Kottayam: Long before chemical free farming became a buzzword, P N Prakashan, a 69 year old cattle farmer from Piousmount near Monippally, was feeding his cows natural fodder. This long held practice has now earned him the Animal Husbandry Department’s district -level award for the best dairy farmer in the General category.

With more than three and a half decades of experience in cattle rearing, Prakashan of Chittedath House in Chettukulam has never relied on commercial cattle feed from the market. Instead, he prepares his own feed by blending powders of 12 different grains in precise proportions. This is supplemented with hay, fresh green grass, silage and screw pine leaves.

The feed formula
This custom made feed combines maize flour for energy, soybean cake and groundnut powder for protein, black gram husk for cooling and fat, molasses for energy, coconut cake powder for protein, cottonseed cake and rice bran for fibre, along with magnesium, salt for calcium, mineral mixtures, wheat bran and newgent extracted from rice, all mixed in fixed quantities.

Each ingredient is added in measured proportions and the oil content is removed from every powder before blending. For now, the mixing is done with the help of workers, though Prakashan says a mechanised system will soon be put in place. The grain powders are sourced from different locations, ranging from Theni to Kalady. 

In a single batch, four to five tonnes of cattle feed are prepared. After being thoroughly mixed, the feed is stored in large containers and tightly sealed to keep out air. It is ready to be fed to the cows from the very next day after mixing.

The farm now records an annual production of nearly 1,000 tonnes of the feed. According to Prakashan,  The feed is suitable for use in all seasons, with the proportions of grain powders adjusted to match changes in climate. For the past 15 years, Prakashan has been feeding this high quality mix to his own cattle and takes equal pride in sharing the know how behind the process with fellow farmers. The precise measurements for each ingredient were finalised through detailed discussions with experts.

At current market rates, the cost of producing one kilogram of this cattle feed works out to about Rs. 26. The most significant advantage, Prakashan says, is a noticeable reduction in disease among the cows. Contact: 9447230952