Dairy Pulse 175th Edition

(1st to 15th February, 2023)

Content
Blog ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Market led poverty alleviation-Mart’s Mantra for rural development .................................................. 12
Indian News..................................................................................................................................... 14
Vipul Patel elected as chairman of Amul Dairy ....................................................................................... 14
Lord Krishna’s message on cows is still relevant’-Rupala at GIS UP ....................................................... 15
Four of Congress’s Amul Dairy directors join BJP in Gujarat .................................................................. 15
Himachal to have chilling points at cluster level for milk collection....................................................... 16
Milk prices increased due to rise in fodder cost: Sanjeev Balyan ........................................................... 17
Dairy start-up MoooFarm to launch online milk sales as expansion ...................................................... 17
Celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’: Animal Welfare Board .......................................................... 19
94% acquittal rate under Haryana’s cow slaughter law in Nuh .............................................................. 20
Boosting Dairy Industry in J&K: Holistic Program to focus on AI ............................................................ 22
4 in 10 households have cut down or stopped buying milk ................................................................... 24
No panchayat would lack milk dairy society in next 5 years .................................................................. 25
Milk prices may continue to rise until Diwali says RS Sodhi ................................................................... 26
White Revolution of India—Myths and Reality ...................................................................................... 27
Cornell, EDF aim to reduce methane output for India’s dairies ............................................................. 30
Amul hikes milk prices by ₹3 per litre; Gujarat exempted...................................................................... 32
National Workshop on Water Management in Dairy Industry ............................................................... 33
Livestock sector Catching Up in Recent Years ........................................................................................ 35
Fintech for Women’s Financial Inclusion – Indian Dairy Sector.............................................................. 36
National Farmers Training on Smart Dairy Farming at VKCoE ................................................................ 41
Akshayakalpa Organic -Signature Dairy Farming in Tamil Nadu ............................................................. 42
Global News .................................................................................................................................... 45
FAO, WHO Report on Food Safety of Water Reuse in Dairy ................................................................... 45
Saputo prioritises value over volume to keep dairy “affordable” .......................................................... 47
Milk price reaches Rs210 a litre in uncertain economic conditions ....................................................... 48
Solid performance and sustainability action in volatile year by ARLA .................................................... 50
Israeli development to change how we consume dairy products .......................................................... 53
Remilk defers plan for world’s largest precision fermentation facility .................................................. 54
Global dairy prices improves at GDT auction on Feb 7th ....................................................................... 56
Can Danone reach its climate goals without scaling own farming? ....................................................... 57
16 Arrested For Adulteration In Milk ...................................................................................................... 59
Drive Launched Against Adulterated Milk .............................................................................................. 59
Dairy among Iowa rural projects receiving federal funding ................................................................... 60
Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition launches with $365,000 in awards .................... 61
A Florida dairy farm lost 360 cows in Hurricane Ian. Can the damaged business survive?.................... 62
Spilt milk? Why are the US and Canada fighting over dairy? ................................................................. 63
Forget Cows and Almonds—Lab-Grown Dairy Is the Future of Milk ...................................................... 64
 Blog
Market led poverty alleviation-Mart’s Mantra for rural development
FEB 17, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/market-led-poverty-alleviation-only-mantra-for-rural-development/
schemes and high cost of living in urban areas.
This has also created huge demand for FMCG in
rural areas along with higher inflation in FMCG
rates.
At the end Dr Amar Patnaik shared his thoughts
on the road to rural transformation from a pol-
icy and advocacy perspective. He gave a three
step formula of –

M
art , an organisation founded by Mr
Creating equity
Pradeep Kashyap (also known as fa-
Consciousness towards climate crisis and
ther of rural India), celebrated its
Maintaining the sanctity of Democracy
30th anniversary yesterday. Mr Kashyap em-
Now, I would like to apply these points in the
phasised on developing a market led eco sys-
life of Laxmi – my brave woman dairy farmer.
tem for the rural folks. He said that rural mar-
Equity through inclusion
keting should not act as a one way street to ex-
The equity is attained through unbiased inclu-
tract money out of the rural masses. He said
sion of all sections of rural society. Women cre-
that all the inputs for Roti Kapada and Makaan
ate the social capital of both rural and urban In-
comes from Rural India and contribution of ru-
dia . A rural woman shows almost three times
ral labour is commendable.
higher participation in contributing to a family’s
The first session had some good insights which I
income than their urban counterpart. However
would like to share with you now. It was moder-
the urban woman is more righteous in getting
ated by great thought leader Sh Arun Maira ji .
her share from the family income.
Dr Amar Patnaik , Rajya Sabha member and Dr
In the dairy ecosystem Laxmi is considered as a
Pronab Sen Ex Chief statistician GOI were other
part of financial inclusion drive but on paper
participants.
only. The proceeds of milk come in her joint ac-
Anonymity versus Community
count with her husband. There is no control of
Mr Maira distilled the initial thoughts by relat-
Laxmi on this income thus zero equity in social
ing Urban with anonymity and rural with com-
capital thus built up in the dairy space.
munity. It is so true in today’s context. How
Climate crisis
many of us really know about our next door
“A wound that goes unacknowledged and un-
neighbour(s)? The road to rural transformation
wept is a wound that cannot heal” are the
goes through achieving scale at a good speed
golden words by John Eldredge. Same is true
without impacting the environment.
with our orientation towards the climate crisis,
Dr Pronab Sen shared very interesting data on
which is waiting over the next turn. We are not
reverse migration during Covid and subsequent
even acknowledging the severity of methane
status on rate of urbanisation. He said that
emissions on one hand and focussing on low
practically for the last few years the rate of ur-
yielding indigenous cattle on the other. Low
banisation is happening at a very low pace. Op-
yielding cattle may have higher methane emis-
portunities in rural areas, government support
sion.
The government has allocated Rs 1.75 Lakh
crore subsidy on chemical fertilisers. The alloca-
tion to support organic or natural farming can
be seen under the GOBARdhan Scheme in es-
tablishing Bio gas plants only. The allocation is
around Rs 10000 crores in next three years.
However next year is an election year and there
may be a change in allocation again. This alloca-
tion is around 58 times lesser than the one
given to chemical fertilisers.
True Democracy
Let us examine two news articles which were
prominently placed in almost all national dailies
in the last week. Firstly it was about 4 political
leaders in some state dairy cooperative who
joined the ruling party. Two days later there
was news that the ruling party in that state has
got full control over a state dairy union for the
first time in history.
The democracy in cooperative society is defined
as by the farmer, of the farmer, for the farmer.
It can never be defined as by the party, for the
party, of the party. There are doubts that such a
noise by the ruling party would do justice to the
demand of true democracy at rural level.
I thank all the eminent speakers and especially
Pradeep ji, (who also mentored me to become
at least a learner in rural space and inclusion in
last two decades) for their wonderful insights
and sharing.
I would seek inputs from all of you on how to
transform the life of Laxmi and of the rural eco-
system through her.I also wish Team Mart and
Pradeep ji with Purpose, Peace and Prosperity
on their 30th anniversary.
 Indian News
Vipul Patel elected as chairman of Amul Dairy
FEB 15, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/vipul-patel-elected-as-chairman-of-amul-dairy-reign-of-ramsinh-parmar-ends/
Yogendra Parmar who is the ousted Amul Dairy
chairman Ramsinh Parmar’s son—from the same
seat.
The elections which are being held after a gap of
2.5 years were a straightforward affair after five
of the directors, in the 15-member Board, quit
the Congress and joined BJP in the last two

T
he BJP’s Anand district unit president
weeks. Kanti Sodha was the first to leave. There-
Vipul Patel was elected Tuesday as the
after, Gautam Chauhan, Sita Chandu Parmar,
new chairman of the Kaira District Coop-
Sharda Patel, and Ghela Mansinh Zala all joined
erative Milk Producers’ Union Limited—the old-
the BJP.
est milk cooperative of Gujarat popularly known
Currently, there are only two Congress party
as Amul Dairy. Patel’s election brings to an end
leaders left on the Board of Directors—including
the reign of Ramsinh Parmar, an OBC, who held
Rajendrasinh Parmar and Sanjay Patel.
the post of the cooperative’s chairman for al-
“Ramsinh Parmar was instrumental in helping
most 20 years.
the directors aligned with the Congress party to
Kanti Sodha Parmar, who quit the Congress and
shift over to the BJP. However, when the party’s
joined the BJP on January 30, has been elected
mandate for the elections came today, it was not
as the vice-chairman of the cooperative. Kanti
in Ramsinh’s favour,” a source in the Kaira coop-
Sodha replaces Rajendrasinh Parmar of the Con-
erative told The Indian Express.
gress party who had held the post of its vice-
Ramsinh Parmar, who quit the Congress and
chairman since 2006.
joined the BJP in 2017, had continued to hold the
While Vipul Patel heads a district cooperative
post of chairman. In the 2022 Assembly elections
bank and an Agricultural Produce & Livestock
in Gujarat, the BJP had given his son Yogendra a
Market Committee (APMC) in the state’s Anand
ticket to contest from the Thasra constituency.
district, Kanti Sodha had won the 2017 Assembly
Parmar won the elections against Congress can-
elections from the Anand seat on a Congress
didate Kanti Sodha Parmar.
ticket. In the 2022 polls, he lost to his BJP rival—
Lord Krishna’s message on cows is still relevant’-Rupala at GIS UP
FEB 12, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/lord-krishnas-message-on-cows-is-still-relevant-rupala-at-gis-up/
I
nviting people to invest in UP’s dairy sector,
Union minister for fisheries, animal hus-
bandry and dairy minister Parshottam Ru-
pala said that Lord Krishna’s message to the
world that if you take care of cows then cows will
take care of you, was relevant even today.
Promising to give 500 mobile veterinary units to
UP in March, the minister said: “This message of
Lord Krishna is effective even today. Animal hus-
bandry is not new to India. Cows have been nur-
tured in India, especially in Gokul of Uttar Pra-
desh, since the time of Lord Krishna.” Elaborat-
ing on the possibilities available for investment
in UP’s dairy sector, the minister added that UP
tops in milk production in the whole country and
through use of technology, the state could play
an important role in milk production at the
Four of Congress’s Amul Dairy directors join BJP in Gujarat
FEB 12, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/four-of-congresss-amul-dairy-directors-join-bjp-in-gujarat/
I
n a setback to the Congress, four directors
of Amul Dairy—formerly Kaira District Coop-
erative Milk Producers Union—belonging to
the party joined the BJP in presence of state
global level. He emphasised on UP’s law and or-
der situation, saying that it had inspired people
from across the world to invest in the state and
credited CM Yogi Adityanath for having become
a source of inspiration in the whole country.
UP minister for animal husbandry and dairy
Dharampal Singh said that the cow “was not only
a mother but a bestower of fortune”. Giving a
glimpse into the state’s dairy policy and innova-
tions, the minister said that 25 sectoral policies
had been introduced in UP to invite investments.
The UP Dairy Development and Milk Product
Promotion Policy-2022 was a crucial document
in this regard, which aimed at promoting milk
production, helping farmers, improving the qual-
ity of cows and thereby milk. The policy, he said,
was aimed at protection of cows and also ensur-
ing an increase in the income of cattle rearers.
“UP is inspired by a strong democracy, power of
youth and political stability. That is why there is
ease of living and ease of doing business in the
state. A stable and decisive government, a gov-
ernment run by good intentions, is ensuring de-
velopment at an unprecedented pace,” he said.
president C R Paatil in Gandhinagar on Saturday,
bringing down the party tally to three.
The four Amul directors are from Anand and
Kheda districts— Gautam Chauhan (Mehmeda-
bad), Sita Chandu Parmar (Tarapur), Sharda Hari
Patel (Kapadvanj) and Ghela Mansinh Zala (Kath-
lal).
The Congress, which won eight of the 11 seats in
the September 2020 polls, has now been re-
duced to three seats as former Anand MLA Kanti
Sodha Parmar, also an Amul director, had al-
ready quit the party and joined the BJP.
At the event in Gandhinagar, BJP state general
secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela told reporters,
“The directors have joined the BJP to be able to
work for the cattle owners in the districts of
Anand and Kheda as well as parts of Mahisagar…
They have joined the BJP with aspirations as they
have earlier been part of the Congress, which
had controlled cooperatives for many years and
misused the funds and power of the coopera-
tives. However, in the past two years, the BJP has
Himachal to have chilling points at cluster level for milk collection
FEB 12, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/himachal-pradesh-to-have-chilling-points-at-cluster-level-for-milk-collection/
H
imachal Pradesh Chief Minister Su-
khvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday said
that the dairy sector in the state will be
strengthened under National Programme for
Dairy Development (NPDD), in a big way.
The Himachal Pradesh CM on Friday held a meet-
ing with the Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal
Husbandry & Dairy, Parshottam Rupala in the na-
tional capital.
Sukhu urged the Union Minister for a dairy pro-
ject for the state in which components of chilling,
transportation and dairy products were availa-
ble.
“Chilling points would be set up at cluster level
in villages for collection and storing milk from the
farmers and thereafter it will be transported
through refrigerated milk vans to the Mother
plant at district levels,” said Sukhu.
won more than 300 cooperative elections includ-
ing banks, dairies, most of the APMCs, and trad-
ers’ associations. The party is now running these
cooperatives with good governance and the
stakeholders, especially cattle owners, are bene-
fiting. Therefore, the directors are joining the BJP
slowly.”
Vaghela said that while most directors had al-
ready joined the BJP, the others may soon follow
suit. “Some who are remaining may also change
their mind in due course. The decision is made
by the individual directors voluntarily,” he
added.
The Chief Minister said that emphasis will be laid
for making milk products so as to ensure better
prices to the farmers.
He said that to learn cooperative mechanism
skills, the State will facilitate exposure visits of
the farmers to Gujarat. In India, dairying is rec-
ognized as an instrument for social and eco-
nomic development.
“The process of procurement, processing, and
marketing of milk and milk products through the
State implementing agency or State co-operative
dairy producer’s societies will be strengthened,”
said Sukhu, adding that Animal husbandry and
dairying play a significant and integral role in
strengthening the rural economy.
The Union Minister has assured for funding the
project as soon as the detailed project report is
received in the Ministry, said the Chief Minister.
Chief Minister also requested for releasing the
pending amount of about Rs 15 crore to the state
on account of LiveStock Insurance scheme.
Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Sanjay Awasthi,
Political Adviser to Chief Minister, Sunil Sharma,
OSD to Chief Minister, KS Banshtu, Resident
Commissioner, Meera Mohanty, Principal Pri-
vate Secretary to CM, Vivek Bhatia were also pre-
sent in the meeting. (ANI)
Milk prices increased due to rise in fodder cost: Sanjeev Balyan
FEB 12, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/milk-prices-increased-due-to-rise-in-fodder-cost-union-minister-balyan/
M
ilk prices in the country have risen
due to increase in the feed and fod-
der cost, Union Minister Sanjeev Ku-
mar Balyan said in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Balyan, who is Minister of State of Fisheries, An-
imal Husbandry and Dairying, said dairy compa-
nies pass on 75 per cent of the retail price to
farmers. There is a need to balance between
farmers and consumers. Farmers need to get
Dairy start-up MoooFarm to launch online milk sales as expansion
FEB 12, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/dairy-start-up-mooofarm-to-launch-online-milk-sales-expand-operations/
D
airy sector start-up MoooFarm plans to
provide full-stack service for cattle
growers by soon launching services to
sell milk online, besides expanding its opera-
tions.
“We are planning to help dairy farmers sell their
milk through our online platform. We launched a
pilot project in Punjab’s Nabha district a month
ago and plan to continue it for another two
higher returns on milk for them to take up dairy
farming, he said.
In the recent time, there has been increase in the
prices of feed and fodder due to which prices of
milk have gone up. If fodder rates come down,
automatically milk prices will also decline, the
minister added.
Replying to another supplementary question,
Balyan said three private firms are conducting
trial of a vaccine developed by Hisar-based ICAR
institute for the control of Lumpy Skin Disease
(LSD) in cattle.
“The trial is underway. I am hopeful after the
trial, the vaccine will be commercialised soon,”
he added.
Milk prices have been hiked multiple times by
leading suppliers in the last one year.
months. Once we are ready, we will launch it full
scale and extend it to Rajasthan,” said Abhijeet
Mittal, Chief Growth Officer (CGO), MoooFarm.
The Gurgaon-based tech start-up has roped in
corporate companies such as Hindustan Unilever
Ltd to purchase the milk offered by farmers
online. “We will collect the milk in the vicinity of
HUL. The benefit is that it will get quality milk as
we have total control over the cattle, from the
herd to nutrition to everything,” said Mittal.
Making dairy profitable
MoooFarm, which won Start-up India’s Animal
Husbandry Grand Challenge in 2020, is a niche
platform working for the economic development
of dairy farmers. “Our mission is to make dairy
farming profitable. We primarily provide three
services to the farmers — advisory (veterinary)
services, quality feed and cattle and financial ser-
vices,” the company’s CGO said.
The start-up, which won the World Bank Agri-In-
sure Tech Challenge in 2019 by coming up with
India’s first cattle facial recognition, currently
provides its cattle and feed services in Rajasthan
and Punjab.
It plans to expand its cattle services to Punjab
while expanding to Maharashtra as well. Tracing
the growth of the start-up, Mittal said it all began
when the company took note of a dearth of qual-
ified veterinarians in the country after deciding
to tackle the problem of dairy farmers.
Costly affair
“Getting a veterinarian is a costly affair. There
are a lot of problems that the farmers are facing
in getting good veterinarians. So, we decided to
solve it by launching advisory services,” Mittal
said.
There is a lack of availability of qualified good
veterinarians in rural areas and even good re-
gional areas have only one or two government
veterinarian hospitals . “That’s when we decided
to launch our service. Just by getting good advi-
sory service e-Dairy Mitra, we can help to im-
prove farmers’ profits,” he said.
The service has got a good response with Mooo-
Farm building an app around it with veterinari-
ans located centrally to provide solutions to the
farmers at a low cost of ₹25 in some areas. In
some places, we are offering this free,” Mittal
said.
Trickly cattle purchase
The app providing the service, currently re-
stricted to farmers using the feed or cattle ser-
vice only, was getting 50,000 to one lakh down-
loads every month. So far, there are 15-18 lakh
farmers connected to the app. “On a daily basis,
400-500 farmers access it,” he said.
MoooFarm, launched in 2019, then decided to
tackle the issue of dairy farmers not getting qual-
ity cattle. “Dairy farmers are like micro-entrepre-
neurs and cattle is an asset. There are many
problems in the ecosystem and many farmers
don’t know where to buy cattle,” the company’s
CGO said.
In the process of purchasing cattle, farmers get
cheated by middlemen, who do not provide any
guarantee for the brokerage they charge. “We
decided we will take this problem head-on and
directly connect the buyer to the seller in 2020.
Then, we ourselves started procuring cattle and
selling it directly to farmers as we found a lot of
quality control is required for acquiring the high
ticket asset. In 2021, we began our inventory
model and we are scaling it currently,” he said.
Platform for cows
MoooFarm has so far traded in over 2,000 cattle
on its own. It has about 200 as part of its standing
inventory. These cattle are housed across nine
farms in Rajasthan. The company plans to start
another farm in Punjab next month.
Till now, MoooFarm has been trading in buffa-
loes only but it will soon launch a platform for
cows too. “We have launched an event with Pro-
gressive Dairy Farmers Association in Punjab and
we are exclusive partners with the association.
We will deal with Holstein Friesian and partly
with Jersey cows too. Jersey will make up 30 per
cent and the rest will be Holstein Friesian,” Mit-
tal said.
All these led the company to start a feed service
to ensure the cattle get the right nutrition.
MoooFarm is contract-manufacturing the feed
to ensure the cattle get correct and good nutri-
tion.
Feed issues
“Currently, feed quality is a question According
to government standards, urea content in the
feed should be less than 1 per cent. We are strin-
gent on these parameters. Secondly, aflatoxin
should be below 20 ppm. We ensure it is way be-
low the norm,” Mittal said.
Aflatoxin is unhealthy for humans and once it
finds its way into the milk consumed by humans,
it can cause problems. “We are preparing our
feed in such a way that it is high quality for the
animals, increases fat and milk, but at the same
time it will be nutritious and healthy for hu-
mans,” he said, adding that the company offers
post-sales support as well.
Feed production will soon top 1,000 tonnes a
month and it is a significant milestone since the
service was floated only a few months ago. Some
8,000-10,000 farmers are utilising the feed ser-
vices in Punjab and Rajasthan, Mittal said.
Other services
Apart from these, MoooFarm provides credit
and insurance services to farmers who want to
buy inputs such as cattle and feed from it. “We
are bundling everything and that’s where our
edge is. We are providing a full-stack solution.
We handhold farmers till the end in all aspects of
dairy farming,” he said.
Celebrate February 14 as ‘Cow Hug Day’: Animal Welfare Board
FEB 11, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/celebrate-february-14-as-cow-hug-day-animal-welfare-board/
W
hile February 14 is usually celebrated
as Valentine’s Day across the globe,
the Animal Welfare Board of India
(AWBI)has reportedly requested that it also be
celebrated as ‘Cow Hug Day’!Not only this, but
the statutory advisory body also urged the public
in India to embrace cows on this day, claiming it
would increase “individual and collective happi-
ness” and bring “emotional richness.”
Cows are the backbone of Indian culture: AWBI
Two months ago, MoooFarm raised $13 million
through its series led by Avishkar Capital and
supported by Axel India Fund, Alteria Capital
Group and other such venture capital funds.
In the current fiscal, the company hopes its rev-
enue will be ₹115-120 crore and it aims to in-
crease it to ₹320-400 crore next fiscal.
MoooFarm would want to establish itself in the
northern Indian market before looking at south-
ern India, particularly Telangana and Karnataka.
Mittal said though India tops in global milk pro-
duction, the yield per cattle is poor compared to
Australia, the US, New Zealand, Israel and other
such countries where the average yield is 25-30
litres. “We are trying to induct quality cattle and
redistribution of hybrid ones so that the per ani-
mal yield will increase,” he said, adding that with
growing disposable income prospects for value-
added products in milk are good.
In an appeal penned by AWBI secretary Dr. Sujit
Kumar Dutta, the body noted that cows are the
backbone of the rural economy and Indian cul-
ture and represent biodiversity and cattle
wealth.”It is known as Kamdhenu and Gau-
mata because of its nourishing nature like a
mother, the giver of all, providing riches to hu-
manity,” The Hindu quoted the official appeal as
saying.
‘Vedic traditions are facing extinction because of
western culture’
The appeal also claims Vedic traditions are cur-
rently facing extinction because of the progress
of western culture in the country over time.”The
dazzle of western civilization has made our phys-
ical culture and heritage almost forgotten. This
issues with the approval of competent authority
and on the direction of Department of Animal
Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries,
Animal Husbandry and Dairying,” it added.
Board may plan some events next year: AWBI as-
sistant secretary
Speaking to the Times of India, AWBI assistant
secretary Prachi Jain stated that this is just an ap-
peal to people who love cows.”We have not
planned any special event around it on the occa-
sion due to paucity of time this year,” Jain
said.”But the board may plan some events
around it from next year,” the AWBI assistant
secretary added.
Where was AWBI when our cows died? asks
dairy farmers
Meanwhile, dairy farmers alleged that the ani-
mal welfare body did not even assist them when
hundreds of cows recently lost their lives due to
lumpy skin disease.”Where was the AWBI when
our cows died recently? We have not got any-
thing as compensation. The milk production has
decreased by about 15 to 20%,” said Dayabhai
94% acquittal rate under Haryana’s cow slaughter law in Nuh
FEB 8, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/94-acquittal-rate-under-haryanas-cow-slaughter-law-in-muslim-dominated-nuh/
f the 69 cases decided by the Nuh dis-
O trict and sessions court under Haryana’s
law against cow slaughter in the second
half of 2022, only four have ended in conviction,
an acquittal rate of 94%.
Nuh, a district predominantly populated by Meo
Muslims, has seen several cases of lynching and
violence against local residents over allegations
of cow slaughter during the past decade.
Gajera, leader of the Dairy Farmers Federation of
India.
Lumpy skin disease killed over 1.5 lakh cattle in
2022
In December last year, the Centre informed the
Rajya Sabha that more than 1.55 lakh cattle died
in India due to lumpy skin disease. According to
official statistics, Rajasthan reported the highest
number of cattle deaths at 75,819.It was closely
followed by Maharashtra (24,430), Punjab
(17,932), Karnataka (12,244), Himachal Pradesh
(10,681), Gujarat (6,193), Haryana (2,937), and
Jammu & Kashmir (2,698).
What is AWBI?
Since its official integration in 1962 under Sec-
tion 4 of the 1960 Prevention of Cruelty to Ani-
mals Act, the Animal Welfare Board of India has
been responsible for providing grants to animal
welfare organizations and advising the Union
Government regarding such matters.However,
an appeal of this kind has been issued by the
body for the first time!
According to data provided by the Nuh police,
only four cases—two in July and one each in Oc-
tober and December—actually ended in convic-
tion during that six-month period. Despite an
abysmally low conviction rate, almost one case
every second day has been registered under The
Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and
Gausamvardhan Act, 2015 in Nuh district alone
over the last seven years. As of December 2022,
there were 1,192 such cases pending before the
Nuh court.
‘Police colluding in false cases’
Advocate Tahir Hussain Ruparya, who has repre-
sented the accused in several such cases result-
ing in acquittal, alleged that “false cases” were
registered by complainants in collusion with the
police to extort money or settle personal scores
with the accused, leading to a poor conviction
rate. “In most of the cases, the complainant is a
‘secret informer’ and the accused are not ar-
rested at the spot. And the prosecution invaria-
bly fails to prove that those arrested later by the
police were actually present at the spot. In many
cases, the complainants turn hostile, leading to
the acquittal,” said Mr. Ruparya.
Acquitting the accused of all charges in one such
case over two months ago, Judicial Magistrate
First Class, Amit Verma, observed in his order
that “merely because the accused is a Muslim,
presumption cannot be drawn that he was trans-
porting the cows for the purpose of slaughter-
ing”.
The judge, in his order, also pointed out several
loopholes in the prosecution’s case such as the
police official heading the raiding party not being
able to identify the accused, the Test Identifica-
tion Parade not carried out, contradictory state-
ments by the witnesses, and the case property
not being in a sealed condition when produced
before the court.
‘Shoddy investigations’
A public prosecutor in the district, speaking on
the condition of anonymity, blamed shoddy in-
vestigations and police officers’ lack of legal
knowledge for the high acquittal rate. “The po-
lice seems to lack the efforts in carrying out the
investigation for a watertight case. Since most of
these raids are conducted in the early hours, and
the accused mostly manage to escape, the police
can use forensic evidence such as blood and fin-
ger prints on the seized weapons to establish the
identity of the accused later arrested. The Test
Identification Parades are not conducted,” he
said.
He added that the investigating officers lacked
the knowledge of the law and invoked wrong
sections in the challans, giving a benefit to the
accused. “There are hardly any independent wit-
nesses in the cases as most of the raids are con-
ducted at night and also the locals don’t want to
go against their own community. The closed-cir-
cuit television coverage in Nuh is almost nil. The
investigating officers, each dealing with 40-50
cases, too are overworked,” said the public pros-
ecutor.
Nuh’s Superintendent of Police Varun Singla con-
ceded that there were sometimes “procedural
lapses” on the part of the police due to practical
difficulties, such as meat samples not lifted at
the spot because staying at the crime scene for a
longer time in such cases could be risky for the
police team. Also, the vehicles used in the com-
mission of the crime are usually stolen, making it
difficult to link them with the accused, while mo-
bile phone SIMs are procured using fake identi-
ties, said Mr. Singla.
‘Convictions will rise in two years’
However, he added that the district police had
studied the bail orders and judgements in detail
to fix the loopholes and a Standard Operating
Procedure had been released to investigating of-
ficers last April, improving the quality of charge-
sheets. “As a result, 112 out of 294 anticipatory
bail applications moved before the lower court
last year (Jan-Dec 2022) were rejected, and
around 40% such applications were rejected by
the High Court as well. The conviction rate will
show a jump in two years time once these cases
are decided. In another blow to the criminals,
the police ensured that 83 of the 139 vehicles
seized were not released,” he said.
With the efforts of the police, 96 villages where
cow slaughter cases had been reported over the
past five years have now adopted resolutions
calling for the boycott of the accused, said Mr.
Singla, adding that ulemas have also issued fat-
was against beef consumption since it is illegal.
Boosting Dairy Industry in J&K: Holistic Program to focus on AI
FEB 8, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/govt-poised-to-achieve-remarkable-growth-in-milk-productivity-from-2380-litres-to-
4300-litres-by-2027/
program was expertly drafted by a team of Tech-
nical Working Groups under the guidance of Ag-
riculture Production Department, led by the dis-
tinguished scientist Dr. Mangla Rai, former DG of
ICAR.
The HADP is a comprehensive program that aims
to address various challenges faced by the agri-

