Vaccinations: Immunize livestock regularly against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Hemorrhagic Septicemia (HS), and Brucellosis under the National Animal Disease Control Programme.
- Kisan Credit Card for Animal Husbandry: Working capital loans up to two lakh rupees with interest subvention for dairy farmers.
- Rashtriya Gokul Mission: Subsidies and assistance for indigenous breed development, artificial insemination, and sex-sorted semen.
Official source
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Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) ↗Related on KisanPe
Common questions
What is the meaning of cattle rearing in agriculture?
Cattle rearing is the care, breeding, and management of domesticated cows and buffaloes for dairy milk production, farm draft work, and organic manure.
Which indigenous Indian cow breeds are famous for milk yield?
Gir, Sahiwal, Red Sindhi, and Tharparkar are the most famous high-yielding indigenous dairy cow breeds in India.
Can dairy farmers get a Kisan Credit Card (KCC)?
Yes, the Government of India has extended KCC benefits to dairy and livestock farmers for meeting working capital expenses with interest subvention.
General guidance, not personal advice. For your farm, ask your local Krishi Vigyan Kendra or agriculture officer.
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