Adoption gap of scientific management practices among the commercial dairy farmers of Punjab

Abstract

Result revealed that although of the respondents fell under low and medium adoption gap categories for most of the scientific management practices but still major adoption gap percentage was found in health care (47.4%), feeding management (42.9%) and calf management (31%). The health care practices which were not followed included screening of herd for mastitis and tuberculosis. Medium gap in feeding practices was observed in silage making, processing of feed and UMMB feeding. Practice of calf scour management was sometimes followed by majority of the respondents. Other practices which were never followed by majority of the respondents include practice of availability of foot dips at entrance, feeding milk replacer to calves, milking animals in milk barn and insurance of animals. State animal husbandry department, dairy cooperatives and farmers organisation working in those areas should disseminate knowledge about fodder preservation, health care and hygiene of animals as well as clean milk production which in return would prevent them from incurring economic losses due to disease outbreak and fetching them high price for the clean milk produced.