J
ammu and Kashmir is home to a thriving bo-
culture and allied sectors including dairy industry
vine industry, with about 31.45 lakh bovines
in J&K besides providing ample employment op-
the region accounts for 1.04% of India’s to-
portunities for the local population. The J&K gov-
tal bovine population.
ernment is committed towards supporting the
Out of the total bovine population, 10.90 lakh
dairy sector and ensuring its sustainable growth,
cattle and buffaloes are considered breedable
thereby contributing to the overall economic de-
and have the potential to contribute towards re-
velopment of the UT.
gion’s milk economy.
The HADP encompasses 29 innovative projects,
As per ISS-2020-21, the annual milk production
including a visionary plan for dairy development
in J&K is 25.94 lakh MT and the average annual
in J&K over next 5 years. This dairy development
milk production per cow in the region stands at
project focuses on one of the most critical com-
2380 litre, which is higher than the national av-
ponents that i,e; increasing milk productivity
erage. The milk economy in J&K is valued at ₹
through wider implementation of Artificial In-
9080 cr which plays a crucial role in the UT’s agri-
semination (AI) by involving private AI workers.
economy.
By successfully executing this intervention, the
Dairy farming is a major source of livelihood for
J&K government hopes to achieve a remarkable
many rural families and is constantly growing,
growth in average annual milk productivity, from
with a focus on increasing milk productivity un-
2380 litres to 4300 litres, by 2027.
der CSS-RGM, and improving the quality of milk
The use of Artificial Insemination in the dairy in-
besides upgrading of milk collection, processing
dustry has been proven to be a highly effective
and marketing infrastructure under CSS-NPDD.
tool to increase average animal productivity and
The dairy industry in J&K holds immense poten-
contribute to the growth of the rural economy.
tial for UT’s economy, providing employment op-
By using AI, dairy farmers can benefit from effi-
portunities and contributing to the local popula-
cient use of high-quality bulls, without being lim-
tion’s well-being. With the increasing demand
ited by their location. The advantages of using AI
for dairy products and the per capita availability
over traditional breeding with bulls are numer-
of milk being lower than many milk potential
ous, including improved efficiency, cost-effec-
states, the dairy sector is poised for significant
tiveness, reduced transmission of disease, and
growth in the UT in coming years.
enhanced breeding efficiency.
The J&K government has taken a major step to-
Despite various efforts, the current AI coverage
wards boosting the agriculture and allied sectors
in the UT of J&K is still limited to just 30 per cent
with the recent launch of Holistic Agriculture De-
of the breedable bovines. The AI coverage in the
velopment Program (HADP). This comprehensive
Kashmir division stands at 61 per cent, while it is
only 17% in the Jammu division. In comparison,
developed nations have 100 per cent AI coverage
of their bovine population. The situation is even
more concerning in districts like Reasi, Poonch,
Rajouri, and Ramban, where the AI coverage is
below 10%, despite the fact that 25% of the total
breedable population of J&K is reared in these
districts. Kupwara is the only district in Kashmir
division which has lowest AI coverage, just 24 per
cent.
One of the major obstacles in expanding Artificial
Insemination (AI) coverage in J&K is limited net-
work of government-run AI centers and shortage
of trained AI technicians.
To address this, the Dairy Development Project
aims to enhance the productivity of existing bo-
vine population by increasing AI coverage
through establishment of Multi Purpose Artificial
Insemination Technicians in Rural India( Private
AI workers). These private AI workers will deliver
AI services to farmers at their doorstep on a self-
sustainable basis by collecting the cost of goods
and services.
The project will directly benefit 1533 educated
rural youth and approximately 7 lakh dairy farm-
ers will receive indirect benefits in terms of in-
creased productivity and milk production.
At present, only 3.32 lakh breedable cattle are
covered under AI and the project aims to bring
7.63 lakh cows under AI coverage within the next
three years. To achieve 70% AI coverage over the
next three years, the total AIs conducted will be
increased by 10 per cent in the first year, 22 per
cent in the second year and 8 per cent in the
third year on a year-to-year basis.
The project aims to train a total of 1,533 young
individuals from underprivileged and uncovered
areas of Jammu and Kashmir as private Artificial
Insemination (AI) workers. These individuals will
be selected under HADP and CSS-RGM and will
undergo training at an accredited AI training in-
stitute with a support of ₹30,000 per candidate.
These trained private AI workers will be de-
ployed in their respective villages to deliver AI
services to the farmers over a period of two
years.
If a private AI worker conducts an average of 600
AI procedures in a year, they can easily earn
₹1.08 lakh from AI work alone, besides addi-
tional income from minor veterinary practices.
With this project, the productivity of the bovine
population in Jammu and Kashmir will be en-
hanced, providing indirect benefits to around 7
lakh dairy farmers in terms of increased produc-
tivity and milk production.
The deployment of private AI workers in uncov-
ered areas of J&K holds great potential for not
only providing part time employment opportuni-
ties for rural youth but also for making veterinary
healthcare and breeding services readily accessi-
ble to farmers. By utilizing quality germplasm,
these AI workers will be able to upgrade the
quality of non-descript low-yielding dairy ani-
mals in remote areas, resulting in production of
superior dairy animals within a period of 5 years.
This will lead to a significant increase in average
annual milk productivity, reaching 4300 liters per
dairy animal by 2027-28.
The implementation of this project will provide a
much-needed boost to the dairy sector in the un-
covered areas of J&K, thereby contributing to-
wards overall development of the region.
4 in 10 households have cut down or stopped buying milk
FEB 8, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/as-milk-prices-keep-surging-4-in-10-households-have-cut-down-on-quantity-or-
stopped-buying-milk-survey/
F
our in ten Indian households are feeling
the pinch of multiple increase
in milk price in the last 12 months and
have either cut down on quantity, shifted to
lower priced alternatives or stopped buying
milk, revealed the results of a survey conducted
by LocalCircles.
Most well-known dairy brands, whether coop-
eratives or start-ups, have raised the price of
their products at least 2-5 times in the last year
by Rs 1-3 each time. The latest increase of Rs 3
in the prices of all grades of milk by Amul,
Govardhan and other brands has once again got
some household consumers to take a call on op-
timizing or reducing their milk consumption.
The cumulative increase in prices by some
brands has been more than Rs 12 per litre over
the last one year.
The major reason cited by dairy sector biggies is
the steep increase in costs of energy both for
operation and logistics, packaging and cattle
feed and other overheads including labour
costs.
The survey, which attemps to understand how
households are “coping with the high milk
prices” which have increased 4-6 times in most
parts of India in the last 12 months, reveals that
59% or 6 in 10 households surveyed indicated
that they are “paying higher prices and buying
the same quantity of milk from their preferred
brand. But at least 19% indicated that they have
“reduced the quantity that they purchase.
At least 16% have “switched to a cheaper alter-
native or grade of the same brand”; 3% have
“switched to a lower cost brand or local supply
source”; and 3% have stopped buying milk.
The survey received over 10,000 responses
from citizens located in 303 districts of India.
64% respondents were men while 36% respond-
ents were women. 45% respondents were from
tier 1, 33% from tier 2 and 22% respondents
were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.
In most Indian households, apart from vegans
and those who don’t like it, milk and milk prod-
ucts including curd, butter, ghee, butter-
milk, paneer, cheese, etc., are among the most
consumed food items.
India is not only the largest milk producer but
also the largest consumer of milk and milk prod-
ucts according to the United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA) “Dairy and Products An-
nual – 2021” report.
India’s per capita milk consumption at 406
grams (g)/day (2019-2020), already exceeds the
world average of 305 g/day (2020), the USDA
report states.
No panchayat would lack milk dairy society in next 5 years
FEB 7, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/no-panchayat-would-lack-milk-dairy-society-in-next-5-years/
after five years, there will be no panchayat that
does not have a PACS.”
He said that land conversation has been one of
the prime objectives of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi ever since he came to power to govern the
country, and that such measures would help In-
dia become self-reliant.

