A balanced ration approach: key to sustainable dairying
Channel: Harinder Makkar
Date: 2015-01-22

Imbalanced nutrition is one of the major factors responsible for low livestock productivity, poor reproduction efficiency, high cost of production and high emission of greenhouse gases per unit of milk. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) of India has developed a Ration Balancing Programme in which milk producers are advised to balance the ration of their lactating animals in a cost effective manner, using locally available feed resources and area-specific mineral mixtures. Feeding a balanced ration not only improved animal productivity but also led to reduction in methane emission per litre of milk by 10-15%. There was also reduction in nitrogen excretion in manure.