From Grass to Glass: Achieving success in the dairy industry
File picture of milking in progress at a local farm.
I was intrigued by a recent dialogue on collaboration in the dairy industry where what I found missing was the lack of focus on grass. Let me explain why grass is the key element in improving the dairy industry.
The process of milk production begins with the cow. When a cow gives birth to a calf she will be able to produce milk. Because milk is made up of the nutrients in the food a cow eats and the water she drinks, eating is an essential step in the milk producing process.
The amount of milk a cow can produce is directly related to the quality and quantity of food which she eats. If quality and or quantity is lacking, the cow will respond by producing less milk. In the short term (say less than one week) the cow may mobilise her own body reserves in order to maintain her production of milk. If she is not fed sufficiently over a longer period both daily production and the length of lactation will be reduced, also the cow will be in a poor (thin) physical state.
According to available data released by the Department of Census and Statistics, the national herd has dwindled by 6.75 per cent during the 10-year period from 11,66905 in 2004 to 10,88110 in 2015. However the total number of milking cows recorded an increase by 4.75 per cent to 301,140 in  2015 from 217,168 in 2004.
If the calves had been looked after, today, we would have had over 500,000 milking cows or over 150 per cent increase from the present level. This assumption was made by a simple calculation following the criteria that 20 per cent of the cows will be annually culled or would die, 50 per cent of the calves born will be heifers, 10 per cent of deaths of heifers have been accounted for and 20 per cent of the heifers would be culled.
Lack of feedÂ
It has been reported that the country’s national herd had been static around 1million heads for the last 40 years. According to the same calculation, if the heifers were looked after for the last 40 years we would today have over 100,000 milking cows and enough milk to export.
The main reason for this situation is lack of feed where cows and even heifers have prematurely died. The birth weight of the heifers is poor and they do not gain the required weight which is also due to lack of feed.
There is no dispute that the main feed for cattle is grass. The data released by the Ministry of Livestock Development revealed that the total extend of land available for dry matter is 8,82,500 and total dry matter 17,71,500MT/YR. According to statistics in the Ministry Livestock Development Master Plan 2011 and the Department of Census and Statistics, the total amount of dry matter required for all ruminants including cattle is 1771 million/kg and shortage per annum is 2,306 million/kg According to available statistics, in Sri Lanka there is sufficient forage only for 43 per cent of the stock in the country and as a result of the lack of forage the country has lost 151 per cent of the heifers born during the last decade. (2004 -2014). Sri Lanka needs only about 600,000 cows at the present level of production to be self sufficient in milk. Within the last decade itself, we have lost around 350,000 cows due to lack of forage.
The lack of forage is not confined to the death of animals due to lack of nutrition. A Wellard report on dairy of Sri Lanka revealed that inconsistency of the supply of feed could adversely affect the milk curve.
The project report of Wellard Sri Lanka dated September 18, 2008 revealed, “In many ways, maintenance of quality over quantity is more important because a sudden precipitous decline in forage quality will result in a dramatic decline in daily milk production per cow. These temporary setbacks can quickly become permanent losses. Once cows are past peak yield, any decline in milk production can quickly become permanent. If for any reason for example attending a funeral, the farmer is unable to cut grass, the milk yield drops and it will never come up to the previous level in the curve”.
A study conducted by taking into consideration 131 calves revealed that they have not attained the required weight and lack of weight gain makes these calves either poor or useless cows.
Heifers do not come into heat or cows do not become pregnant. Ideally a cow should be in calf a minimum of two months after calving, but again due to lack of feed there are many unproductive cows. On checking 808 lactation cycles, it was found that more than half the cows were dry for over 80 days. Only a small fraction of 11 per cent has the calving interval correct.
Urgency for more forageÂ
Therefore it is evidently clear that lack of forage is the main reason for failure or lack of progress of the dairy industry. Limited land ownership by many dairy farmers constrains their ability to grow quality fodder for their cattle. Access to land for production of livestock forage and fodder is a critical issue if productivity gains in the sector are to be achieved.
Land-growing grass is generally considered to be a waste of land because there is little appreciation of the potential value of quality grass or fodder for dairy stock feed. However Sri Lanka could make use of the available land for the planting of grass and harness maximum benefits as it has sunshine and other resources
Tea and rubber industries are currently facing a crisis and 1/3 of the tea is said to be unproductive or underproductive when the fields are classified into A, B and C categories. There are about 100,000 Ha which could carry 500,000 heads of cattle. Good quality hay mixed with legumes could be planted in these lands.
Cost of planting a hectare of grass on the same basis as planting grass for rehabilitation of the land is Rs.500,000 and according to the Tea Research Institute, tea bushes need not be uprooted but cut at ground level for this project. Thereafter, upkeep including fertiliser would be about Rs.85,000 per hectare. The harvest will be 70 – 80,000 kg of dry matter or 320,000 kg of grass. Cost per kg after the year of planting will be 20 cents to 30 cents. There is at present in Hatton an offer to purchase at Rs. 4 per kg.
By planting and selling grass a profit of more than Rs. 1 million per hectare could be made. With the abundant sunshine available hay could be made so as to make it available to the farmers to feed the cattle in case there is a break in the supply of grass.  According to experts Prof Sujatha Premaratne and G.C.C.Premalal, with a good mix of legumes and grass 8 litres of milk could be harvested per day. Even if half that amount is harvested there will be a large saving on cost of poonac and imports of same to the country and a great economic benefit to the dairy farmer.
Financial assistance even over Rs. 100 million is available as a soft loan from the Central Bank for dairy development which includes planting of fodder. There are also tax concessions. Grass harvesting and hay baling machines are available in Sri Lanka. Irrigation could be done with animal driven water pumps as there are so many bulls idling.
Land is available with regional plantation companies who are willing to release the land for a project of this nature and land is also available with JEDB, SLSPC and capita and market know-how are available and only what is needed for a successful project is an entrepreneur, be it public or private. The collaboration to develop the grass will in turn have a tremendous impact in developing the dairy industry.
(The writer, who has decades of experience in the dairy industry, has worked at Whittall Bousted Ltd, Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation and has been a consultant at the Ministry of Plantation Industries and the National Livestock Development Board (NLDB). He can be reached on 071 8387895 or e-mail gamiweera@gmail.com)Â