NEED ASSESSMENT FOR CAPACITY BUILDING OF DAIRY FARMERS IN POST DELIVERY MANAGEMENT OF CALF

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The present study was assigned to determine the present status the dairy farmers about their calf management as it is the entry point of dairy farm initiation to make recommendation for development of small scales dairy farm. With this view, the empirical data were collected by using pre-tested questionnaire. The study was conducted at preselected (25+25) small dairy farms in Faridpur and Chittagong suburban area, and two months-long survey from 13th February to 13th March, 2015 & 29th July to 29 August, 2015. It appeared from the study that 40% farm owners belong to business class and remaining 60% to different categories. 46% took dairying as a side-business whereas only 54% took it as a main business enterprise. Major percentage of farm owner education level was Higher Secondary 44% and the average number of animal per farm was 13.01. The average monthly income of farm owners found in the study area was Tk. 4387. It was observed that farm owners had 85.4% crossbred (Indigenous cattle crossed with Friesian and Jersey) and was 14.6% indigenous cattle. Among the farmer 44% are trained & 56% are not properly trained in calf management. In case of small dairy farming, the farms were facing a lot of problems such as scarcity of feeds and fodder, high price of concentrate and lack of technical knowledge. Although the dairy cow owners face problems, the study observed that there were potentials particularly for the small dairy farmers. The farmers keeping 8-10 no. of crossbred cows professionally could earn a modest livelihood. However, the aim of raising calves is to find the best way to raise a healthy calf so that she will become a productive cow. The objective of this literature review was to determine the ideal management practices for raising a healthy calf from birth to weaning. This literature analyzed numerous articles that covered all aspects of calf management to determine the best practices for raising a dairy calf from birth to weaning. Raising calves can be difficult task for someone who does not understand the different elements that compose calf management.