MADURAI: Overall milk procurement of the Madurai division of Aavin has fallen around 20,000 litres per day for the past one week amid rising temperatures and scarce availability of water following scant rain recently.
The daily procurement was 1.7 lakh litres per day 10 days ago, said official sources, adding it is currently 1.5 lakhs litres only.
Milk farmers claimed the rising hot weather has affected cattle, especially in the Usilampatti taluk as well as the Chellampatti and Sedapatti blocks in Madurai district, leading to declining milk output.
Speaking to TNIE, M Palaniappan, a former director of the Madurai District Cooperative Milk Producers Union, explained how heat impacts numerous animals, including cows and buffalos.
“As most cattle are kept on the farmland, hot weather combined with warm air affects them significantly. Many animals tend to reduce their feed intake, and some exhibit panting along with excess saliva loss. These conditions particularly result in a reduction of milk yield by 10-25 percent, depending on each animal’s health.
Additionally, the nutritional quality of the milk, including fat and protein content, declines. Consequently, milk production from these animals decreases by at least 1-2 litres per day, contributing to a drop in overall milk production across the entire district,” said Palaniappan.
Tamil Nadu Milk Farmers Association (Madurai) President AC Venmani Chandran said the lack of grass and pasture land has adversely affected the food needs of cattle.
“There is less availability of water in Usilampatti and Sedapatti in the past two weeks. Currently, this has affected all kinds of cattle, including cows. Average milk production from each cow is 7-8 litres per day, but this has dropped five to six litres per day.
For example, the Melamatharai Milk Cooperative Society (Usilampatti) has recorded a drop of 70 litres per day. More than 300 milk cooperative societies in Usilampatti, Chellampatti and Sedapatti contribute more than 70 percent of milk to the Aavin (Madurai). More importantly, this condition
will worsen in the upcoming days in these blocks.”
According to various sources, all rural segments of Usilampatt and Chellampatti are experiencing water scarcity. Even ponds and small lakes have dried up, affecting agricultural farmlands and animal husbandry.
These areas witnessed only sparse rains in the recent days even as the temperatures were in the range of 35-38 degrees Celsius.
Officials from Aavin (Madurai) confirmed hot weather as the reason for the drop in daily milk procurement. Speaking to TNIE, a top official from the Aavin (Madurai), said: “Generally, milk procurement in Aavin (Madurai) stands at 1.70 lakh litres, but for the past one week, the milk production dropped by 20,000 litres per day.
This drop was particularly from three areas: Usilampatti, Chellampatti and Sedapatti. It has affected the overall milk procurement for Aavin. This is primarily blamed on the hot climatic situation in these blocks. The present procurement is only 150,000 litres per day.”
A top official from the Animal Husbandry Department said, “Local milk farmers have been advised to create insulated shelters near open spaces. Furthermore, grazing should be avoided after 11 am. Also, more concentrated feed has to be given to avoid dehydration.”
