An Evening in the Life of a Dairy Farmer
Farmer J is a small farmer in Papirettipalayam village (Tiruppur district in Tamil Nadu, India). He owns three cows. They provide supplemental income to the family. His work day starts at 4:30 am and ends at 7:00 pm. This is a photo diary of the evening milking session.
The cows are grazing in the nearby fields that the family owns. Farmer J brings them back around 4 pm to get them ready for milking.
The first thing the cows look for on their return is water. Each pot of water also contains supplements such as bran and dregs from cooking (கழுநீர்) which the farmer prepares ahead of time. Like obedient school kids, they form a single line to their own water pot. :)
After drinking water, the cow is now ready for milking. Farmer J applies butter on the teats as it provides flexibility and protection. Milking three cows takes nearly 45 minutes. Remaining milk is left for the calves.
Fresh milk is ready for the consumer. Farmer J gets around 10 litres of milk per session, 20 litres for a day. He retains 3 litres for his family. The remaining 7 litres are taken to the dairy cooperative society nearby for sale.
The dairy cooperative society opens at 6 pm and closes at 7 pm for the evening milk collection. Milk is first tested, though not always. Purchase price is supposed to be based on test results. On the days when testing is not done, previous results are used as guidance value.
Today Farmer J’s milk was purchased for ₹ 23 / $ 0.35 per litre by the society for a total of ₹ 161 / $ 2.5. When it gets to the consumer, it sells for Rs. 40 per litre. Milk society distributes the funds to the farmers on a weekly basis after deducting any advances for cattle feed, loans, etc.
