Our Approach
We always try to translate scientific information into workable and easily understandable form so that entrepreneurs can have more confidence in their investments. Growing demand – supply gap in the meat industry is not hidden. Bands of goats which depend on grazing are now facing trouble because of shrinking pastures. Intensive farming in organized farms is the just solution for this problem. However, stall feeding is not an easy task to get desired goals of profit when inputs are much expensive.
A detail of each and every gram of organic matter which reaches from plant to animal is the basic criteria which we follow while calculating the returns and during establishment of farms. As an understanding of ecological principle that only 10% of the energy pass from one tropic level to the next is very proved to be very useful while formulating the inputs.
Input means cost of FEED + HEALTH + MANAGEMENT. FEED costs 70% of the total inputs. Efficiency in feeding is the main area of focus which should be discussed before everything else. However this is an advantage with ruminants as they are designed by nature to eat much available low cost cellulose & convert into high priced protein in the form of milk & meat.
Which fodder crop should be sown in a farm???
It is better to propagate leguminous crop in a farm compound with some non-leguminous crop. We will calculate all the fodder need in reference to its berseem equivalents. In most of the Indians breeds which we recommend for meat production, maintenance as well as production needs are fulfill by only giving leguminous forage i.e. barseem (for all other fodders you can write us for berseem equivalents according to your needs & availability);
- At 10kg body weight TDN & DCP requirement is 159 gm & 15 gm respectively. These are themaintenance requirements according to ICAR.
- Feeding is done @ 4.5% of the body weight i.e. 450 gm
- 1kg of the fresh berseem has 150 gm Dry Matter (850 gm moisture) with 70% TDN & 17.5% DCP.
- 3kg berseem provides 450 gm DM = 315 gm TDN + 79 gm DCP; these figures are far more than maintenance requirement (under stall fed system, animal should not waste its energy by roaming in the farm)
- Spare nutrients are 315 – 159 = 156 TDN & 79 – 15 = 64 DCP
- Now for optimum growth @ 70 gm per day additional nutrients are required @ 150 gm TDN & 20 gm DCP.
- In this calculation we have seen that there is no need to give anything else than quality green fodder; under farm conditions 1 kg berseem costs around Rs 2/- at most.
- Total cost Rs 6/- per day; as feeding is 70% of the total cost of production than we can speculate total daily expenses nearly Rs 8.5/- day (± 2) under different phases of growth.
Following graphs shows comparative value of different cultivated fodders under farm conditions.
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Berseem is sown in mid September to end October & can be harvest in 60 days
Cow pea is sown in February – March & available in May – June.
Best combination is Berseem + Oat/Barley in winters & Cow pea + Maize/Sorghum in summers
Berseem grown in 1 acre of land is sufficient for 100 days for the band of 70 adult goats.