U
nion Home Affairs Minister and Cooper-
He further advised the farmers to use natural
ation Minister Amit Shah on Saturday
manures instead of chemical fertilisers as they
said that with the recently released Un-
ruin the soil fertility.
ion Budget 2023-24, the Centre has made provi-
“From today’s programme, I only want to tell the
sions and allocated adequete fund for the regis-
farmers that excessive use of chemical urea will
tration of over 2 lakh multi-dimensional Primary
do nothing but damage your crops as well as the
Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).
soil. However, if you use the natural urea, the
He said that the PACS have been created to en-
IFFCO guarantees a rise in crop productivity,”
sure that there remains no ‘panchayat’ which
Shah said.
would lack a dairy or a fishery cooperative soci-
“The Nano urea has been created with the re-
ety. “To promote cooperation, PM Modi has in-
search intended to protect Mother Earth as
troduced several schemes in the Union Budget.
when the chemical fertilisers seep into the earth,
The previous tax of 26 per cent which was used
it kills earthworm which is known to make natu-
to be levied on cooperation in the field of pro-
ral manure. By using the natural manure, you can
duction, has now been lowered to 15 per cent.
prevent your soil from intoxication as well,”
We have also constituted a Ministry of Coopera-
added Shah.
tion to check which all panchayats lack milk and
Amit Shah embarked his visit to the state by of-
fisheries society,” Shah said.
fering prayers at the Baba Baidyanath temple
Amit Shah was addressing a function after laying
with his wife. This is the second visit of Amit Shah
the foundation stone of a nano urea plant of the
within a time span of one month.
Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) in
Amit Shah visited Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi on
Jharkhand’s Deoghar, and said, “After the for-
January 6 and held the party’s core group meet-
mation of the Ministry of Cooperation, we set up
ing and a public rally in Chaibasa on January 7.
a data bank for Cooperatives across the country
The Minister’s visit to Jharkhand is crucial in view
to identify which Panchayats do not have PACs,
of the 2024 parliamentary elections besides the
dairy, or, a Fishery cooperative society. Hence,
2024 Assembly elections.
Milk prices may continue to rise until Diwali says RS Sodhi
FEB 7, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/milk-prices-may-continue-to-rise-until-diwali-says-rs-sodhi/
n the day Amul hiked milk prices, RS So-
O
dhi, the former managing director of
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing
Federation (GCMMF) which owns
the Amul brand and president of the Indian Dairy
Association, told CNBC-TV18 that he believes
costs will continue to rise until Diwali this year.
He said he expects milk production to start in-
creasing again by winter.
Sodhi said, “All over the world, the dairy prices
have stabilised or started going down, but in In-
dia, I think till next Diwali situation will be tight
as we will not be having any surplus. So, I don’t
see prices going down.”
Sodhi also noted that the profitability of the pri-
vate dairy sector is currently on the decline due
to high input costs, which have increased by 20-
25 percent for farmers. This has led to a 14-15
percent hike in milk prices over the past year, So-
dhi added. Despite this, India still contributes 23
percent to global dairy production.
India’s largest milk producer, Amul, announced a
price hike on its pouch milk with immediate ef-
fect on Friday. This price hike comes at a time
when smaller dairy players have struggled to in-
crease the price of their products. Amul’s price
hike may give confidence to them.
“Input costs have increased by over 20-30 per-
cent compared to last year. However, I think the
prices will stabilise with good rabi and kharif
crops coming in. So, the cost of production may
reduce. However, till next Diwali, the situation is
tight,” Sodhi added.
To address these challenges, Sodhi believes the
country needs a “White Revolution 2.0”. He is
encouraged by the Union Budget 2023’s empha-
sis on cooperatives and the government’s plans
to modernise the 63,000 cooperative societies.
However, he also notes the need for investment
in infrastructure in animal husbandry.
“For animal husbandry, the Budget allocation
has been multiplied, and it is now Rs 1,390 crore.
Due to the last year’s Lumpy skin disease, I think
this is a good Budget allocation. However, we
want some Budget allocation for White Revolu-
tion 2.0. In the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, by
just Rs 1,000 crore, India became self-reliant and
the world’s largest producer of milk. So the same
type of one-time investment in infrastructure is
needed. We are not asking for any subsidy in
dairy, but we want more funds for infrastructure
building,” Sodhi said.
Overall, while there are some challenges facing
the dairy industry in India, there is also hope for
growth and improvement in the future. With a
focus on cooperatives and investment in infra-
structure, the industry can continue to thrive
and contribute to India’s economy.
White Revolution of India—Myths and Reality
FEB 4, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/category/policy/
I
ndia is widely mentioned as the top milk pro-
ducer in world and this achievement is fre-
quently stated to have been achieved on the
basis of its ‘white revolution’ which in turn is
claimed to have been achieved on the basis of
improved livelihoods of small dairy farmers. How
real are these claims?
This is not merely an academic question. If these
claims are correct, then there would be strong
reasons to go on promoting similar patterns of
dairy development. On the other hand if there is
something seriously wrong about these claims
and there are actually many matters of concern
and worry, then there would be strong reasons
for reconsidering the present day path and
trends of dairy development in India.
The main base of dairy development is that it
provides high nutrition food to people who need
it. The extent to which this objective is achieved
depends not just on the total volume of produc-
tion but even more on the way consumption is
distributed. If more milk and milk products reach
the poor, then these contribute much to reduc-
ing malnutrition. Most of the poor households in
India suffer from malnutrition and from protein
deficiency. The most prominent source of
providing protein to them used to be legumes
(mostly pulses) traditionally and this has de-
clined significantly following the so-called ‘green
revolution’, and hence the importance of receiv-
ing adequate proteins from milk and milk prod-
ucts has increased further. However while there
has been highly visible increase of a wide range
of milk products ( including very highly priced
ones) among the richer sections of society where
these often contribute more to increased obe-
sity than increased nutrition, at the same time in
both cities and villages there have been increas-
ing indications of a decline in the consumption of
milk and milk products among the poor. There is
also a shift towards higher consumption in cities
compared to villages, although in terms of hard
work related higher nutrition needs in villages,
clearly there is more need for higher milk con-
sumption in villages.
This is partly related to changes in milk pro-
cessing. The Indian village typically saw milk be-
ing processed into butter and ghee in most
homes till a few decades back for local consump-
tion, which ensured that a lot of nutrition stayed
with the village. A neglected aspect of this local
processing is that the by-product or residue
which remained (often called chaach) still had
high protein and this was often distributed free
among the poorest, farm workers and poorer
neighbors. There has been a big decline of this
most accessible form of protein among the rural
poor, even as very high priced, flavored ‘diet’
milk in ever-increasing amounts is being mar-
keted to richer urban consumers in highly waste-
ful packaging.
At the same time problems of small dairy farm-
ers too have been increasing, particularly in
terms of steep rise in costs. Most of the dairy
farmers in India consist of small landowner farm-
ers and landless households in villages. Tradi-
tionally milk production has been both an im-
portant means of nutrition and an important
source of earnings for them. Whereas the in-
come from crops comes after the harvest, in-
come from milk production can come on short-
term basis and is an important source of meeting
routine daily expenses. However keeping in view
their low resource base, it is important that they
should be able to work at low costs.
One very important means of ensuring this is
that there should be adequate feed for dairy an-
imals. This consists of grazing fields or pastures,
dry fodder and concentrate feed or oilcakes. Pas-
tures and fodder trees have been in rapid decline
in most parts of the country. Dry fodder is lesser
in the case of exotic dwarf green revolution crop
varieties compared to tall indigenous traditional
varieties of crops grown earlier. With mechani-
zation of crop harvesting, particularly wheat, the
availability of dry fodder has decreased. As alter-
native industrial uses are becoming available,
this too is reducing the availability of dry fodder.
In recent times the increase in the price of dry
fodder has been extremely high due to a combi-
nation of all these factors. The landowner dairy
farmers can still survive this by getting dry fod-
der from their own farms but the landless dairy
farmers are suffering the most as they have to
buy even dry fodder at a fast rising price. The
trend of giving some free dry fodder to landless
farm workers has also decreased.
As oilseed processing has moved almost com-
pletely from villages to big urban units, oilcake
supply is prioritized for exports and big units
while small village dairy farmers can get only
very limited supplies at a higher price. In this
context also problems are set to increase as fu-
ture edible oil supply increases are to be ob-
tained more and more from palm oil, as per a re-
cent decision announced by the government, so
that the shortfall of oilcakes of mustard or
groundnut or other traditional oilseeds is likely
to be aggravated.
As a result of fast rising costs most small land-
owning farmers are producing milk at an increas-
ingly lower margin. The landless dairy farmers
may even be pushed into losses and hence
pushed out of this livelihood support. The spread
of lumpy skin disease among dairy animals has
only added further to this depressing situation
for dairy farmers in recent times.
Another reason why costs arise relates to breed-
ing practices and inputs. More attention has
been given to cross-breed cows in official policy
but these require conditions which increase
costs.
Hence from the point of view of the bulk of small
dairy farmers and particularly landless dairy
farmers (whose need for dairying as a source of
livelihood is the highest), almost all the recent
trends are adverse trends, particularly in terms
of higher costs. When all factors are adverse,
feed and fodder are scarce, then how the gov-
ernment goes on claiming higher success of
small dairy farmers is surely a matter of surprise,
and reminds one of how so much success was
claimed when most of the impacts of the so-
called ‘green revolution’ were negative (for a de-
tailed review of adverse effects of green revolu-
tion kindly refer to my recent book ‘India’s Quest
for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food’).
Hence learned scholars of this issue may do well
to re-examine how much of the claimed increase
of milk production is real, and to the extent that
it is real, to what extent the contribution of small
dairy farmers has been declining due to adverse
conditions.
The other day I was standing in a village in Har-
yana and noticed people buying branded milk of
big dairies packed in polythene bags. I asked
them why they were buying this and they told
me that they find this cheaper. I then went to
those villagers who had buffaloes or cows and
asked them about their prospects. They told me
things are very difficult as costs have gone very
high and it is difficult for them to compete with
the branded packaged products.
The branded products from huge milk plants lo-
cated far away, perhaps a thousand or so km.
away, reach this village (and countless others)
only after incurring considerable packaging,
transport and refrigeration costs as well as com-
missions to retailers. If despite this the small
dairy producer is finding it difficult to compete
with the branded milk pouch (not to mention
other milk products like butter and cheese,
where the market situation is even more unfa-
vorable for the small dairy farmer) even in his
home village, despite the fact that fresh milk is
generally well regarded by people for health rea-
sons, then this is a matter of concern for millions
of small dairy farmers in the unorganized sector.
One reason of course relates to their huge costs.
The other reason is that the big dairy company
selling branded products is able, legally, to re-
constitute milk by adding milk powder, butter oil
etc. to fresh milk in certain proportions at levels
of various fat content and in addition is also able
to import milk powder and other milk constitu-
ents/products when required by big business in-
terests at cheap international price (for example
when there is a surplus in the international mar-
ket). If the unorganized small dairy producers try
to do something similar, even while caring to
maintain health norms, they would face charges
of adulteration with the possibility of stiff fines
and possibly arrest.
This then is the prevailing system which was fa-
cilitated by the highly publicized Operation Flood
Project, modernization of dairy sector and the
white revolution. It is also a hugely polluting sys-
tem as it has one of the most polluting packag-
ing, with milk pouches making the single biggest
contribution on daily basis to garbage which has
already taken the form of methane emitting,
massive landfills in many cities ( even though
earlier big cities like Delhi had lived well with a
system of returnable bottles ). At a time when
the concept of food miles travelled is asking for
food production to be closer to milk consump-
tion (something which was already there in the
case of the traditional system fast uprooted in
the name of development) such a perishable
commodity as milk is being made to travel more
and more food miles as leading brands of milk
and milk products try to carve out an ever in-
creasing share of the market.
Recently , particularly in the last six years or so,
the government has promoted the technology of
sexed semen in which semen is treated and tam-
pered with to ensure that only female calves are
born. It is strange indeed that a government that
claims to promote holistic cow-protection has
actually been pushing a technology that pre-
vents male calves from being born!
On the other hand several opportunities of pro-
tecting even old cows and bullocks are emerging
by integrating these to the spread of organic
farming as in India organic farming is mostly
done with composted manure prepared from
cow dung and cow urine, with other ingredients
added. These need to be better utilized and the
Chattisgarh government has taken a lead in this.
Better care for cows and bullocks, such a rich
part of the Indian tradition, should be strength-
ened.
Last but not the least, there is concern that in-
creasing corporate control over dairy farmers
can result in dairy farmers being asked time and
again to buy particular high-cost equipment,
feed and vaccines ( including those whose effi-
cacy and usefulness may be questionable), in-
creasing costs further. Dairy farmers have also
been opposing those free trade agreements
which can lead to increased imports of milk
products from Europe, Australia, New Zealand
and the USA, apart from increasing corporatiza-
tion trends.
As already pointed out, unorganized sector small
dairy farmers have become more vulnerable
with spread of recombined milk in which milk
powder, butter oil etc. are combined with fresh
milk. By changing the proportion in favor of pow-
der and butter oil, adequate milk availability can
be ensured for consumers even when procure-
ment from farmers is declining. If and when
cheap imports are available, then this tendency
can increase. Hence there is careful need to
monitor such trends, to ensure transparency and
to protect the interests of small dairy farmers.
There have been indications that the tendency
to increase domestic or imported milk pow-
der/butter oil in recombined milk increased in
COVID times and the worry is that this can be-
come a longer term trend which will be harmful
for farmers. Milk being a perishable product,
there is need for a lot of care to ensure that dairy
farmers operating at a low margin do not suffer
losses due to sudden loss of market or fall in
price received by them. The government can also
issue instructions that whenever the procure-
ment of milk is threatened, for example due to a
sudden lockdown or transport strike or road
blockade, the milk should be still purchased and
distributed among poor households or for an-
ganwadis and mid-day meals, with the govern-
ment directly paying for this.
If small-scale processing facilities are set up
within or very close to villages, then risks for
farmers can be reduced. In addition nutritious by
products like chaach which were earlier available
Cornell, EDF aim to reduce methane output for India’s dairies
FEB 4, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/cornell-edf-aim-to-reduce-methane-output-for-indias-dairies/
ornell will assist the Environmental De-
C fense Fund and the National Dairy Devel-
opment Board of India – the world’s larg-
est dairy producing country – in a project to help
its smallholder farmers reduce methane output
and produce milk efficiently.
“Enteric methane production from the digestive
systems of cows and buffaloes is a major source
of global greenhouse gas emissions,” said Joseph
even to poorest sections can again become more
abundant in villages. Similarly there is a strong
case for processing of oilseeds like mustard,
groundnut etc. to be located in or very close to
villages, so that oilcakes can be made available
to the same villages which supply oilseeds.
You are unlikely to hear such criticisms and rec-
ommendations in big conferences as these are
mostly funded by big business interests while the
analysis here has kept as central focus the inter-
ests of sustainable livelihoods of small dairy
farmers and nutrition of poor and ordinary
households. We conclude with a humble plea
that these considerations should be the focus of
policy makers as well, and should receive more
attention from learned scholars also.
Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign
to Save Earth Now. His recent books include In-
dia’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy
Food, Man over Machine and Protecting Earth
for Children.
McFadden, associate professor of dairy cattle bi-
ology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sci-
ences. “We need to reduce enteric methane
emissions from livestock – particularly ruminants
– because they produce the bulk of methane, a
climate pollutant.”
India is home to 300 million cattle and milk-pro-
ducing buffaloes, and 85 million smallholder
dairy farmers. In 2020, India produced 195 mil-
lion metric tons of milk, which is 22% of all global
production, according to the United Nations’
Food and Agriculture Organization.

Smallholder farmers in India bring milk from
their cows to a community dairy cooperative
daily. They get paid for the milk on the spot.
India’s population is 1.4 billion; the UN forecasts
that it will increase by 194 million by 2030. The
number of milk-consuming households is pro-
jected to rise from 185 million in 2012 to 349 mil-
lion by 2050. The country ranks 97 of 118 coun-
tries on the Global Hunger Index.
In addition to human nutrition, the scientists
must tackle the methane problem, he said. Milk
production is inefficient in India, which means its
dairy industry produces more methane than
they should – as it contributes about 7% of global
greenhouse emissions from agriculture.
As a greenhouse gas, methane is more than 80
times more powerful than carbon dioxide over
the first 20 years when it gets into the atmos-
phere, according to EDF. While carbon dioxide
lasts longer, methane accelerates global warm-
ing.
Currently, the U.S. and European countries abate
methane output for dairies by employing sci-
ence-based genetic, nutrition and management
strategies that enhance milk production effi-
ciency, said McFadden, who leads the collabora-
tion with support from the Cornell Atkinson Cen-
ter for Sustainability.
The average U.S. enteric methane emission in-
tensity is about 0.25 kilograms of carbon dioxide
equivalent per kilogram of milk. The greenhouse
gas intensity per unit of milk for indigenous cows
of India can be as high as 2.96 kilograms of car-
bon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of milk.
McFadden said this pilot project aims to help
smallholder farmers of India work toward devel-
oping better diets for milk-producing animals. He
noted that it will employ the Cornell Net Carbo-
hydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) – devel-
oped on campus with the guidance of Michael
Van Amburgh, professor of animal science (CALS)
to enhance the efficiency of nutrient use, animal
performance and minimize waste.
“If you enhance production efficiency, you in-
crease the conversion of dietary energy to meat
and milk production, and you reduce methane
emissions per unit of animal-sourced food pro-
duced,” McFadden said. “That might be our fast-
est way to reduce methane emissions globally,
especially for developing nations that may not be
able to adopt methane-reducing feed additive
technologies due to high cost.”
To fulfill the new agreement, the group will hire
a postdoctoral fellow – who will be part of Cor-
nell Atkinson – to conduct research and travel to
India to recruit and learn from about 200 farmers
for the effort.
In addition to McFadden, the scientists associ-
ated with this project include Van Amburgh; Peri
Rosenstein, senior scientist, EDF; and Shah
Meenesh Chairman, National Dairy Develop-
ment Board. This collaboration is part of
the 2030 Project.
Amul hikes milk prices by ₹3 per litre; Gujarat exempted
FEB 4, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/amul-hikes-milk-prices-by-%e2%82%b92-per-litre-gujarat-exempted/

