Dairy farms, gaushalas facing fodder crisis in Haryana
KARNAL: An unprecedented rise in prices of dry wheat straw fodder – a major ingredient of dry feed for the livestock – has become a cause of a worry for dairy farmers and gaushalas in Haryana.
As per reports from different fodder mandis, prices of dry fodder, which were about Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 per quintal during harvesting season in April, has now gone up to around Rs 1,200 per quintal.
Moreover, people associated with fodder trade predicting that the prices will increase further and may reach around the minimum support prices of wheat at Rs 2,015 per quintal.
Following an unprecedented increase in the prices, the state government had directed the district administrations to ban sale and transportation of dry fodder in April last week but the move had failed to curtail soaring prices.
According to traders, farmers in Haryana have stocked up fodder and are not selling it, expecting further rise in prices. The traders from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are buying fodder from Punjab, especially from Sangrur and Bathinda, at around Rs 800 to Rs 900 per quintal, and selling it to cardboard factories in UP, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand at Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,500 per quintal.
Most gaushalas depend on donors but due to sudden spike in fodder prices, they are unable to store enough fodder till next year’s wheat harvest.
“Every year, we used to provide fodder to gaushalas as donors used to contact us but this year, not even a single donor has contacted us so far. This is due to rise in prices,” said Kurukshetra-based fodder trader Pal Singh.
Dairy farmers, especially those located in big cities, are facing similar problems as prices of green fodder have also doubled and reached over Rs 300 per quintal.
“It is a difficult time for dairy farmers who do not have their own agricultural land and depend on farmers for fodder. If the prices increase further, we will be left with no other option but to reduce the number of cattle,” said Harshit Gupta, owner of Karnal’s Gupta dairy farm.