Nghe An farmers on the verge of sharply reducing their dairy cow herd

People of Quynh Thang commune (Quynh Luu) take care of dairy cows. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Quynh Thang Commune (Quynh Luu) is the locality with the largest herd of dairy cows raised by local people. However, due to many reasons, the herd of dairy cows here is on the decline.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nam's family in village 3, Quynh Thang commune used to raise 25 dairy cows, but now they only have 20, of which 7 are in the milking period. Currently, all 7 cows can only milk 110 kg of milk per day (to achieve the yield, it must be 140 kg or more).

According to Mr. Nam, the low milk yield may be due to poor cow breeds. But now, if we change the breed, we will have to invest a lot, because the price of a dairy cow is high, over 60 million VND/cow.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nam in village 3, Quynh Thang commune said that to have good milk quality, farmers must regularly take good care of their cows. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Le Van Nga - Chairman of Quynh Thang Commune People's Committee said: In recent years, fresh milk production in the commune has decreased, and milk quality is also uneven. It is believed that the cow breed is no longer good, because for a long time people have bred on the spot, so the quality of the breed is not guaranteed. Moreover, most of the cow raising households do not have the conditions to move their barns to the planned livestock farming area of ​​the commune or residential area.

Faced with this situation, many families have had to reduce their dairy cow herds. The total herd in the commune was once 420 cows, but now it is only 370, and may be decreasing further.

The commune has planned a concentrated livestock farming area far from residential areas with an area of ​​200 hectares, but so far only 2 households have invested in raising dairy cows in the planned area. The remaining 34 households still raise dairy cows in residential areas, so they cannot increase their herd.

Mr. Le Van Nga - Chairman of Quynh Thang Commune People's Committee

The herd of dairy cows raised by local people in the province is gradually decreasing. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Not only in Quynh Thang, people raising dairy cows in other areas such as Nghia Dan, Tan Ky also decreased sharply. For example, in Tan Ky district, 2 years ago, there were 6 households investing in raising dairy cows, with a total herd of over 200 cows, but now there is only 1 household still raising dairy cows, with 64 cows.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Trung - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Ky district said that the reason people stopped raising dairy cows is because dairy cows are difficult to take care of, besides, the price of milk is unstable so people are not interested, the conditions for purchasing milk from enterprises are more strict than before so many households do not make a profit. Households who stopped raising dairy cows have switched to investing in raising beef cows.