T
he Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing
Federation (GCMMF), which markets its
dairy products under the brand name
‘Amul’, on February 3, 2023 increased the prices
of milk by ₹3 per litre for all markets except Gu-
jarat.
Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of the Anand-
headquartered federation, said the hike in milk
Times of India Feb 03rd 2023
prices is not applicable to Gujarat.
“We have increased the milk prices by ₹3 per li-
tre for markets other than Gujarat, such as Delhi,
Kolkata and Mumbai. As of now, there is no in-
crease in milk prices in Gujarat,” he told PTI.
It will be its fifth hike since 2021.
The new prices are effective from February 3,
2023 morning, the GCMMF said in a statement
issued by its Mumbai office.
With the increase in prices, one litre pouch
of Amul Taaza milk will now cost ₹54, while one
litre of Amul Gold will be sold at ₹66, the state-
ment said, adding that one litre pouch of cow
milk will now cost ₹56, while Amul A2 buffalo
milk pouch will cost ₹70 from February 3, 2023.
National Workshop on Water Management in Dairy Industry
FEB 3, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/national-workshop-on-water-management-in-dairy-industry-at-vkcoe/
V
erghese Kurien Centre of Excellence or-
ganized a National Workshop on Water
Management in Dairy Industry in IRMA
on 28 January 2023. Prof. Umakant Dash, the Di-
rector of IRMA gave the welcome speech and fe-
licitated the guests. He appreciated VKCoE’s ef-
forts in organizing the MDPs on ‘Smart Dairy
Farming’ and ‘Reducing Carbon footprint in Dairy
Plants to Increase Operating Profits’ successfully.
Prof. Tushar Shah, Former Director of IRMA nar-
rated the concepts of water use efficient in irri-
gation, canal system, and recharge systems and
how the focus is changing as the water resources
are depleting. He also touched upon consump-
tive use of water in crops and its footprint in milk
production.
Dr Ram Aneja, Former MD of NDDB and close
colleague of Dr Kurien recollected the finding of
a fifty year old research paper on water footprint
in agriculture produce and related to the need of
the day for conserving water in the dairy
plants. Shri Meenesh Shah, Chairman,
NDDB suggested the selection of crops and ra-
tion balancing to reduce the water footprint in
production. He cited the 1:1 water use and milk
production ratio while designing a dairy plant,
automation for water and product push, the
need for digitalization and zero liquid discharge.
He informed about the set-up of solar pumps for
surplus energy in the solar cooperative at Mu-
jkuva village which can generate additional in-
come for dairy farmers with the support of the
government of Gujarat & India.
Since 2021, VKCoE has conducted and funded re-
search projects addressing the water footprint in
the dairy Sector. The first project is ‘Water foot-
print of milk production in Gujarat’ under Dr.
Uday Shankar Saha, former CGM of NABARD &
former RBI Chair Professor in IRMA and a team
of research fellows. The other is ‘Water conser-
vation in Dairy Processing using Artificial Intelli-
gence’ conducted by Dr. Kushal Anjaria, Assis-
tant Professor in IRMA. Both of them presented
their research outcomes to the audience. The
workshop was organized to disseminate infor-
mation generated through these two projects to
various stakeholders. Additionally, experts from
the dairy industry shared their knowledge and
experience, which was effective learning for oth-
ers.
In the afternoon, Shri Amit Vyas, MD
of Amul Dairy presented ‘Water footprint in
dairy industry: A case study of AMUL Dairy’. He
spoke about water conservation techniques
starting from increasing the water table at the
village milk society level to plant processing. He
emphasized the importance of PDCA cycle, wa-
ter audit and implementation of the innovation
technologies in the dairy plant.
Later, a panel discussion was held for more in-
sightful interactions to discuss the long-running
problem of water management in the dairy sec-
tor, consisting of both academicians and practi-
tioners of the dairy industry. Their experience
and expertise were at the disposal to lead fruitful
discussions regarding the severe issue affecting
all dairy stakeholders. Shri Manoranjan Pani,
CGM of GCMMF, Dr. Atanu Jana, Principal of
SMC College of Dairy Science, Shri Prakash Ma-
heshwari, Executive Director of IDMC, Prof. In-
dranil De, Associate Professor & In-charge of
IRMA Water Centre were part of the panel, with
Dr. J B Prajapati, Chairperson of VKCoE as the
moderator.

Shri Manoranjan Pani highlighted the need to
replicate research centre like VKCoE in all milk
federations and encouraged ‘Reduce, Recycle
and Reuse’ of water in dairy sector. Prof. Atanu
Jana focussed on water conservation techniques
for making of dairy products and utilization of
condensate from steam. Prof. Indranil De made
a presentation on ‘Social-cost benefits and busi-
ness models for Natural Treatment System’
which has been adopted by Sid’s Farm, Hydera-
bad and Vedancha and can be implemented in
milk collection centres. Shri Prakash Maheshwari
from IDMC said that water must be regarded as
a raw material with cost and the management of
a dairy plant must focus on water conservation,
continuous processing instead of batch pro-
cessing, increased automation, training of em-
ployees, setting targets for water conservation
and operations. Prof. Prajapati shared the good
examples of ETPs of Valsad milk union and
Milma. The programme got concluded with the
screening of videos on the creation of 75 water
bodies during the 75th Amrit Mahotsav of India’s
independence by Banas Dairy.

Budget 2023 to give impetus to dairy processing, says ICRA

FEB 2, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/budget-2023-to-give-impetus-to-dairy-processing-says-icra/

The incentives announced in the Union budget 2023-24 for the cooperative sector are expected to boost
dairy processing industry in the country, said ratings agency ICRA.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said: “Co-operatives that commence manu-
facturing activities till March 31, 2024 shall get the benefit of a lower tax rate of 15 per cent, as is pres-
ently available to new manufacturing companies.”
Shamsher Dewan, Senior Vice President, ICRA said: “Setting up of new cooperatives, particularly with a
view to include uncovered panchayats and villages augurs well for the dairy sector as more small and
marginal farmers will be able to participate in organised milk procurement.”
The incentives for the cooperatives are likely to increase competition for the private players in the dairy
sector.
“Private dairy players may start facing increased competition from such cooperatives in these regions.
Moreover, low tax rates for new cooperatives which plan to put up manufacturing facilities can give im-
petus to dairy processing capacity growth,” said Dewan.
ICRA thinks that the sector will also receive increased funding availability as part of the higher agricul-
tural credit targets announced, which would incentivise capacity addition and strengthening of supply
chain infrastructure.
Livestock sector Catching Up in Recent Years
FEB 1, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/livestock-sector-catching-up-in-recent-years/
T
he allied sectors of Indian agriculture –
livestock, forestry & logging and fishing &
aquaculture are gradually becoming sec-
tors of buoyant growth and a potential source of
better
farm incomes. The livestock sector grew at a
CAGR of 7.9 per cent during 2014-15 to 2020-
21 (at constant prices), and its contribution to to-
tal agriculture GVA (at constant prices) has
increased from 24.3 per cent in 2014-15 to 30.1
per cent in 2020-21. Similarly, the annual
average growth rate of the fisheries sector has
been about 7 per cent since 2016-17 and has a
share of about 6.7 per cent in total agriculture
GVA. Higher growth in allied sectors compared
to the crop sector has obvious implications in
terms of the increasing importance of the former
in total agricultural GVA. Recognising the grow-
ing importance of allied sectors, the Committee
on Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI, 2018) consid-
ers dairying, livestock, poultry, fisheries and
horticulture as high-growth engines and has rec-
ommended a focussed policy with a concomitant
support system for the allied sector.
Though the Crop sector is still the major contrib-
utor to agriculture GVA, the
livestock sector is catching up (per cent)
The dairy sector is the most critical component
of the livestock sector, employing more
than eight crore farmers directly, and is the most
prominent agrarian product. Other livestock
products, such as eggs and meat, are also grow-
ing in importance. While India ranks first in milk
production in the world, it ranks third in egg pro-
duction and eighth in meat production in the
world.
Cognisant of the importance of allied sectors, the
Government has made several critical
interventions to enhance infrastructure and im-
prove livestock productivity and disease control.
As a part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (ANB) stim-
ulus package, the Animal Husbandry
Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) worth
₹15,000 crore was launched in 2020. Under
this scheme, the Central Government provides a
3 per cent interest subvention to the borrower
and credit guarantees up to 25 per cent of total
borrowing. As of 14 October 2022, 116 projects
have been approved under the scheme involving
project costs of ₹3,731.4 crore. National
Livestock Mission (NLM) scheme has been re-
structured for 2021-22 to 2025-26. The scheme
focuses on entrepreneurship development and
breeds improvement in poultry, sheep, goat
and piggery, including feed and fodder develop-
ment. Also, the Livestock Health and Disease
Control (LH&DC) Scheme is being implemented
to supplement the State/UT governments’
efforts towards preventing, controlling and con-
taining animal diseases of economic and zoono-
tic
importance by vaccination. National Animal Dis-
ease Control Programme (NADCP) is being
implemented to control Foot & Mouth Disease
and Brucellosis by completely vaccinating cattle,
buffalo, sheep, goat and pig populations against
Foot & Mouth Disease and bovine female
calves of 4-8 months of age against brucellosis.

Fintech for Women’s Financial Inclusion – Indian Dairy Sector

FEB 1, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/fintech-for-womens-financial-inclusion-indian-dairy-sector/
Financial inclusion by way of building digital and
deep tech-infused gender-intentional fintech so-
lutions is one way to bridge this disconnect, cre-
ate a level playing field and open up a wider op-
portunity set for women dairy farmers in India.

