Lhakpa Quendren

Tsirang—In Tsirang, at five in the morning, amidst heavy rain in Tsholingkhar, Buddha Mani Rizal begins his day with dairy farming chores. For the 45-year-old seasoned dairy farmer, rain or shine, this routine is just part of his daily life.

Twelve years ago, Rizal faced uncertainty about the future of his dairy farm as he gradually replaced Jersey cows with the Holstein-Friesian (HF) breed. He became the first dairy farmer in Tsirang to adopt the HF breed, which was not widely popular in the country at the time.

“I purchased two cattle from a farm in Gozhi, Dagana, each costing Nu 100,000, but unfortunately, one did not survive,” recalls Buddha Mani. “Since then, the remaining cow has given birth to 10 crossbred calves, two of which were sold for Nu 95,000 and Nu 100,000 each.”

Located about 40 metres below the Wangdue-Tsirang highway, his dairy farm houses seven cows, with four currently in milk production. Three cows are pregnant, and the others are in the raising stage. They were crossbred with Jersey cows because artificial insemination for HF breeds was unavailable at that time.

“Each cow produces about six to seven litres of milk in the morning and nine to 10 liters in the evening,” he adds. “When the cows give birth, the production increases to 50 litres a day.”

Discussing the importance of consistent timing for production, Rizal believes that milking a bit later, around 7 pm in the evening, can result in higher milk production.

“It is better to raise one HF cow than two Jersey cows,” says Buddha Mani as he places the milk bucket under the udder for milking. Not many can afford to raise HF breeds despite their high milk production. The reason – HF cows require constant care and are costly.

If the government supports subsidies to raise HF breeds, Rizal believes milk production in the country could increase. “Tsholingkhar alone could produce over 1,000 litres of milk per day.”

As he walks through muddy surroundings, his focus remains on the well-being and productivity of the livestock.

“I clean the shed three times daily for hygiene,” he explains, disposing of manure into the biogas facility below and cleaning the shed with water.

Livestock is the main income source for his family of seven, including three children. His monthly income of Nu 35,000 covers household essentials and supports expenses for his two school-going children. The dairy farm also helped him build a two-storeyed concrete house with a spacious kitchen nearby.

“The evening milk production is reserved for self-consumption and the sale of dairy products, while the morning production is delivered to the milk processing unit at Damphu town,” shares Rizal.

By 6 am, Rizal completes his dairy farming tasks, showers, and then proceeds for milk collection. At around 6:30 am, along the roadside, the other dairy farmers waited for his dark-green single-cabin Bolero to arrive for delivery.

“This is my seventh year as a delivery man,” he says, describing his job as profitable. He provided door-to-door delivery for two years before the milk-processing unit was established.

He maintains a list of milk he collects from each household and receives payment at the end of the month. With Nu 4 per litre for delivery and collecting about 470 litres a day, he earns between Nu 40,000 and Nu 50,000 a month.

After returning from milk collection by 11 am, he cleans the shed once, feeds the cows, and then engages in other farming activities, such as paddy cultivation, in the afternoon.

Tsholingkhar’s senior livestock supervisor, Sangay Thinley, said that a few dairy farmers in other gewogs are also raising HF breeds. “In India, a cow produces about 23 litres of milk a day. However, when they arrive here, their production declines. They demand high maintenance.”

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