Tamil Nadu Raises Farmgate Prices for Cow and Buffalo Milk
Tamil Nadu’s state government has raised procurement payments for both cow and buffalo milk. Agricultural associations formally commended the measure, which affects the rates paid through cooperative milk unions in southern India.
The supplied material does not specify the revised prices or the date on which they take effect. It says that higher procurement rates are considered necessary for cooperative unions seeking to secure raw milk while competing with private dairy businesses.
Cooperative processing plants face competition from unorganised regional purchasers and private liquid-milk packaging facilities. Those private buyers can alter the prices they offer during seasonal periods of reduced supply. The report links the competitiveness of cooperative procurement to the volumes of marketable fluid milk available to their plants.
The milk-price decision forms part of wider agricultural support measures described in the report. These include higher procurement minimums for staple grains, which affect mixed crop-and-livestock farming systems. In the Cauvery delta, dairy producers use crop residues, grain by-products and irrigated forage to feed their herds.
The report says that stronger baseline prices for agricultural commodities support farm-household liquidity. Smallholders in the region may otherwise sell productive milch animals during difficult production seasons, according to the supplied material. No estimate is given for the number of farmers or animals affected by the procurement change.
Water management is another issue raised by producer groups. They are asking authorities to maintain regulated releases from reservoirs, including Mettur, so that water reaches tail-end branches of the canal system. The groups connect those flows with the cultivation of green fodder in the delta basin.
According to the report, interruptions in canal access can reduce the availability of forage crops for small dairy suppliers. Farmers may then depend more heavily on purchased concentrates, which the source says increase feeding costs and reduce dairy margins. The report provides no forecast for milk output or future procurement prices.