D
airy production in India is anchored in
On January 17, 2023, we organised “Fintech for
80 million rural smallholder households
Women’s Financial Inclusion: Explorations in the
with marginal livestock holdings.
Indian Dairy Sector” – a roundtable of esteemed
Household-based production reflects the tradi-
domain experts, long-term practitioners, dairy
tional gendered division of labour within house-
collectives, and fintech founders to deliberate on
holds. Male members control market transac-
the current gaps and ideate on suitable solutions
tions and cash flows, while women carry out the
to boost the financial well-being of women dairy
bulk of day-to-day production activities.
farmers in India.
While time and labour-intensive, women’s work
The Roundtable followed a structure of fluid dis-
in dairy farming is invisible and under-compen-
cussions, insight discovery and synthesis of ac-
sated. Women rarely own productive assets
tionable takeaways in two formats – large-group
(land or cattle) and have little say in production
idea exchange and small-group intensive brain-
decisions. The majority are cut off from direct ac-
storming. This note captures the key insights
cess to their share of dairy income. Their labour
from this exploration.
is framed as an extension of domestic duties,
which leaves little scope for entrepreneurial ex-
A broad context of women’s participation in the
ploration or independent financial decision-mak-
Indian dairy value chain
ing for personal or productive purposes.
Dairy is an extension of the household and at
This core disconnect between labour and deci-
best provides smoothening of income. Dairy
sion making limits women’s opportunities for in-
farming households operate at subsistence lev-
come and wealth generation, compromises their
els of production and have no visible incentives
freedom of financial choices to meet life goals
to upgrade production and improve productiv-
and contingencies, thus impairing their financial
ity. For women, dairy activities are often consid-
independence.
ered an extension of household labour. This is of-
ten so because the milk from the cattle is often
used within the household (at least partly).
Women do not have control over the household
income from dairy farming. Intra-household dis-
parity in distribution of income and poor valua-
tion of women’s labour in the raw milk procure-
ment market not only leads to underpricing of
milk and low unit level profitability; but lack of
direct access to compensation also challenges
the financial independence of women in dairy
farming households. This has negative down-
stream effects on their ability to save, access
credit and participate in financial decision mak-
ing at the household level.
Rural India lacks an enabling entrepreneurial
ecosystem. This is while there is vast unmet de-
mand for milk and dairy products in the con-
sumer market. Women are especially alienated
from entrepreneurial ambitions on account of
social conditioning, social barriers, missing men-
tal models, absence of exposure to plausible
business models, exclusion from formal financial
networks and among other factors, exclusion
from the formal dairy value chain.
meet NANDINI
A female dairy farmer in India
Nandini is a 30 year old mother of two living in a
village 30 kms from the town of Dewas in
Madhya Pradesh. She shares a two room semi-
pucca house with her spouse, children and
mother-in-law. The family cattle – whom Nandini
has lovingly named Rani and Sita live in a shed
adjoining the house. Nandini starts her day at 4
am to tend to the cows. Rani is expecting a calf
and needs special care. Nandini fetches fodder
and water, cleans the shed, washes, grooms and
feeds the animals before proceeding to milk
them. She may spend over 6 hours a day caring
for the cows. It is hard work, especially combined
with the load of household responsibilities. How-
ever, this does not stop Nandini, she deeply
cares about the well-being of her cattle.
Dairy farming is a secondary source of income for
Nandini’s family. Their primary occupation is ag-
riculture and the family income amounts to less
than INR 100,000 a year. Given the seasonal na-
ture and other volatilities of farming, Sita and
Rani are useful as they bring in a steady flow of
income. Every morning after Nandini is done
milking them, her husband carries the milk cans
to a local milk collection centre. A collection
agent weighs the milk and pays Nandini’s hus-
band in cash. Nandini’s husband has a relation-
ship with the collection agent and approaches
him for small ticket loans when finances are
tight. In return, he pledges Rani and Sita’s milk to
him.
Nandini does not receive payment for the milk,
she doesn’t even know what her share is. Her
husband holds the payments for safe-keeping
and contributes to the household budget as re-
quired. As a semi-literate woman who does not
own a smartphone, Nandini is not comfortable
with payment apps and does not quite know
how to browse the internet. An extension officer
from a local dairy cooperative office once told
her to get more nutritious feed for Rani and Sita
to improve their milking capacity. But Nandini
does not really know who to ask about this.
Gaps in the Dairy Value Chain and Potential So-
lutions
The dairy value chain can be seen as broadly
comprised of four sections – input procurement,
production, milk procurement and value addi-
tion.
INPUT PROCUREMENT
Dairy farming entails four key input procurement
activities Cattle purchase, cattle breeding, cattle
feed procurement and management of cattle
health.
Women are not equal partners in input selec-
tion. Input purchase activities are governed
by male members of dairy farming households.
While women manage dday-to-day operations,
men are custodians of all cash-flow functions,
from purchasing inputs to sale of produce.
Input credit can empower women, but there are
challenges to access. Formal financial services
can serve women who are striving to lead or are
capable of leading decisions on expansion of
herd size, and quality, volume and source of
other inputs. Access to input credit and insur-
ance can help women farmers bypass male con-
trol over cash flows. However, women dairy
farmers typically lack credit histories and sub-
stantial ownership of physical and financial as-
sets. This compels them to depend on male
members of the household for collateral to ac-
cess formal credit, reinforcing their secondary
status.
Generating evidence of women’s work in dairy
farming can enable access to formal financial re-
sources. Creating digital identities, digitizing
work-flows and linking input purchases to
women-owned bank accounts can help FSPs pro-
file, underwrite and finance the input procure-
ment choices of women dairy farmers.
Financing cattle purchase could be a priority for
intervention. Herd size expansion has a multi-
plier effect on the business orientation of dairy
farming households. Going from marginal herd
sizes of 3-5 to 10-11 expands production yields,
opens scope for farm-level production of value
added products, potentially incentivizes technol-
ogy adoption and transforms farm-level econo-
mies scale. However, the cost of cattle (each unit
ranging from INR 80,000 to INR 100,000) is not
within comfortable reach of smallholder dairy
farming households, especially for women mem-
bers of the households. Cattle loan and cattle in-
surance (life and health) products designed to
sync with the needs, capabilities, constraints and
behaviours of women in dairy farming can drive
adoption and further women’s agency in input
procurement choices.
FSPs and fintech startups can focus on process
and product innovations to support women
dairy farmers in cattle acquisition. Such innova-
tions could include (a) paperless application pro-
cesses, (b) standardised metrics for cattle evalu-
ation and pricing, (c) digital cattle quality certifi-
cation services, (d) partnerships to solve for lack
of documentation, (e) building alternative data
trails to financially profile and underwrite
women applicants, (f) providing incentives to
promote transmission of all dairy farming related
cash flows through women-owned bank ac-
counts, (g) designing flexible cattle insurance
products that complement borrowers and se-
cure against cattle death or injury etc.
PRODUCTION
Women carry out the bulk of activities in the pro-
duction stage of dairy farming. Their work covers
shed building and maintenance, daily fodder
gathering, feeding and caring for cattle, tending
to calves, pregnant or sick cattle, milking and
milk pouring, and dung collection and pro-
cessing.
Women, however, lack primary control of pro-
ductive assets and processes of produc-
tion (which are owned and set-up by males in the
household). This creates gaps in market align-
ment and upgradation. Additionally, domestic
demands leave women with little time and men-
tal bandwidth for business contemplation and
planning. Poor outlook and paucity of undivided
time and attention repeats the cycle of produc-
tion for subsistence.
Women do not apply a business sensibility to
dairy farming; it is an extension of household du-
ties. The cattle are treated as children of the
household and caring for them a part of the
woman’s duties. In the backdrop of these insti-
tutional structures, women do not naturally ap-
ply an income generation sensibility for dairy ac-
tivities.
Women’s work is undervalued and subsidises
the price of milk. Asking prices neglect the true
market value of women’s labour. The daily phys-
ical and emotional labour of care-giving, groom-
ing, sanitization and fertiliser management go
unaccounted. Moreover, prices do not factor al-
lowances for risks from lack of access to insur-
ance. Dairy farming, therefore, operates with a
missed understanding of profitability that mani-
fests in underpricing of produce. The direct cost
of underpricing is borne by the unpaid labour of
women’s work in the production stage.
Fintech innovations can help quantify and build
shareable data trails of women’s work and earn-
ings from dairy farming. Evidence can be subse-
quently extended to serve targeted modular
FaaS and embedded financial services (e.g. DIY
insurance) to women in dairy farming. This can
open pathways to skilling and specialisation,
technology adoption; and improve overall pro-
duction efficiencies.
Combining technology solutions with micro-en-
trepreneurship development can unlock supe-
rior financial outcomes for women in dairy farm-
ing. To shape their thinking, women in dairy
farming must be exposed to aspirational success
stories. Demonstrating viability, the economics
and calculus of profitability, mentorship and de-
tailed toolkits will be key to spark their imagina-
tion and instil confidence. This can be delivered
through women role models and collectives.
PROCUREMENT
There are two dominant forms of milk procure-
ment, with regional variations. Farmers may (1)
independently sell milk to local collection agents
or vendors (40% of procurement) (2) collectively
pool their daily milk production at farmer coop-
eratives/collectives (60%). The former are
largely unorganized, offer inconsistent prices
and have poor standards of quality verification.
The cooperatives/ private sector collectives offer
procurement and price stability and have strong
forward market linkages. The latter may also of-
fer a host of ancillary services around cattle
healthcare for the associated farmers.
Fair price realisation from wholesale buyers is a
function of high production volumes and collec-
tive action. Dairy farmers working with coopera-
tive societies earn higher prices and have a relia-
ble source of daily income. Stability and higher
profitability incentivizes households to maintain
quality and increase production. On the other
hand, marginal dairy farmers who sell inde-
pendently are much less likely to have enough
income security to invest in bigger herds.
Fostering collective farmer institutions is a step
towards enterprise building in small-holder
farmer segments. Different models can be ex-
plored- from collective entrepreneurship to
nano- or micro-enterprise building.
Procurement prices shortchange the value of
women’s work. Milk payments are made in cash
or bank transfers to male members of dairy
farming households. Price computation is unsci-
entific and underestimates the cost of women’s
labour in the cost of production. Thus, the invisi-
bility of women’s work has a direct impact on
farm-level profitability. Transfer of earnings to
males makes this invisibility harder to correct.
Fintech solutions can bring visibility and fair re-
muneration to women’s work. FSPs and Fintechs
can partner with collective bodies and collection
agents to incentivize digital transfer of earnings
to women-owned bank accounts. They could
also partner with SHGs and other collective bod-
ies of women dairy farmers to digitize day-to-day
operations data to develop evidence to estimate
the true money value of women’s work.
Fintechs and FSPs can leverage transactions and
operations to extend capital and insurance solu-
tions. Such solutions could be the next step to
higher earnings or profitability; and could be de-
signed to help women farmers acquire larger
herd sizes, buy equipment, access capital to take
up collective entrepreneurship and obtain secu-
rity against failure. Customised insurance solu-
tions will be critical to hedge the production risks
of new micro-entrepreneurs.
VALUE ADDITION
Across the value chain, fintech solutions for
women dairy must follow two cardinal rules-
Design solutions that minimize cognitive and so-
cial costs of adoption and usage
Make women’s participation in decision-making
(e.g. decisions regarding input purchase, choice
of credit or sale of produce) core to product de-
velopment ideation.
CATALYZING WOMEN LED ENTERPRISE BUILD-
ING IN DAIRY PRODUCTION
Ecosystem actors must carefully seed entrepre-
neurial ambition and capability to unlock grass-
root level value-creation opportunities for
women in dairy farming. Interventions must ad-
dress –
Awareness building and skilling – This can be
done by training, mentoring, demonstrating the
business case for enterprise building, providing
easy to follow comprehensive toolkits to set-up,
break-even and scale nano- micro-enterprises.
Leveraging the power of collectives – Collective
enterprise building lends a sense of ownership
and distributes the risks of venturing. Combined
production volumes make it easier to find profit-
able buyers and develop forward and backward
market linkages.
Gender inclusive digital transformation of the
dairy value chain: Women are not well repre-
sented in the dairy value chain in India. Cattle
registrations are done in the name of male mem-
bers of the household. Payment for milk produc-
tion is also disbursed to men. Women find it dif-
ficult to access formal credit owing to lack of
data on income and cattle ownership. Integrat-
ing women producers with the formal value
chain is important for them to unlock higher
profitability and additional opportunities for
value creation. Fintech startups and incumbents
can work on business model and financial prod-
uct innovations to ease women’s access to pro-
ductive resources.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The success of the Roundtable is greatly at-
tributed to the diverse perspectives and insights
provided by each participant. We thank you for
your participation and active engagement.
List of participants
Dr. Ankur Ojha, NIFTEM
Chandrakiran N. Sant, Gomati Milk Producers
Union
Deeptha Kumar, Haqdarshak
Emmanuel Murray, Caspian
Harshada Samant, VKCoE, IRMA
Jayatheertha Chary, Shreeja Mahila Milk Produc-
ers Company
Jofi Joseph, Promethean Power
Dr. J.B. Prajapati, VKCoE, IRMA
Keerthi Kamasamudra, Stellapps
Kishore Athota, Social Alpha
Kuldeep Sharma, Suruchi Consultants
Maharshi Thaker, Sampada
Nagarajan Sivaramakrishnan, Omnivore
Nikhil Bohra, Krimanshi
Nikki Pilania, Mango Dairies
Ramakrishna NK, Rang De
Ratul Baruah, Madhur Dairy
Ravi K A, Dvara
Shashikanth Subramanya, Villgro
Sriram Singh, NDDB
Sujith Hukkerikar, ADIS
TVS Ravi Kumar, MSC
National Farmers Training on Smart Dairy Farming at VKCoE
FEB 1, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/national-farmers-training-on-smart-dairy-farming-conducted-by-vkcoe/
I
n collaboration with Amul dairy, the Ver-
ghese Kurien Center of Excellence (VKCoE)
successfully conducted its second ‘National
Farmers Training on Smart Dairy Farming’
The three-day training programme included
presentations by experts from VKCoE, Amul,
NDDB, NABARD Anand, and Bank of Baroda on
themes such as animal care in changing
environments and enhancing the business’s
profitability through by-products. Dr. J. B. Pra-
japati,
the chairperson of the VKCoE, presented an
overview of the dairy industry to begin the
programme.
People like Dr Smruti Smita Mohapatra from
VKCoE, Dr Preeti Shukla and Dr Gopal Shukla
from Amul, Dr Sameer Patel from Sabar Dairy,
Dr Bhupendra Phondba, Dr Digvijay Singh, Shri
Niranjan Karade, and Dr Sujit Saha from NDDB,
Mr Hiitesh Karkar from Bank of Baroda, Mr
Programme this month, from 16th to 18th Janu-
ary 2023. The management development
programme held at the Institute of Rural Man-
agement, Anand (IRMA) was attended by
twenty-
seven progressive farmers, veterinary officers,
dairy extension officials, and dairy officers from
dairy cooperatives around the nation. The pur-
pose of the initiative is to raise awareness of
Smart Dairy Farming among farmers in order to
improve the productivity, performance, and
profitability of dairy farms.
Amit Bhatt from NABARD (Anand) lent their ex-
pertise for the benefit of the farmers. This time
we also held a free discussion session and we
invited progressive dairy farmers from the
surrounding area like Smt Gayatriben Patel for
the participants to interact with. As Dr Verghese
Kurien once said, India’s place in the sun would
come from the partnership between the wis-
dom
of its rural people and the skill of its profession-
als. Thus, we sought the same through our
programme.
Niranjan Karade, and Dr Sujit Saha from NDDB,
Mr Hiitesh Karkar from Bank of Baroda, Mr
Amit Bhatt from NABARD (Anand) lent their ex-
pertise for the benefit of the farmers. This time
we also held a free discussion session and we
invited progressive dairy farmers from the
surrounding area like Smt Gayatriben Patel for
the participants to interact with. As Dr Verghese
Kurien once said, India’s place in the sun would
come from the partnership between the wis-
dom
of its rural people and the skill of its profession-
als. Thus, we sought the same through our
programme.
Akshayakalpa Organic -Signature Dairy Farming in Tamil Nadu
FEB 1, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/akshayakalpa-organic-introduces-signature-dairy-farming-model-in-tamil-nadu/
Akshayakalpa Organic, India’s first certified or-
ganic dairy company and producer of the coun-
try’s most popular organic milk, today estab-
lished a stronger footprint in Tamil Nadu with
the inauguration of its Model Organic Dairy Farm
in Pooriyambakkam village in Changalpattu Dis-
trict, located 90 KMS south of Chennai.
Named Akshayakalpa Velan Kudil or ‘farmer’s
home’, the new model farm is a replica of its
highly successful mother farm in Tiptur in Karna-
taka. Akshayakalpa works with more than 850
farmers Karnataka and with 300 farmers in Tamil
Nadu, Chengalpattu District. Akshayakalpa ex-
pects to deliver fresh and healthy organic milk
and dairy products to more than 2,00,000 dis-
cerning customers over the next five years.
In addition to expert sessions, numerous field
trips were incorporated into the programme.
They
provided participants with a hands-on perspec-
tive of innovative and alternative technologies
in
dairy farming and surrounding operations, such
as solar energy harvesting and biogas plants,
among others.
Shri. Oliver Ballhatchet with Shri Shashi Kumar,
CEO, and Co-founder, Akshayakalpa Organic
The new farm was inaugurated by Shri. Oliver
Ballhatchet, British Deputy High Commissioner
to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, as the UK’s de-
velopment finance institution British Interna-
tional Investment (BII) is a major investor in
Akshayakalpa Organic. BII joined Akshayakalpa
Organic in September 2022, as a key investor
along with Rainmatter Foundation, and existing
investor Venture Dairy to help fulfill its promise
to promote, support, and grow sustainable and
regenerative farming while providing access to
premium organic milk to its consumers. In its Se-
ries B funding round, Akshayakalpa raised $15
million from BII and other investors and has been
able to further bring alive its vision to transform
livelihood-based agriculture into wealth-crea-
tion opportunities for small and marginal farm-
ers and make farming an aspirational vocation
for future generations. Today, Akshayakalpa is
India’s largest organic milk producer in the coun-
try catering to more than 60,000 consumers in
Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
Shri Shashi Kumar, CEO, and Co-
founder, Akshayakalpa Organic said, “Health-
conscious consumers are a growing tribe in India
that will one day in the near future be strong
enough to mainstream organic food in the coun-
try. This movement also presents a historic op-
portunity to bring best practices into Indian dairy
farms and improve the economic conditions of
our farmers. Additionally, organic farming helps
in soil conservation and creates a positive impact
on climate change. Akshayakalpa Velan Kudil will
work with farmers in Tamil Nadu to achieve the
same level of success their counterparts in the
Tiptur cluster have achieved. Our success in Kar-
nataka is a good measure of what we expect to
do and achieve in Tamil Nadu. We are also de-
lighted at the prospect of expanding our con-
sumer family and winning more hearts in the
state.”
Shri Oliver Ballhatchet, British Deputy High Com-
missioner to India, said: “Through BII’s invest-
ment, the British Government is proud to sup-
port pioneering companies like Akshayakalpa Or-
ganic, who are working to ensure sustainable
farming practices which will help to improve
food security in India. The UK remains commit-
ted to solving the biggest global development
challenges by supporting productive, sustaina-
ble, and inclusive economic outcomes for all.”
Shri Manav Bansal, Managing Director and Head
of India at BII, said, “The inauguration of
the Model Organic Dairy Farm is an exciting mile-
stone in our investment with Akshayakalpa and
is an example of how our capital can bring about
development impact in India. This new farm will
not only help to support food security and bring
nutritious dairy products to millions of people in
India but will improve the livelihood of farmers
across the region and inspire the next generation
of sustainable smallholder farmers.”
Started in 2010 with just three farmers, the
Akshayakalpa has since transformed the for-
tunes of hundreds of farmers in Tiptur with an
average three-fold increase in monthly revenue
to around INR 100,000. This success has been
achieved largely due to the support of consum-
ers willing to pay a better price for high-quality
and nutritious organic milk and dairy products
and the Akshayakalpa model that provides mul-
tiple sources of income outside the basic reve-
nue from selling milk. Typical Akshayakalpa
farmers also grow and sell organic vegetables,
coconuts, honey, and eggs to supplement their
daily income from dairy.
Akshayakalpa has also created new benchmarks
for sustainable farm practices that help produce
milk and milk products that are free from antibi-
otics and chemical pesticide residue. After more
than a decade since delivering its first packet of
raw milk in 2010, Akshayakalpa Organic has
grown into a 700-member plus team of dedi-
cated women and men from a wide range of so-
cio-economic and cultural backgrounds ensuring
they move ahead in their mission that justifies
the name Akshayakalpa or ‘Infinite Possibilities’.
***
About Akshayakalpa Organic: Akshayakalpa Or-
ganic, founded in 2010, is India’s first certified
organic dairy enterprise that offers milk and milk
products that are free from antibiotics, synthetic
additives, and chemical pesticide residue. The
organization stands true to its name with its vi-
sion of building a healthier world through nutri-
tion, based on clean science, and a sustainable
