Dairy News

Animal husbandry dept promotes fodder trees among dairy farmers

Saturday, 25/07/2015

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Animal-husbandry-dept-promotes-fodder-trees-among-dairy-farmers/articleshow/48209516.cms

MADURAI: The animal husbandry department has come out with a proposal to promote fodder trees along with the usual fodder crops among dairy farmers through subsidies. They have planned to distribute tree saplings that can be used as green fodder for livestock.

Fodder trees have also found a place in the list of subsidies announced by the department for this year recently.

According to the department, dairy farmers will be given subsidy as saplings of tree species like velvel (accacia leucophloea), poovarasu (thespesia populnea), glyricidia (glyciridia maculata), vagai (albizzia lebbek), kalyanamurungai (erythrina indica), vembu (Azadirachta indica), kodukkapuli (pithecellobium dulce) and agathi (sesbania grandiflora).

These trees will be very beneficial when there is a shortage of green fodder, especially during drought, an official said.

Joint director of animal husbandry (Madurai) R Gopinath said tree species are added as subsidy from this year onwards so as to promote them as green fodder among dairy farmers. Already farmers use agathi leaves as regular green fodder. "The fodder trees are useful for dairy farmers, especially to those who rear goats," he said.

According to the department, 65 to 70 % cost in dairy farming is spent on green fodder to livestock.

Green fodder is important component to improve milk production but there is vast gap between its production and demand.

In order to bridge this gap, the state government has been promoting green fodder cultivation in large scale among dairy farmers through its subsidies.

An official said aathi is one of the important fodder trees the department plans to promote. The department has urged farmers to collect fodder tree saplings and raise them in their farms.

However, promoting all these native species in areas especially irrigated by well water will be useful, dairy farmers opine. Tamil Nadu Dairy Farmers Association district secretary A Muthupandi said fodder trees will be very useful during summer months and drought years.

"Fodder trees could be saved with minimum water when compared to fodder grass varieties which require large quantity of water," he pointed out.

Dairy farmers feel fodder trees should be promoted among farmers. These trees can be raised even on the boundaries of farms and benefit milch animals.

Interested farmers can approach government veterinary doctors in their areas to submit their petitions to get subsidies. As usual, 30 % reservation will be applicable to SC/ST farmers.