Milk Production:

Our government treats producing milk as an industry. We get milk from cattle. Let us observe the following pie diagram

* Cows          *  Buffaloes
* Donkey, Camel, Goat, Sheep

• From which animal we get maximum milk production?
• Name the areas, where people use camel milk?
• Have you ever seen people taking donkeys milk? Why was it preffered?
Generally farmers rear 1 to 5 cattle in small scale at their homes to produce milk. They supply fodder from their agricultural fields only

What are the types of fodder, farmers use at your village?
• How farmers preserve fodder for cattle after harvesting?
Let us observe the following graph. It Shows the rate of milk production in various countries. Observe the position of our country. Discuss in your class, why we are lagging behind in comparison to other countries.

Name of the country is not visible for discussion

Selection procedure:

Care should be taken while buying cattle for milk production. The following points should be kept in mind.

1.Select high milk producing varieties, either traditional or hybrid.

2. Observe 2 to 3 days for average milk production.

3. Number of yields (younger ones)

4. Body size, capacity of eating fodder and health.

5. Consult a veterinary doctor, an official of Director of animal husbandry.

• Some of our rural people are experts in identifying high producing varieties. Ask those people how they identify and write a report on their experiences.

Now a days adulterated milk is available in the market. Urea, flour and different types of substances are used to produce milk. These are packed and sent in to the market. How do you recognise the original milk? What are the tests administered to know the pureness of milk know from your teacher.

Practices in livestock keeping:

Being high milk yielding varieties, livestock (The animals that are used for milk and agriculture are called livestock) rearing is very important. Traditional livestock are becoming depleted because of hybrid varieties. Let us read the following case study to know how local breeders conserve their livestock. Let us read the following case study