Feed Challenges - Dairy Farmers Pakistan

In the wake of exponential rising inflation feed and fodder cost has soared to an extent where dairy farmers are facing extreme difficulty in maintaining their herd health and milk quality. Cow fattening, i.e.  raising animals for meet has also become problematic; main essence being that animals are not gaining weight proportionate to their feed resulting in higher costs and lower weight gains. This is resulting overall loss to Dairy / Animal farms.

High protein diets such as Canola and / or Soybean meals have practically become impossible and no longer remain cost effective to feed the animals.  One reason for this remains that these high Protein concentrate feeds are usually imported and lack of foreign exchange with the Government, is not allowing import these items from abroad.

Wheat, Millet, Corn, although grown locally have also become redundant in the market due to soaring costs. It may be noted that low crop production of these basic commodities has led to their shortage for human consumption, thereby making it unavailable for use in animal feeds.

Local feeds thus available remain use of cotton seed meal (also declined due floods of Oct/Nov, 2022 in Sindh), mustard meal, wheat bran, wheat straw, molasses and a few others. Use of Silage as fodder also saw a rise in price in fall this year. 

In the light of the growing feed costs, Pines Dairy conducted a survey of alternate food energy and Crude Protein available in local feeds and fodder to come to an informative result whereby cost of feeds may be reduced while maintaining energy, crude protein and NDF can be maintained within allowable limits.

From the Table above it can be noted that at times of high inflation (or otherwise), necessary Metabolized Energy (ME) and necessary Crude Protein can be achieved from cheaper sources of Fodder and Feeds while maintaining a balance between Cost and Nutritional value.

A recommended fodder / feed ratio has been worked out at Pines Dairy that is based on percentage of fodder and feed input based on each available items Dry Matter (DM), ME, CP and NDF. A sample feed program being currently followed is given below.