farming ecosystem accessible to the entire na-
tion.
Akshayakalpa has crafted a world-class model
that not only creates a new industry benchmark
in dairy farming practices but also nurtures farm-
ers in line with its mission to create a holistic eco-
system-led transformation through its Farmer-
Entrepreneurship Initiatives.
The nutrition-rich products of Akshayakalpa in-
clude Milk, Ghee, Cheese, Butter, Paneer, Curd,
Buttermilk, Bread, Honey, Batter, Coconut, and
Virgin Coconut oil, and many new products to be
launched in the pipeline. Akshayakalpa currently
has about 60000+ customers across Bengaluru,
Chennai, and Hyderabad and growing.
About British International Investment
· British International Investment is the UK’s
development finance institution and impact in-
vestor
· British International Investment is a trusted
investment partner to businesses in Africa, Asia
and the Caribbean
· It invests to support the UK Government’s
Clean Green Initiative and to create productive,
sustainable and inclusive economies in our mar-
kets
· Over the next five years, at least 30 per cent
of BII’s total new commitments by value will be
in climate finance
· BII is also a founding member of the 2X
Challenge which has raised over $10 billion to
empower women’s economic development
· The company has investments in over 1,300
businesses in emerging economies and total as-
sets of £7.7 billion
 Global News
FAO, WHO Report on Food Safety of Water Reuse in Dairy
FEB 16, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/fao-who-report-on-food-safety-of-water-reuse-in-dairy-industry/
T
he Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) and the World
Health Organization (WHO) recently
published a report that provides guidance for the
dairy industry on food-safe sourcing, use, and re-
use of fit-for-purpose water.
The report is based on a Joint FAO/WHO Expert
Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment
(JEMRA) session that was convened online from
June 14–July 2, 2021 in support of the Codex Ali-
mentarius Commission’s work to develop guide-
lines for the safe use and reuse of water in food
production.
The report gives an overview of potential
sources of reusable water in dairy processing
and considerations for its application. Examples
of water types that could potentially be sourced
for reuse include water that:
Was part of a dairy product
Has come into a dairy operation in the form of
drinking water and is recirculated until it is no
longer suitable as drinking water
Has been used for cleaning purposes in the food
processing operation or other parts of a facility
Is part of a dairy operation’s effluent.
Whether reuse water is designated as not-for-
food-contact or for-food-contact will determine
if a reconditioning process is required prior to
application. The report underlines that every wa-
ter reuse scenario—such as the combination of
reusable water source and reuse water applica-
tion, including specifics like recovery, recondi-
tioning, storage, and distribution—must be thor-
oughly reviewed to ensure food safety of the fi-
nal product. Dairy operations should refer to the
relevant regulatory requirements when design-
ing and operating a water reuse scenario. The
ability to control potential hazards should also
be taken into consideration, and water reuse and
control should consider specific conditions, such
as:
The microbial status of the water source
The microbiological requirements associated
with the reuse water application to ensure food
safety of the final product
The microbiological efficacy of the reuse water
generation system, which is related to the com-
bination of the technologies, equipment, and in-
frastructure employed for water recovery, re-
conditioning, and storage
The need to consistently control the reuse water
generation system and the application of the re-
use water produced in the day-to-day operation
The role of microbial testing for validation and
verification in designing and managing reuse wa-
ter generation and use, as well as the ability to
apply appropriate testing approaches.
Additionally, when assessing potential microbio-
logical hazards and establishing appropriate con-
trols for reuse water generation and use, FAO
suggests taking into account:
The microbial hazards present in the possible re-
usable water sources, as well as hazards associ-
ated with other parts of the operation that could
contaminate a reuse water supply after it has
been produced
Nutrients present in a reuse water supply after
recovery and reconditioning that may foster the
growth of spoilage organisms or microbiological
hazards
Whether reuse water that has been recycled or
recirculated multiple times in a specific process
operation is leading to or has resulted in biofilm
formation
Whether any particular measure for preserva-
tion of the product or for control of microbial
growth is required over the set shelf-life of the
reuse water supply
The need to have available a back-up fit-for-pur-
pose water supply, such as a drinking water
source, that can be used in case the reuse water
generation system is not under control or has
failed.
The report highlights similarities between food
safety controls and the management water sup-
ply generation, such as the importance of follow-
ing a risk- and evidence-based approach. Hazard
control plans for a reuse water generation pro-
cess should be based on several steps derived
from hazard analysis or risk assessment that:
Identifies the known or potential hazards that a
reusable water supply might have acquired
through its earlier application
Identifies hazards possibly contaminating the
water in the course of reuse water generation,
storage, and use
Assesses the potential risk that any identified
hazards, based on the likelihood of their occur-
rence and concentration in the reuse water, may
pose to consumer safety through the food being
produced in the dairy operation.
Also important is the validation of recovery, pu-
rification, or antimicrobial treatment conditions
for each water reuse scenario. During operation,
the reuse water generation process should be
monitored daily, including timely verification of
its microbiological status. The report suggests
the use of third-party contractors if necessary.
Overall, the report recommends that food busi-
ness operators tailor each water reuse scenario
to the specific conditions of its particular food
operation, taking into account: the purpose of
water reuse, available sources of reusable water,
the reuse water generation system and underly-
ing processes, storage and shelf-life of reuse wa-
ter supplies, the approach to managing reuse
water generation and application, and the skills
and expertise available to manage day-by-day
the implemented water reuse scenario at the op-
erational scale.
Finally, the report identifies knowledge gaps that
exist and capacities and capabilities that need to
be addressed, especially in low resource set-
tings:
The understanding of the types and levels of mi-
crobial, physical, and chemical hazards poten-
tially present in reusable water sources within
dairy operations, as well as the ability to conduct
appropriate risk assessment and hazard analysis
for a particular water reuse scenario
The ability to assess the effectiveness of individ-
ual or combined technologies for recovery and
reconditioning of reusable water supplies and
for mitigating relevant hazards
The validation of recovery, reconditioning, shelf-
life/storage, and application technologies, as
well as the operational management during full
scale operation
The establishment and the use of microbiological
parameters for verification of operational con-
trol, and for validation and verification of water
reuse operations
The deployment of suitable or alternative tech-
nologies for recovering and reconditioning water
in dairy operations that have limited resources,
capabilities, and technical infrastructure.
The report encourages the sharing of data,
knowledge, evidence, expertise, and other re-
sources between international stakeholders, es-
pecially the sharing of experiences in setting up
effective reuse water generation systems and fit-
for-purpose applications of reuse water supplies
in small to large dairy production and processing
facilities.
Saputo prioritises value over volume to keep dairy “affordable”
FEB 14, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/saputo-prioritises-value-over-volume-to-keep-dairy-affordable-in-cost-climate/
aputo has flipped its focus to value over
S volume after a challenging couple of years
characterised by supply chain and infla-
tionary pressures.
As input costs “remain high” across the supply
chain and wages, president and CEO Lino Saputo,
Jr., said the Canadian dairy major is “focused on
executing cost savings in addition to pricing initi-
atives to offset some of the cost pressures we
cannot mitigate”.
“The operating environment remains dynamic,”
Mr. Saputo said as he presented third-quarter
results to 31 December, with adjusted EBITDA
moving up almost 30% to CAD1.16bn
(US$868.3m) for fiscal 2023 to date. “Conse-
quently, we are advancing our efficiency and
productivity initiatives.”
Saputo is aiming to boost that metric to
CAD2.13bn by the end of the 2025 financial year
as part of its four-year strategic plan, which in-
cludes “optimisation” initiatives. Adjusted
EBITDA rose 38% in the quarter to CAD445m.
“Despite increasing prices compared to last year,
dairy remains an affordable, flexible, and acces-
sible option relative to other proteins on the
market,” Mr. Saputo argued. “That said, consum-
ers are value conscious, so we’re meeting their
needs through tailored product offerings, pack
sizes and promotions.”
The adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 9.7% in
the quarter from 8.3% in the corresponding
three months of 2022.
Saputo’s chief outlined the changing market dy-
namics linked to pandemic-related supply chain
constraints and inflationary headwinds since the
strategy plan launched in the summer of 2021.
“The other element I would say that has changed
dramatically from the initial phases of the strat
plan, is we’re not focusing on the volume targets
anymore, we’re focusing on value over volume.
And this is a substantial shift to make sure that
we keep our margins intact and that we continue
to create a valued product for our customers in
an environment where they’re prepared to pay
for the incremental value,” Mr. Saputo told ana-
lysts on a post-results call.
Factory consolidation
Despite pricing to offset rising input costs, Sa-
puto’s volumes are generally holding up, alt-
hough consumers in Europe, and especially in
the UK, are facing more of a burden from energy
price hikes than the US or Canada. Volumes in
Europe declined during the quarter.
“Our elasticities are only moderately increasing
and we see good market demand, but we are
closely monitoring for signs of changing con-
sumer behaviours, the CEO said.
He added: “In Europe, despite persistent infla-
tionary headwinds and a challenging consumer
environment in the UK, the business improved
its performance supported by pricing actions
translating into revenue and EBITDA growth. The
ongoing volatility in the operating environment,
however, further pressured operating margins.”
Further optimisation around manufacturing ca-
pabilities could also be on the cards, Mr. Saputo
suggested following recent announce-
ments around plant closures in the US and Aus-
tralia.
Earlier this month, the company revealed plans
to build a new cheese factory in Franklin, Wis-
consin, but replete with the closure of three oth-
ers: the Big Stone plant in South Dakota, the
Green Bay facility in Wisconsin, and the South
Gate site in California.
As a direct result, Saputo expects to reap “finan-
cial benefits” from the final quarter of fiscal 2024
and “reaching its full potential” of around
CAD74m annually by the end of 2027.
“We’ll continue to narrow the margin gap as we
advance on our global strategic plan initiatives,
which include productivity initiatives, right-sizing
our manufacturing footprint, optimising our
plant operating costs and cost savings,” Mr. Sa-
puto explained.
Saputo reported third-quarter revenue of
CAD4.6bn, up 18%. For the year so far, it rose
20.7% to CAD13.4bn.
Across the respective periods, net income al-
most doubled to CAD179m from CAD86m a year
Milk price reaches Rs210 a litre in uncertain economic conditions
FEB 14, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/milk-price-reaches-rs210-a-litre-in-uncertain-economic-conditions/
I
n uncertain economic conditions, consum-
ers continue to receive severe price shocks
following an unchecked hike in the prices of
daily use items, including loose milk, which has
been increased to Rs210 from Rs190 per litre by
some shopkeepers and live broiler chicken which
has seen an increase of Rs30-40 per kg in the last
two days, taking the cost to Rs480-500 per kilo-
gram.
Earlier this month, the live bird was available at
Rs390-440 per kg while it was being sold be-
tween Rs380-420kg in the last week of January,
2023.
The chicken meat is now being sold at Rs700-780
a kg which was Rs620-650 per kg a few days ago.
earlier, and climbed to CAD463m from CAD237m
year to date.
Persistent labour shortages remain another
headwind for the dairy giant, especially in the
US, suggesting other food manufacturers are
also facing the same challenges around hiring.
“Like many other businesses, we have been con-
strained by labour shortages, especially in the
US,” Mr. Saputo said. “Staffing levels and the im-
pact on operational throughput have been a ma-
jor challenge in the past 18 months. Although la-
bour has improved notably with greater work-
force stability, we’re not out of the woods just
yet.”
Boneless meat price hit a new peak of Rs1,000-
1,100 per kg, showing a jump of Rs150-200 per
kg in the same period.
Boneless poultry meat rate has crossed the price
of boneless veal which is currently being sold at
Rs900-1,000 per kg, while meat with bones is
selling at Rs800-850 per kg.
Loose milk
On loose milk, Karachi Milk Retailers Association
media coordinator Waheed Gaddi claimed that
“over 1,000 shopkeepers are selling milk at an in-
flated rate. These are actually shops of wholesal-
ers/dairy farmers and not ours members”.
He said: “Our 4,000 retail members have kept
the price unchanged at Rs190 per litre.”
In case the price hike announced by dairy farm-
ers and wholesalers is not reverted, retailers will
be bound to charge Rs220 per litre instead of
Rs210 from the consumers as per new rate cal-
culation after Rs27 per litre jump in procurement
price, he added.
On Dec 16, 2022, retailers got an increase of
Rs10 per litre from the commissioner of Karachi
to sell milk at Rs180 per litre, but majority of re-
tailers continued to sell milk at Rs190 per litre,
rejecting the official rate. At that time, the offi-
cial wholesale rate was also increased from
Rs160 per litre to Rs170.
Mr Waheed said the association had informed
the commissioner of Karachi on February 10 that
in the utter violation of Sindh High Court’s order
regarding mechanism of fixing of fresh milk
price, the association was not allowed the op-
portunity of being heard while fixing the prices
via a notification on Oct 25, 2022 and Dec 16,
2022, despite noticeable increase in overhead
expenses of retail shops.
He said retailers were still not getting milk at no-
tified wholesale prices making it difficult for
them to sell milk at a controlled rate after getting
it at higher prices.
“The Commissioner had not taken any action in
this regard against the stakeholders and only re-
tailers were targeted to ensure the implementa-
tion of official retail rates,” he said.
Dairy farmers had again raised the price on Feb-
ruary 11 to Rs183 per litre from their official rate
of Rs163 per litre announced on Dec 16, 2022, he
said.
He added that retailers had two options, either
to purchase milk at higher price or discontinue
its purchase and sale.
Poultry rates
On soaring poultry rates, Sindh Poultry Whole-
salers Association general secretary Kamal Akh-
tar Siddiqui said that the wholesale rate of live
bird was Rs600 per kg while meat rate was hov-
ering between Rs650 and Rs700, but retailers
charged prices at their whims.
He said clearance of soya bean meal (one of the
main ingredients of poultry feed) from the port
was still facing problems. The 50kg poultry feed
bag is now tagged at Rs7,200, up by Rs600 in the
last one month as the price of the poultry feed
being made without soya bean is also going up.
He said the prices of poultry products may re-
main volatile for consumers in coming months
due to delay in opening fresh letters of credit for
import of soya bean meal while the scare of ru-
pee devaluation was also making foreign suppli-
ers of soya bean meal reluctant to strike any deal
with local traders.
In almost all the food items, the federal, provin-
cial and local governments are not playing their
due role in rescuing consumers from paying sky-
rocketing prices, thus leaving manufacturers and
traders free to keep jacking up prices.
Consumers believe that ‘both milk stakeholders
and Commissioner of Karachi play hide and seek
every time and carry short-term raids at retail
shops to pacify consumers, which are later
stopped’.
Solid performance and sustainability action in volatile year by ARLA
FEB 13, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/solid-performance-and-sustainability-action-in-another-volatile-year-by-arla/
rla Foods navigated the inflationary en-
A vironment of 2022 effectively, deliver-
ing a strong performance that enabled
it to deliver a significant increase in its prepaid
milk price and an above target supplementary
payment to its farmer owners of 2.2 EUR-cent
per kg milk for the full year. The European dairy
cooperative also took significant steps on its sus-
tainability journey by lowering scope 1, 2 and 3
emissions and successfully developing its Sus-
tainability Incentive Model that will be intro-
duced in 2023, which will include a sustainability
payment as part of its milk price to support and
enable farmer investments.
Total Arla Group revenue increased by 23.2 per
cent to EUR 13.8 billion compared to EUR 11.2
billion in 2021. Revenue growth was almost ex-
clusively driven by increased prices. Stagnating
supply and steady demand drove up commodity
and retail prices, which contributed positively to
the increase.
Arla’s average pre-paid milk price increased by
40.5 per cent from 37.0 EUR-cent/kg in 2021 to
52.0 EUR-cent/kg in 2022. Its performance price,
which measures the value Arla adds to each kilo
of its owners’ milk, was 55.1 EUR-cent/kg, a 38.8
per cent increase compared to 2021.
In 2022, Arla achieved a net profit allocated to
farmer owners of EUR 382 million, or 2.8 per
cent of revenue, which is at the bottom end of
its target range of 2.8-3.2 per cent. Profit was
driven by unprecedented high margins on com-
modity products, which, together with high pro-
duction costs put retail and foodservice margins
under pressure.
The financial performance allowed the Arla
Board of Directors to propose a supplementary
payment, including interest on contributed capi-
tal, to farmers of 2.2 EUR-cent per kg of milk de-
livered, in line with Arla’s new retainment policy,
for the first time paid out over two installments
in September 2022 and March 2023.
The higher returns helped alleviate pressure on
farmers, who faced soaring production cost as
prices on feed, fertilizer and energy reached un-
precedented levels. It also supported them in
making the investments required to continue
their transition to more sustainable dairy pro-
duction and meet Arla’s on-farm target of reduc-
ing CO2e by 30 per cent by 2030.
BRANDED GROWTH SLOWED BY DOWN-TRAD-
ING AND LESS CONSUMPTION
Following two years of exceptional branded
growth in retail sales during the Covid-19 pan-
demic, branded volume growth slowed down in
2022, as the cost of living crisis impacted con-
sumers and exerted pressure across the whole
value chain. Significant downward pressure on
consumer spending power, particularly in Eu-
rope and Africa, led to consumers both trading
down to cheaper products and consuming less
dairy in general. By the end of 2022, the Euro-
pean dairy category demand was down approx.
5 per cent compared to the same time in 2021.
“The cost of living crisis impacted us across the
world, particularly affecting our brands which,
whilst they continue to be a key value creator for
our business, declined volumes by 3.2 per cent.
Some exceptions to this were our foodservice
brand Arla® Pro, Arla® Protein and our Starbuck-
sTM business, which all contributed with positive
growth rates. Our international business also
grew volumes with Puck® performing well in the
Middle East,” says Arla CEO, Peder Tuborgh.
COMMERCIAL SEGMENTS MARKED BY INFLA-
TION
Arla divides its business into 4 commercial seg-
ments.
Arla Europe Historically high inflation led to sig-
nificant price increases across the Europe Zone.
Revenue in-creased by 17.4 per cent to EUR
7,771 million, compared to EUR 6,621 million in
2021. Branded volume driven growth declined
by 4.2 per cent as consumers traded down to
cheaper options and sought promotions. Some
product categories and brands saw significant
volume declines, with the most acute impact in
the whole butter and spreadable category,
where volume decline was 7.0 per cent. Despite
the challenges, Arla’s Netherlands/France/Bel-
gium cluster achieved 1.3 percent branded
growth. Starbucks delivered growth of 14.4 per-
cent, Arla Protein grew 48.1 percent and Arla Pro
grew by 20.4 per cent.
Arla’s International Zone grew revenue by 17.2
per cent, to EUR 2,463 million from EUR 2,101
million in 2021. The majority of the development
was related to price increases, which were nec-
essary to offset the increasing production costs.
Branded volume driven growth declined by -1.2
per cent, but record branded volume growth was
achieved in the company’s Middle East and
North Africa and Southeast Asia regions, where
volumes grew by 4.3 and 21.3 per cent respec-
tively. The business in China struggled due to the
full Covid lockdown throughout the year.
Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI), a 100 per cent
owned subsidiary of Arla, grew its value-added
protein volumes by 6.8 per cent and delivered a
revenue growth of 29.5 per cent to EUR 1,028
million compared to EUR 794 million in the same
period last year. Strong demand for AFI’s special-
ised whey protein and lactose products pro-
tected margins in a very dynamic market envi-
ronment with record high energy and raw mate-
rial prices.
The overall share of milk solids sold by our Global
Industry Sales rose to 23.6 per cent compared to
22.1 per cent last year. The business unit’s reve-
nue increased by 45.2 per cent, to EUR 2,531 mil-
lion, from EUR 1,743 million in 2021, as a result
of commodity price increases. Strong global in-
dustry sales were a key driver behind the com-
petitive milk price to Arla’s farmer owners.
FARM CO2e REDUCTIONS ON TRACK
Arla’s emission reduction programmes delivered
the expected reductions in 2022.
In scope 1 and 2, Arla lowered its emissions by 4
percentage points in 2022, and in total by 29 per
cent compared to the company’s 2015 baseline.
Whilst the company’s plans to move from fossil
to renewable fuels remain intact, the risks of dis-
ruptions to the supply of gas in Europe, necessi-
tated a temporary move to oil to power selected
production sites and maintain continuity of sup-
ply. Arla compensated for these increased emis-
sions through the purchase of additional renew-
able electricity certificates. In addition, Arla an-
nounced a new target of using 100 per cent re-
newable electricity in Europe by 2025, facilitated
by the signing of further Power Purchase Agree-
ments.
Arla’s scope 3 emissions were reduced by 2 per-
centage points per kg of milk and whey, and in
total by 9 per cent compared to the company’s
2015 baseline. 2022 also saw Arla take steps to
further accelerate scope 3 emissions with the de-
velopment of its Sustainability Incentive model,
which ties the milk price farmers receive to sus-
tainability actions on farm. After the Sustainabil-
ity Incentive model comes into effect in August
2023, farmers can earn up to 3 EUR-cent per kg
of milk for their actions contributing to achieve
our 2030 target of reducing scope 3 CO₂e emis-
