Calf Rearing Programme (CRP) envisages to promote Scientific Feeding of female calves
- Challenges faced by dairy farmers in India:
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- To create awareness among dairy farmers on scientific feeding of female calves and its impact on productivity and dairy farm profitability, NDDB has conducted large-scale field trials on the Calf Rearing Program (CRP) through dairy cooperatives.
- Special types of feed such as pregnancy feed (two months for advanced pregnant cows, calf starter (six months for female calves) and calf growth meal (7-24 months to growing heifers) are offered to animals.
- Outcomes of the scientific calf feeding
- NDDB is now expanding the implementation of CRP across multiple states with the support of government schemes.
Calf Rearing Programme (CRP) envisages to promote Scientific Feeding of female calves
Challenges faced by dairy farmers in India:
- High mortality rate in calves
- Higher Age at First Calving (AFC) caused by delayed sexual maturity
- Lower lifetime productivity
To create awareness among dairy farmers on scientific feeding of female calves and its impact on productivity and dairy farm profitability, NDDB has conducted large-scale field trials on the Calf Rearing Program (CRP) through dairy cooperatives.
Special types of feed such as pregnancy feed (two months for advanced pregnant cows, calf starter (six months for female calves) and calf growth meal (7-24 months to growing heifers) are offered to animals.
Outcomes of the scientific calf feeding
- Reduced calf mortality by about 50%
- Improved birth weight of calves by 20-30%
- Enhanced growth rate of young calves by about 30%
- Reduced average AFC by 6-10 months
NDDB is now expanding the implementation of CRP across multiple states with the support of government schemes.
