Dairy Farming Practices followed by Different Categories of Dairy Farmers in South Western Punjab

This investigation was undertaken to study the adoptability of various recommended practices and major constraints faced by dairy farmers in adoption of improved dairy technologies in Bathinda and Mansa districts of Punjab. A total of 78 dairy farmers belonging to small, medium and large categories were selected for the collection of data. It was noticed that that majority of the large dairy farmers and very few small farmers have adopted the recommended package of practices. 80.8 per cent of the small dairy farmers reported lack of knowledge as the major constraint in the adoption of recommended dairy farming practices followed by the nonavailability of improved cattle breeds, buffaloes and breeding bulls. On the other hand, 73.1 per cent of the farmers selected for this study expressed high cost of inputs as the major problem in dairy farming. Similarly, availability of poor quality of feed was the major problem for both the medium as well as large category dairy farmers. Majority of medium category farmers’ informed about the non availability of improved breeds. Very few small and medium category farmers had adopted cow dung disposal and management practices.