sions by 30 per cent per kg of milk and whey, as
well as other sustainability actions such as en-
hancing biodiversity.
To reward past action and motivate further envi-
ronmental improvements on farms, Arla’s Board
of Directors is earmarking up to EUR 500 million
annually to be re-distributed to farmer owners
based on their individual points collected in the
incentive model.
OUTLOOK FOR 2023
Arla expects high inflation and volatility to con-
tinue to impact the business in 2023. Comment-
ing on the effects of this, Peder Tuborgh says:
“2023 will undoubtedly be another difficult year
with the challenging economic environment
globally and the ongoing effects of the war in
Ukraine continuing to impact the energy market
and supply chains. We are currently seeing some
easing of cost pressure on farmers, and as a re-
sult we expect the supply and demand balance
to be restored on the dairy market over the
course of 2023. Commodity prices, however, be-
gan a sharp decline during the fourth quarter of
2022, and we expect further decrease on the
commodity markets in 2023. We also expect to
see a continued slow-down in branded growth
due to reduced buying power of consumers and
fear of recession.”
The cost of living crisis, which is expected to con-
tinue to impact consumers throughout 2023, has
led to a downward revision of a key economic in-
dicator in Arla’s Future26 strategy. Whilst the
majority of Future26 remains relevant and
therefore unchanged, Arla’s branded volume
growth ambitions needed to be adjusted.
The economic impact is most severe in 2022 and
2023 and Arla expects a return to growth condi-
tions from 2024. Based on these assumptions,
Arla expects its branded volumes to decline by -
3.5 to -1.5 per cent in 2023, and expect to start
growing its volumes again from 2024 and on-
wards in the strategy period, in the range of 1-4
per cent.
Group revenue outlook for 2023 is expected to
be EUR 13.6-14.2 billion, net profit share will be
in the range of 2.8 to 3.2 per cent and efficiencies
in the range of EUR 55-85 million. Leverage is ex-
pected to be in the range of 2.4-2.8. Arla will
publish its Financial and Sustainability Annual
Report 2022 on February 23.
Annual Results 2022 key figures:
Group revenue EUR 13.8 billion
Performance price 55.1 eurocent/kg
Milk volume 13.5 billion kg
Net profit share of revenue 2.8 per cent
Board of Directors proposal for profit appropria-
tion: Supplementary payment including interest
amounting 269 mEUR corresponding to 2.2 EUR-
cent per kg owner milk, whereof interest on con-
tributed capital is 9 mEUR equal to 0.1 EUR-cent.
Retainment amount to 113 mEUR corresponding
to 0.9 EUR-cent per kg owner milk, with 39 mEUR
on individual capital and 74 mEUR on common
capital
Net efficiencies EUR 101 million
Leverage 3.0
Overall strategic branded volume driven revenue
growth -3.2 per cent – Includes Lurpak® Arla ®
Puck® Castello® Starbucks®
Arla® is the largest strategic brand based on rev-
enue and an umbrella brand with diverse and
successful sub-brands covering milk, yoghurt,
cream, powder and cheese. Arla® was chal-
lenged in 2022 due to consumers reacting to
higher prices and Covid-19 normalisation.
Branded volumes declined by 4.3 per cent com-
pared to 2021, however, the brand retained its
value market share in its core markets. Revenue
increased by 10.2 per cent, to EUR 3,702 million
from EUR 3,359 million in 2021.
Lurpak® is the leading butter and spreadable
brand in Denmark, the UK and MENA and sold in
95 countries. Lurpak® experienced a volume de-
cline of 7.6 per cent compared to 2021 driven by
price increases, and an overall category decline.
Revenue grew by 16 per cent, to EUR 750 million
from EUR 646 million in 2021.
Puck® Arla’s strong Middle East brand and num-
ber one brand in spreadable cheese in MENA.
Puck® grew volumes at 4.7 per cent, ahead of the
2021 growth of 3.2 per cent. Revenue grew by
31.8 per cent, to EUR 504 million, from EUR 383
million in 2021.
Castello® lost 6.9 per cent volumes compared to
2021. Revenue improved by 24.4 per cent, to
EUR 239 million from EUR 192 million in 2021.
Israeli development to change how we consume dairy products
FEB 13, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/israeli-development-to-change-how-we-consume-dairy-products/
T
he Israeli biopharmaceutical company
Mileutis based in Ness Ziona is currently
considered one of the global pioneers in
this field. The company developed a biological
preparation designed to treat the most serious
health problem of dairy cows – udder infections.
Mileutis CEO David Javier Iskovic founded the
company jointly with his father, Dr. Jose Iskovic,
an expert epidemiologist, based on the initial
technology of the Volcani Institute, the father’s
research and the expertise of both.
The company emphasizes that the Agriculture
Ministry is now examining the possibility of ap-
proving the use of Imilac in dairy barns in Israel.
When approval is received, the path will be
opened to remove antibiotics from dairy prod-
ucts consumed by Israeli citizens.
David stated that there’s a silent epidemic that
has been defined as a slow tsunami which is go-
ing to stop the medical progress of the last hun-
dred years.
Starbucks® The licensed brand Starbucks® ready-
to-drink coffee assortment delivered 12.4 per
cent volume growth in 2022, despite price in-
creases across the portfolio.
Today, about 70% of antibiotics are given to ani-
mals. A cycle is created in which they’re given an-
tibiotics, the bacteria actually develop resistance
inside the biological environment of animals,
and then these resistant bacteria pass to hu-
mans.
Mileutis has developed a line of biological prod-
ucts based on proteins naturally found in milk.
The first product line includes specific peptides
(parts of proteins) which increase the activity of
the immune system in the udder which enables
it to treat and prevent the disease.
According to Mileutis estimates, the market po-
tential of Imilac is about a billion dollars.
Mileutis points to study from The Lancet
The company points to a recent study published
in The Lancet which found that 1.27 million peo-
ple die per year as a direct result of antimicro-
bial-resistant bacteria and the number including
indirect cases reaches 4.95 million.
The study stated that in 2050,10 million people
will die annually from antibiotic-resistant bacte-
ria. Iskovic said that this is a disaster that’s get-
ting closer and pointed to a study conducted by
the British government, according to which the
economic damage will add up to 100 trillion dol-
lars.
“The most advanced alternative that exists in the
world is ours,” he said. “Awareness of the issue
exists, but at a medium to low level, but we be-
lieve that it will increase.”
Remilk defers plan for world’s largest precision fermentation facility
FEB 11, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/remilk-defers-plan-for-worlds-largest-precision-fermentation-facility/
I
sraeli startup Remilk—one of the best-
funded players in the nascent animal-free
dairy space—has hit pause on plans to build
a large-scale precision fermentation facility in
Denmark and is instead ramping up production
of whey protein (made by microbes, not cows)
with a contract manufacturer in western Europe,
which it claims will enable it to hit production
goals more rapidly.
Armed with $120 million raised in a Series B
round led by Hanaco Ventures, Remilk unveiled
plans to build what it claimed would be
the world’s largest precision fermentation facil-
ity on a 750,000sq ft greenfield site in Ka-
lundborg, Denmark, in April 2022, with the aim
of breaking ground by the end of the year.
World’s largest precision fermentation facility
At the time, the startup said building its own
plant at Kalundborg made economic and envi-
ronmental sense, as it would become part of
the Symbiosis Project, a group of companies
seeking to build a circular economy where “by-
products of one company become resources for
another.”
It would also enable Remilk to create a tailor-
made facility optimized for its process, head of
business development Jason Rosen-
berg told FoodNavigator-USA last year. “While
we rely on existing infrastructure around the
globe, most of it was built for a high value, low
volume matrix with specific controls for the
pharmaceutical industry that are different than
what’s necessary for the food industry.
“While we and the companies around us in our
industry utilize those assets to produce today
through contract manufacturing and co-produc-
tion partnerships, in the long term, we need very
large-scale tailor-made food grade facilities es-
tablished for this purpose alone,” added Rosen-
berg, who was still telling reporters in November
2022 that Remilk planned to break ground at Ka-
lundborg by the end of the year.
However, it has now put those plans on hold,
AFN has learned.
Kalundborg site on hold, but ‘still at the heart of
our mission’
“We were able to identify and secure significant
production capacity at an existing Western Euro-
pean facility and have already started producing
there at significant scale… it enables us to reach
production goals at a faster pace than antici-
pated,” head of communications Shlomit De-
Louya Solomon, told AFN. “Securing significant
production capacity led to our decision to delay
the Danish facility’s construction to a later stage
in our growth, though it is still at the heart of our
vision, and its state-of-the-art engineering plan is
ready for implementation as soon as we decide
to launch our own production capabilities.”
CMO facility ‘can expand our capacity very signif-
icantly, with a fraction of the capital investment,
with a shorter timeline’
Speaking to AFN at the Fermentation-Enabled Al-
ternative Protein event in San Francisco last
week, Rosenberg said: “The reason we set out to
build our own facility was because we believed it
was the only way to reach the scale we need to
reach.
“But our mindset has changed over the last sev-
eral months… this facility we’re currently pro-
ducing at in Europe can expand our capacity very
significantly, with a fraction of the capital invest-
ment, with a shorter timeline, and it’s de-risked
because they are already operating with our pro-
cess, so we can expand to comparable capacity
[as that planned in Denmark] at an existing facil-
ity.”
‘There is no steel in the ground as of now’
So what does this mean for the project in Ka-
lundborg?
According to Rosenberg: “It’s on hold, and we’re
going to assess this again towards the end of the
year.”
But he added: “We still firmly believe that the
site has the potential to produce very large quan-
tities of animal-free dairy proteins in an ex-
tremely sustainable way because of the circular
economy, primarily for the utilization of some of
our waste streams and for the utilities [heat and
steam to power neighboring facilities].”
‘Even any sunken costs are very strongly offset
by the cost saving in converting an existing facil-
ity’
He would not comment on orders already placed
for fermentation vessels or other equipment at
Kalundborg, but added: “The majority of the ex-
penses that have gone into the site are on engi-
neering work, which is relevant for that facility in
the future as well as facilities on other plots or
for the expansion of the current [CMO] facility,
where some of the work can be copied and
pasted.
“There is no steel in the ground as of now.”
Asked if Remilk lacked funds to finance the facil-
ity, he said: “Not by any means. We now have
the option to produce comparable amounts of
protein, de-risked sooner, at a fraction of the
cost, so even if we had 10 times the money we
currently have, we wouldn’t just burn it. [Scaling
up with the partner in western Europe] wasn’t an
option when we selected the site in Denmark to
build our own facility, so we’re extremely
pleased to have learned that it can now be done.
“Even any sunken costs are very strongly offset
by the cost saving in converting an existing facil-
ity.”
As to what had changed in the last couple of
months to prompt the pivot, he said: “It wasn’t a
case of capacity suddenly freeing up. It takes
time to build trust and confidence two ways,
both our confidence in the facility and its own-
ers’ confidence in us, in our process, and in what
the market wants.”
Aligning with large CPG companies
Remilk has engineered a strain of yeast (Koma-
gataella phaffi) which it claims can utilize an “ex-
tremely widely available carbon source which is
not agricultural and is very cheap.”
It has notified the FDA of its GRAS determination
and is awaiting a ‘no questions’ letter, said Ros-
enberg, who said Remilk is also working through
the regulatory process in Israel and Europe.
Remilk is currently supplying General Mills with
whey for its Bold Cultr animal-free cream
cheese, which is being test marketed online and
in a handful of stores in the US, and it has a strat-
egy of “aligning with large CPG companies,” said
Rosenberg.
“I’m talking about companies that are both ac-
tive and leaders in the categories we see as the
most relevant for our ingredients in the very
near future, so primarily beverages, yogurts, soft
spreadable cheeses, and ice cream.
“Some of them intend to launch in multiple cat-
egories at once, while others are directed at a
very specific product category to test there be-
fore potentially expanding to other categories as
well.”
What is animal-free dairy?
There is no formal definition of ‘animal-free’
dairy—a term being tested by some startups in
the space—but it typically refers to products
made with ‘real’ dairy ingredients such as whey
and casein proteins that are produced without
cows, either via genetically engineered microbes
or genetically engineered crops such as soy-
beans, corn, or peas.
Using synthetic biology, firms in this space use
DNA sequences like pieces of computer code to
program or instruct plants or organisms such as
fungi and yeast to express animal proteins.
Making dairy products without cows, argue ani-
mal-free dairy advocates, offers the best of both
worlds: more sustainable and ethical products
that don’t involve industrialized animal agricul-
ture, but still deliver the nutrition and function-
ality of ‘real’ dairy such as melty, stretchy
cheese, which is hard to make with plant pro-
teins.
California-based Perfect Day is the most ad-
vanced player in the field, producing whey pro-
tein from multiple sites that supply emerging
CPG brands to large CPG companies including
Mars (CO2COA) and Nestlé (Cowabunga), who
Global dairy prices improves at GDT auction on Feb 7th
FEB 8, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/global-dairy-prices-improves-at-gdt-auction-on-feb-7th/
T
he global dairy index as shown a 3.2% in-
crease since the last event. The average
dairy price has reached to USD 3456 per
MT on Feb7th 2023. The prices with % change for
various commodities is being shown as below.
Global dairy trade event 325 results Feb 07 2023
A total volume of 32582 MT was sold during this
auction. Milk fat in Butter and Anhydrous milk
fat showed highest increase of 6.6% and 4.8% re-
spectively. There was no variation in skimmed
are testing the waters with various products and
concepts.
Other startups include Remilk and Imagindairy in
Israel; Change Foods and New Culture in the
US; All G Foods in Australia; Formo in Germany;
Those Vegan Cowboys in Belgium; Daisy Lab in
New Zealand and so-called ‘molecular farming’
players such as Nobell Foods (an AgFunder port-
folio company), Pigmentum, IngredientWerks,
Mozza, and Miruku.
milk powder but Whole milk powder increased
by 3.8% over the previous fortnight rates.
Event Results
Global Dairy Trade Event 325 concluded with the
GDT Price Index up 3.2%
Key Results
AMF index up 4.8%, average price US$5,586/MT
Butter index up 6.6%, average price
US$4,745/MT
BMP index up 2.0%, average price US$2,633/MT
Ched index up 2.3%, average price US$4,980/MT
LAC index not available, average price not avail-
able
SMP index unchanged, average price
US$2,829/MT
SWP not offered
WMP index up 3.8%, average price US$3,329/MT
This trend is likely to continue and depends upon
the pace at which normalcy would return in Chi-
nese market.
Can Danone reach its climate goals without scaling own farming?
FEB 8, 2023
https://dairynews7x7.com/can-danone-reach-its-climate-goals-without-scaling-back-factory-farming/
L
ast month, the French food company Da-
none — owner of milk and yogurt brands
like Activia and Horizon Organics
— pledged to cut absolute methane emis-
sions from its milk supply chains by 30 percent
by 2030, making it the first major food company
with a methane-specific emissions target.
Green groups have applauded the new pledge.
Methane is a greenhouse gas some 80 times
more potent than carbon dioxide over its first 20
years in the atmosphere, and food companies
rarely report it separately from their CO2 emis-
sions, even though agriculture is responsible for
roughly a quarter of methane emissions world-
wide.
But reducing those methane emissions is far
from simple. A “methane ambition” docu-
ment released by Danone outlines a few options,
although somewhat vaguely and without ac-
knowledging some of the controversies sur-
rounding them. Some experts worry that Da-
none’s strategies could encourage dairy farmers
in the company’s supply chain to lean on “un-
proven techno-fixes” — like special diets to re-
duce the methane in cow burps — which could
distract from the need for more systemic solu-
tions, like phasing down large-scale animal agri-
culture.
“When you start incentivizing and doing techno-
fixes to a broken system, that’s not getting us
where we need to be,” said Shefali Sharma, di-
rector of the nonprofit Institute for Agriculture
and Trade Policy’s European office.
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agri-
culture Organization, or FAO, dairy production is
responsible for about 1.4 billion metric tons of
CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions every
year, about 3 percent of all human-induced cli-
mate pollution. Most of these emissions are me-
thane, and half of them come from cow burps —
cattle belch methane as part of a process called
“enteric fermentation,” in which gut bacteria
help them digest food. Another quarter comes
from manure-related emissions of methane and
nitrogen oxide, and the rest comes from feed
production, fertilizers, and the use of land and
energy.
Danone doesn’t run its own dairy farms — ra-
ther, the company buys its milk from some
50,000 independent farmers worldwide. That
means its methane-reduction plan will hinge on
suppliers’ cooperation. It’s not clear exactly how
Danone plans to convince farmers to play along,
though the company has already helped fund
some emissions-reductions programs in places
like France and has created advisory re-
sources for farmers elsewhere. Danone’s me-
thane ambition document says two of its three
main strategies to cut methane involve manure
treatment and “breakthrough methane inhibi-
tors,” technologies to either stop cows from pro-
ducing methane or to capture it at the point of
release. (Yes, this means at the cows’ mouths.
Danone is investing in a U.K. startup called ZELP,
which produces a sort of muzzle for cows that
can theoretically trap burps and convert their
methane into water and carbon dioxide.)
There is evidence that these solutions can work.
Some studies have shown that red seaweed and
a molecule called 3-nitrooxypropanol can reduce
enteric methane emissions by up to half when
added to cow food. Andy Reisinger, principal sci-
entist on climate change for New Zealand’s envi-
ronment ministry, told Grist he’d have “high con-
fidence” in their effectiveness if widely applied.
Manure management is also shown to reduce
methane emissions. In California, a strategy
called “anaerobic digestion” — in which factory
farmers cover pits of liquid manure and convert
the methane they release into biogas — has
been deemed the state’s second most cost-ef-
fective climate program. Other effective man-
agement strategies involve simply covering pits
of cow manure to limit methane leaking into the
atmosphere or solid-liquid separation, in which
solids are drawn out of slurried cow poop to be
processed into fertilizer.
Reisinger said it’s “entirely realistic” that Danone
could use these strategies — along with some
simpler methods to reduce the methane-per-li-
ter emissions of its milk supply, like selective
breeding for highly productive cows — to get its
suppliers to cut methane emissions by 30 per-
cent in the next seven years. If they’re proven to
be safe and effective, he said, there’s no reason
not to use them, at least as part of a toolbox of
several strategies.
However, some experts argue that these solu-
tions — which show the greatest promise for in-
dustrial-scale dairy farms — are missing the for-
est for the trees, attempting to mitigate the
harms of factory farming rather than phase it
out. A report published last year by the Vermont
Law and Graduate School, for example, found
that manure-to-biogas solutions for factory
farms — the only kinds of farms where these so-
lutions make economic sense — obscure the ex-
tensive lifecycle emissions of the livestock indus-
try and the environmental justice consequences
of perpetuating concentrated animal feeding op-
erations. These operations are often sited
near low-income communities and communities
of color, disproportionately exposing them to
toxic pollutants like ammonia and volatile or-
ganic compounds.
“We need to really move toward systemic solu-
tions in transitioning agriculture,” Sharma told
Grist. Experts say this must include phasing
down industrial-sized feedlots and reducing the
global population of dairy cows. (Replacing cows
on industrial farms with pasture-raised cattle
wouldn’t help the climate, because pasture-
raised cattle use more land and produce more
emissions per liter of milk.) Lowering production
would not only slash methane emissions but also
limit animal cruelty and pollution of soil and wa-
ter. Workers on industrial animal farms around
the world have also spoken of the “hell” the sys-
tem exposes them to — from brutal working
conditions to exploitative contracts with agricul-
tural behemoths. In the U.S., 70 percent of dairy
cows live on factory farms, and 85 percent of the
planet’s milk comes from non-pasture-raised
sources.
Environmental advocates argue that food com-
panies could play a role in the transition away
from factory farming by replacing some of their
dairy milk production with an increase in plant-
based alternatives. Milks made from soy, rice,
and oats use dramatically less land and water to
produce and create just a fraction of the green-
house gas emissions. Governments could help
too, Sharma said, by creating incentives for farm-
ers to move away from large-scale animal agri-
culture.
In response to Grist’s questions about its me-
thane reduction plan, Danone gestured broadly
at an intention to reform dairy production. A
spokesperson said the company intends to
achieve its methane target by adopting “regen-
erative” practices, defined very broadly to in-
clude “improvement of herd management, feed
fundamentals, and manure management,” as
well as “reintegrating animals into the land-
scape.” Danone says it has already helped to in-
corporate these practices on some small farms.
And though Danone’s recent methane ambition
document names “breakthrough methane inhib-
itors” as one of three strategies to reduce me-
thane, the spokesperson said that feed additives
are intended to be “a complementary solution to
go the last mile in most efficient farms.”
The spokesperson did not respond to questions
about whether the company advocates for a de-
cline in the global cattle population or a shift
away from industrial-scale dairy farms. Accord-
ing to a report Danone published in 2021, 70 per-
cent of its milk volume comes from farmers with
10 or more cows.
To be sure, reshaping entire food systems is a tall
order for one company, and Reisinger defended
16 Arrested For Adulteration In Milk
February 07, 2023 | 05:40 PM
https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/16-arrested-for-adulteration-in-milk-1638645.html
P
ESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point
News - 7th Feb, 2023 ) :District admin-
istration Peshawar arrested 16 milkmen
for selling adulterated milk to consumers in
Hayatabad Township on Tuesday.
On directives of the Deputy Commissioner
(DC) Peshawar, Shafiullah Khan, Additional Assis-
tant Commissioner (AAC), Sameera Saba along
with Veterinary Dr Jamal and Veterinary Super-
Drive Launched Against Adulterated Milk
07, 2023 | 04:30 PM
https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/drive-launched-against-adulterated-milk-1638571.html
T
ANK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -
7th Feb, 2023 ) :The district administra-
tion has launched a drive against adulter-
ated and toxic milk across the district.
As part of the drive, Assistant Commissioner
Amin Ullah Khan on Tuesday paid a visit to the
bazaar and found that the containers of milk
were unhygienic.
Danone for moving in a positive direction. He
said the company was filling a policy gap left by
the majority of countries that have yet to set a
binding methane reduction target for agricul-
ture. Danone’s new pledge, he explained, is
“providing an incentive that so far governments
have failed to provide” for milk producers to
measure, report, and mitigate methane emis-
sions. Reisinger and Sharma agreed that this role
should eventually be taken up by national regu-
lators and intergovernmental bodies, like the
FAO.
visor, Naeem ul-Hassan of the Livestock Depart-
ment conducted the analysis of the sample of
milk from milk shops in various markets and on
confirmation of the adulteration of sufficient
quantity of water arrested 16 milkmen.
210 liters adulterated milk was also discarded.
Deputy Commissioner Peshawar has directed
the officers of district administration for the in-
spection of milk shops across the district to take
stern legal action against adulterators.
He imposed a fine on the violators and directed
them to provide quality milk by complying with
hygiene standards.
Meanwhile, Additional Assistant Commis-
sioner Jamshed Alam Khan visited the sta-
tion road and inspected the ongoing progress of
work on the site.
He also inspected work on several segments and
directed the contractor on site to accelerate
the pace of work for facilitating the citizens by
providing quality roads.
Dairy among Iowa rural projects receiving federal funding
Feb. 5, 2023
https://www.kttc.com/2023/02/05/dairy-among-iowa-rural-projects-receiving-federal-funding/
N
ORWAY, Iowa (AP) — There are half as
many American dairy farms today as
there were 20 years ago and the ones
that survive are trying something new.
For Austin and Jenna Schulte, of rural Benton
County, that means building a creamery where
they can use milk from their 186 Holsteins to
produce Gouda, Jarlsberg, quark and cheddar
cheeses.
“We have to do something different or we’ll be
done,” Jenna Schulte told Xochitl Torres Small,
undersecretary for rural development for the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, during a tour last
week of the farm.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports the dairy has
been awarded a $36,000 Value-Added Producer
Grant from the USDA to create a business plan
and conduct a feasibility study on making and
marketing cheese produced on site.
It’s one of 21 projects that have received $74.7
million in loans or grants to improve infrastruc-
ture and expand business in rural Iowa. Much of
the investment goes to rural hospitals to buy
equipment or recover from the economic impact
of the pandemic, and to water treatment and
distribution projects. The funding comes from
several federal pots, including the American Res-
cue Plan Act, disaster aid and regular rural devel-
opment funds.
Torres Small, accompanied by Theresa Green-
field, the USDA’s Iowa coordinator for Rural De-
velopment, also planned to visit three other
grant recipients: LDJ Manufacturing in Pella; Ma-
He said no compromise would be made on the
quality of work and assured that the administra-
tion would take all possible measures to pro-
vide all basic necessities of life.
haska County Hospital in Oskaloosa; and the Wil-
liam Penn University nursing school in Os-
kaloosa.
The Schultes bought their small dairy operation
in 2010, the same year their oldest son, Caleb,
was born. But American cow milk consumption
is slowing and there’s been an oversupply, caus-
ing prices to plummet. The pandemic brought
further volatility.
From more than 70,000 dairy producers in 2003,
the United States had about 31,000 in 2020, the
American Farm Bureau Federation reported.
The Schultes decided it might make sense to stop
sending their milk to the Wapsie Valley Cream-
ery in Independence and start using it to make
cheese they could sell themselves. Construction
on the creamery will start this summer, Austin
Schulte said.
If everything works out as planned, the Schultes
likely will reduce the number of dairy cows,
which will cut down on the six-plus hours a day
they now spend milking.
Torres Small, a former U.S. representative from
New Mexico, said one of the goals of USDA Rural
Development is to help farmers find ways to
keep farming, rather than being forced to sell
their land.
“Farmers figured out how to work as efficiently
as possible and as a result, we see a lot of con-
solidation and you see small farmers have to
take on other jobs,” she said. “Even in record
years, like last year, you see almost 50 percent of
farmers lost money. You know that’s not sustain-
able for our whole country.”
Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition launches with $365,000 in awards
Published on Feb 5, 2023
https://www.samessenger.com/news/northeastern-dairy-product-innovation-competition-launches-with-365-
000-in-awards/article_af6ceed8-a406-11ed-a759-831ec662e3cd.html
new competition for producers of
A value-added dairy products is now open
for applications. The Northeastern
Dairy Product Innovation Competition supports
food innovators in launching products made
from dairy ingredients produced in the North-
east and gives dairy entrepreneurs, including
those making products on organic and small
farms, access to entrepreneurial and technical
support.
With a total of $365,000 in awards, both finalists
and winners will receive funding and technical
support to bring their value-added products to
market. This initiative fast tracks innovative
products reaching the market while increasing
the utilization of milk produced in the North-
east.
The competition is produced by Cornell’s Center
for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) in
partnership with the Northeast Dairy Foods Re-
search Center (NDFRC). Supported by a $1 mil-
lion grant from the Northeast Dairy Business In-
novation Center (NE-DBIC), all participants re-
ceive early-stage incubation assistance from Cor-
nell’s leading business- and food processing fac-
ulty, access to Cornell’s Food Processing and De-
velopment Laboratory, industry mentorship, and
training on product prototyping and optimiza-
tion, food safety and compliance, and business
planning.
Along with this access to Cornell’s facilities and
faculty, finalists will receive $20,000, and win-
ners will receive an additional $55K and given a
presence at the 2023 Dairy Innovation Showcase
at the 2023 Grow-NY Summit in Upstate New
York.
“This competition provides an onramp to entre-
preneurship for people passionate about meet-
ing customer needs with high-quality dairy prod-
ucts. Thanks to the support from the NE-DBIC,
we are providing the resources needed to grow
and scale their dairy product businesses,” said
CREA’s Director of Food and Ag Startup Programs
Jenn Smith.
Dr. Samuel Alcaine, director of the NDFRC and
associate professor at Cornell CALS, said, “This
competition responds to a growing demand for
innovative dairy products that reflect consumer
preference for premium ingredients and posi-
tions the Northeast dairy community as a leader
in entrepreneurship.”
Laura Ginsburg, Dairy Development and Innova-
tion Lead with the Vermont Agency of Agricul-
ture, Food & Markets and the NE-DBIC, notes:
“The high-quality milk our Northeast Dairy farm-
ers produce is an excellent ingredient for many
value-added products. This competition, along
with our specialized grants for dairy processors,
creates more pathways for regional dairy pro-
cessing that benefits farmers, consumers, and
our regional economy”
The competition is open to all food innovators,
including small and organic farms, nonprofits,
and dairy co-ops located in the United States
that use or commit to using milk and/or dairy in-
gredients produced at dairies in New York,
Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachu-
setts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and/or Penn-
sylvania in their production.
A Florida dairy farm lost 360 cows in Hurricane Ian. Can the damaged business survive?
Feb 5, 2023
https://www.dailyitem.com/business/a-florida-dairy-farm-lost-360-cows-in-hurricane-ian-can-the-damaged-busi-
ness-survive/article_a0835d53-a650-5d83-a0d2-201816a7b66e.html
H
urricane Ian inflicted more punishment
on Dakin Dairy Farms than any other
storm in history. Owner Jerry Dakin es-
timates the damage at $3 million, plus 360 cows
lost during the storm.
Four months after Ian, the hurricane’s calling
cards can be seen on every acre with piles of
twisted metal and missing roofs on cattle barns.
Jerry Dakin seems resolute that Dakin Dairy
Farms, in Myakka City, Florida, will survive and
recover — even though there is sadness at all
that has been lost, and uncertainty over the
struggle ahead to recover.
“We have everything cleaned up, and we are
waiting for the suppliers to get materials in here
so that we can start building and work to get la-
bor to put it back together,” he said. “We have
never seen total devastation like this.”
The one bright spot in Ian’s aftermath is how the
Myakka City community, and beyond, rallied
with chain saws, labor and trucks to remove de-
bris.
“Oh, my God, I wish our government could learn
something from our community. The people out
here are amazing,” Dakin said.
“We are going to keep going as long as we can,”
he said “Politicians and developers are making it
hard for us to hang onto our land. How long do
you survive? I don’t know.”
Aside from the visible damage, there are other
costs, such as diminished milk production, calves
that weren’t born because of Ian’s violence, and
the loss of agri-tourism.
In past years, Dakin Dairy has cultivated its status
as a tourist destination, but with so much dam-
age that won’t be possible for a while.
“It wouldn’t be safe,” Dakin said.
Scott Cagle, Dakin’s second-in-command, said
the dairy also lost its feed shed during Ian, mak-
ing it impossible to properly protect the dairy’s
feed supply from the elements.
“It makes it hard to calculate rations. If the cows
don’t eat enough, they don’t produce enough,”
Cagle said.
With the exception of Dakin’s office building and
store, every building on the 1,200-acre property
was extensively damaged, Cagle said.
How do you recover from so much devastation?
In Florida, with its history of hurricanes, it’s im-
possible to have enough insurance.
What insurance doesn’t pay for comes out of the
company’s reserves.
“It comes out of your pocket. You’ll be rebuilding
your reserve for years,” Cagle said.
In time, Dakin’s tourism will return with its tours,
special events, corn mazes and more.
One of the underlying reasons for having the
tours is education, to help the public understand
the source of the nation’s food supply.
“It’s important to feed yourself as a country,” Ca-
gle said.
Even with the disruption caused by Ian, Dakin
Dairy never stopped milking its cows and sending
the milk to market, Jerry Dakin said.
“We are slowly regaining our footing and we are
milking again, delivering milk again and we have
fresh milk in the market. As we recover, regroup
and restructure, keep checking back with us. We
feel so fortunate to be part of this community,”
Courtney Dakin posted on the dairy’s Facebook
page shortly after Ian moved on across Florida.
More recently, Dakin Dairy noted its gratitude to
the community for its support.
“We have been through tough times and we
thank everyone who has helped our recovery ef-
forts. Please know the Farm Market is open! We
are selling milk and we have a very limited menu
for lunch as we redo our kitchen. Tours will re-
sume as soon as we feel it’s safe to walk the
property again. Please feel free to visit and take
Spilt milk? Why are the US and Canada fighting over dairy?
February 2, 2023
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/spilt-milk-why-are-us-canada-fighting-over-dairy-2023-02-01/
W
INNIPEG, Manitoba, Feb 1 (Reuters) -
The United States on Tuesday said it
was seeking a second trade dispute
settlement panel over Canada's dairy import
quotas, accusing Canada of not meeting obliga-
tions to open its market to American producers.
The move is the latest salvo in longstanding ten-
sions between the trade partners over Canada's
protected dairy industry.
HOW DOES CANADA'S DAIRY SYSTEM WORK?
Canada has tightly controlled supplies of dairy,
eggs and poultry since the 1970s, restricting how
much farmers can produce and limiting imports
through onerous tariffs.
mport quotas limit the quantity of product that
can enter Canada from other countries at a low
rate of duty.
The Canadian Dairy Commission, a government
corporation, sets a milk price annually that dairy
processors pay to farmers.
A WTO panel ruled in 2002 that Canada
breached its trade obligations through its dairy
support, siding with the United States. The result
of the WTO ruling is that Canada is not allowed
to export much dairy.
WHY IS THE UNITED STATES UPSET?
U.S. dairy processors want to increase sales to
Canada but high tariffs stand in the way.
The U.S. Trade Representative's Office alleges
that Canada uses an unfair approach to deter-
mining quota allocations under the U.S.-Mexico-
Canada Agreement on trade, effectively prohib-
home some delicious fresh milk,” Dakin Dairy
says on its website.
iting some market participants like Canadian re-
tailers and food service operators from using the
allocations.
Canada's trade minister, Mary Ng, said she was
disappointed in the U.S. move and would oppose
its attempts to "re-negotiate" during the settle-
ment process.
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF CANADA'S DAIRY SEC-
TOR?
Farm dairy sales amount to C$7.39 billion ($5.54
billion)annually in Canada. Processed dairy ship-
ments are worth C$16.2 billion, according to
2021 government figures.
WHY DOES CANADA WANT TO KEEP THE SYS-
TEM?
All major political parties say they support supply
management because it stabilizes incomes for
dairy farmers.
Producers in other countries have suffered from
volatile price swings.
Canada's 9,739 dairy farmers form one of the
most influential lobbies in the country. Most
farm in Quebec and Ontario, the Canadian prov-
inces with the most parliamentary seats.
WHAT DO OTHERS SAY?
Other dairy-producing countries such as New
Zealand say Canada's controls are an unfair way
to shelter the Canadian industry.
Within Canada, some groups say supply manage-
ment prevents the country from becoming a
dairy-exporting power, as it is in grain and meat.
They argue that severely restricting imports re-
sults in higher Canadian food prices.
Forget Cows and Almonds—Lab-Grown Dairy Is the Future of Milk
Feb. 01, 2023
https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-lab-grown-dairy-the-future-of-milk-this-startup-thinks-so
row of silver-colored tanks shimmer
A under the spotlight. You could easily
mistake this for a microbrewery, but
these cylindrical steel bioreactors don’t contain
a hoppy IPA beer. They contain the future of
milk. The $40-million Californian-based startup
TurtleTree is banking on a future where we are
no longer reliant on pastures filled with dairy
cows to enjoy our favorite latte—our next pint of
milk could come from a lab, as another part of a
growing industry in cell-based foods.
Following in the footsteps of the cell-based meat
industry where meat is grown artificially in the
lab, TurtleTree’s scientists are taking mammary
cells from raw cow’s milk and boosting them in a
lab’s bioreactor to produce whole milk. But while
cell-based meat is consumed in its entirety, cell-
based milk can continue to use the mammary
cells to make more artificial milk.
It may sound unnatural, but food tech producers
say it’s more sustainable than how we get our
milk today. In November 2022, the Institute For
Agriculture and Trade Policy reported that
greenhouse gas emissions from cows (in the
form of methane burps and flatulence), for five
of the largest meat corporations and 10 of the
largest dairy firms around the world equate to
734 million tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide
each year. This is more than the annual emis-
sions of the entirety of Germany. A study run by
University of Michigan scientists on behalf of al-
ternative meat company Beyond Meat found
that cell-based food uses 90 percent less water
and 99 percent less land than traditional dairy to
produce.
Climate specialist Benjamin Horton, who studies
sea level change, earthquakes, and tsunamis at
the Earth Observatory in Singapore, told The
Daily Beast that cell-based milk could provide an
answer for the future. “Cell-based milk could
mean less global warming, less air pollution and
use up to less land and less water compared to
conventional milk production. It may solve mul-
tiple problems at once such as the food demands
of the increasing population.”
Climate concerns are already fueling a growing
market in plant-based milk, which is already on
the shelves of nearly any grocery store you might
walk into. However, Elizabeth Gunner, a dietitian
at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health,
told The Daily Beast that plant-based milk can
sometimes have nutrition gaps. “Most plant-
based milk contains a lower amount of protein
than cow’s milk, with the exception of soy and
pea-protein-based milk.” This could be a prob-
lem if a person is relying on dairy products to
meet their protein requirements. The aftertaste
of some plant-based milk has encouraged other
milk brands to look for a closer alternative.
TurtleTree is just one company of many that sees
this predicament as an opportunity to make cell-
based milk go mainstream. CEO Fengru Lin was
working for Google as a territory account man-
ager and living in Southeast Asia in 2018. She was
spending much of her free time searching for the
perfect ingredients to support her cheese-mak-
ing hobby, and that included hunting for the op-
timal type of raw milk. She soon learned that not
all raw milk was created equal.
Lin was looking to avoid dairy products resulting
from antibiotic practices. The U.S., China, Singa-
pore, and the European Union have banned the
use of antibiotics as growth promoters for live-
stock (a process that still befuddles scientists).
But a study 2018 commissioned by the U.K. Par-
liament showed the practice still goes ahead in
other countries, and cause humans to absorb an-
tibiotics that they don’t need.
Later on in 2018, Lin heard a talk on cell-based
meat by tech entrepreneur Max Rye at Google’s
Singapore office. She started speaking with him
about how cell-based meat companies were
making produce that was kind to the environ-
ment and wondered if the same treatment could
be given to milk. In January 2019, the pair
founded TurtleTree.
Rye and Lin now employ over 42 full-time staff—
including 21 scientists who have worked for
pharmaceutical and biotech companies like
Merck and Novozymes. TurtleTree has offices in
Singapore, Boston, and California, along with a
new factory coming in West Sacramento.
TurtleTree’s main goal is to create lab-based
milk, but it is also working to create brand new
dairy products along the way. “There are 2,000
different ingredients found in milk and to be able
to characterize all of that it is going to take regu-
lators a very long time,” said Lin. “So we want to
find products we can go to market with earlier
rather than later.”
So Lin and her colleagues looked at what they
could produce straight away, and narrowed in on
a specific protein called lactoferrin, an immune
boosting protein found in breast milk. Armed
with the know-how to artificially produce lac-
toferrin in massive quantities, they are now talk-
ing to baby food companies about how they can
include their lab-made lactoferrin in baby milk
powder.
The applications extend beyond just human di-
ets. TurtleTree said the Smithsonian Zoo in
Washington, D.C. has reached out to see if the
company could produce bespoke milk for or-
phaned animals at the zoo unable to acquire milk
from a mother.
The Competition
TurtleTree isn’t even the only firm in North
America showcasing the future of cell-based
milk. Rival company Opalia launched in Montreal
in September 2020. Whereas TurtleTree is focus-
ing on producing lactoferrin first, Opalia has set
itself the goal of launching with cell-based whole
milk, and then introducing other dairy-based
products such as ice cream and yogurt.
“Whole milk is where the biggest opportunity is
and where we can make the biggest impact in
terms of the environment so that is why we
chose this,” Jennifer Côté, CEO of Opalia in Can-
ada, told The Daily Beast. The company has given
itself five years to put cell-based whole milk on
the supermarket shelves. Côté and her team
have received grants from the Canadian govern-
ment to accelerate their research and raised $1
million from angel investors in March 2022.
Investments are pouring into the emerging in-
dustry from many different interested parties.
The Temasek Foundation (the Singaporean gov-
ernment’s investment arm) awarded TurtleTree
$1 million in June 2020. Central Bottling Com-
pany, also known as Coca-Cola Israel, invested $2
million in Israeli cell-based milk company Wilk,
and will be using Wilk’s products in Coca-Cola Is-
rael’s own Tara Dairy company. Wilk plans to
have all of its products for sale by 2024.
Traditional dairy farmers have also recognized
that this could be their future. In May 2021,
Spanish dairy giant Calidad Pascual launched
Mylkcubator, the world’s first incubator program
to fund five cell-based dairy startups across the
globe.
One food tech startup that is already showing
the public what the new world of milk could look
like is Berkeley, California-based Perfect Day.
Launched in April 2014 and backed by Leonardo
DiCaprio and Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger, Perfect
Day uses fungi and a refined form of fermenta-
tion to create animal-free whole milk. The com-
pany warns that the composition of its brand,
called Very Dairy, is so close to cow’s milk that if
you have an allergy to milk protein you will have
an allergy to its animal-free version.
Sunil Sukumaran, chief technology officer at Per-
fect Day, told The Daily Beast he and his col-
leagues chose not to take the cell-based route in
their alternative milk design because they
wanted to make a more immediate impact on
the market. “Cell-based milk is not a scalable
technology right now,” he told The Daily Beast.
“The maximum you would be able to produce
now is a liter or two [in yield], when you need
hundreds of thousands of liters of milk to sell [to
the public].” A liter of Very Dairy’s product costs
$4.95. “A liter of cell-based milk would cost
nearly 50 times more,” Sukumaran claims.
Food scientist and consultant Bryan Le, based in
Washington, D.C., countered that there is still
room for cell-based milk in the market. “They
[non-cell-based milk products] are very simple in
their design and do not include the many other
minor proteins that provide milk with its health
benefits,” such as lactoferrin and other im-
portant sugars, he told The Daily Beast.
Whether consumers are ready for cell-based
milk, however, is another question. Rye on a
podcast described the milk as ‘creamy, and a lit-
tle salty’—the saltiness being due to the cocktail
of ingredients that help the mammary cells
grow. “There may be some pushback regarding
the perceived artificiality of cell-based milk,” said
Le. “There will be concerns that may drive con-
sumers away from cell-based milk, such as what
is the source of the ingredients in the culture.”
But alternative milk backers believe they can as-
suage these concerns and become part of the
mainstream. “A decade from now cow’s milk and
alternative milk will be viewed in the same way,”
said Sukumaran. “Twenty years down the line,
these foods will become regular foods, while
cow-based dairy will become the boutique
buys.”