Constrains of  Dairy Industry In Sri Lanka

1) Lack of Land

2) less availability of feed

3) Climatic changes

4) Improper Value Chain Operation

5) Farmer attitudes

6) Lack of Knowledge

7) Investment problems

Dairy Industry in Sri Lanka

Dairy Industry in Sri Lanka


People in all over the world like dairy products as it contains certain health benefits which can not be obtain through other commodities. Thus, in the Island people have a great passion on dairy products during dry and wet season.


During dry season the demand is higher and the competition around the country is really high compare to wet season. During wet season with the susceptible of some diseases people less intend on dairy products. As so people intend toward the dairy commodity is the prime factor to determine the market demand.


As mentioned before large competition around the country leads to pay more for each drop of milk. As you all know the price of a milk determined through available total Solids which comprises of Fat, Lactose, Vitamins, Minerals.. etc..

Health Benefit of Milk

Bone health

Milk and dairy products are providers of calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and protein which are all essential for healthy bone growth and development. 
Adequate consumption of milk and dairy from early childhood and throughout life can help to make the bones strong and protect them against diseases like osteoporosis (a debilitating, brittle bone disorder) in later life.

Teeth

The amounts of calcium and phosphorous in milk and dairy products are also beneficial for the development and maintenance of healthy teeth.
The most abundant protein in milk is casein and is protective as it forms a thin film on the enamel surface which prevents loss of calcium and phosphate from the enamel when the teeth are exposed to acids in the mouth.
Studies have suggested that milk also reduces the effects of cariogenic foods on teeth when consumed together with them in the diet.
In fact, dentists recommend that milk is the only safe drink to have between meals (except for water) as it has been shown not to cause tooth decay even in conditions perfect for damaging teeth!

Milk and blood pressure

An increasing number of studies suggest that consuming 3 portions of dairy each day, along with 5 portions of fruit and vegetables as part of a low salt diet can reduce high blood pressure in both adults and children.
Although the exact mechanisms involved are not clear, it is thought that the calcium, potassium, magnesium and proteins within milk are all likely to be involved.

Milk and cardiovascular disease

Several studies have linked milk and dairy consumption with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease.
A recent study in Welsh men found that those who drank the most milk had fewer heart attacks than those who had little or no milk in their diets.
This connection could be due to many factors in milk, but epidemiological studies have shown that higher intakes of calcium in particular are linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
More specifically, studies have shown that high calcium intakes may reduce high levels of bad cholesterol in the blood, and increase low levels of good cholesterol both of which are known risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
In addition, it is also thought that calcium may bind harmful fats together in the gut and prevent their absorption, which in turn prevents levels in the blood increasing.

Obesity

Contrary to popular belief, research has shown that people who consume milk and dairy foods are likely to be slimmer than those who do not. 
Studies have also shown that consumption of milk and dairy foods as part of a calorie controlled diet is associated with increased weight loss, particularly form the abdomen.
This is particularly beneficial since excess fat around the trunk region of the body is associated with greater risks to health.
The precise mechanisms involved are unclear but are likely to involve calcium which is found in milk and dairy foods.

Type 2 diabetes

Studies suggest that regular consumption of low fat dairy products can help to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, which has been a longstanding problem in adults, and is becoming increasingly common in children and adolescents.
A recent study of more than 37,000 middle aged women found that those with the highest intakes of dairy had a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.
The strongest association was found with low fat dairy products.
Similarly a study of men in 2005 found a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes with increased consumption of low fat dairy, interestingly, every extra portion of dairy consumed was associated with increasingly lower risk.
It is thought that this effect may be due to the combined effects of many beneficial nutrients found within dairy foods including calcium and magnesium, or the fact that dairy foods have a low glycaemic index, which helps to control blood sugar levels.

Cancer

There is considerable evidence to suggest that milk has a protective effect on risk of both colorectal and breast cancer with increased intakes.
A recent study of 45,000 Swedish men reported that men who drank 1.5 glasses of milk per day or more, had 35% lower risk of the disease than those who had a low milk intake of less than 2 glasses per week.
Additionally a study of over 40,000 Norwegian women found that those who drank milk as children and continued to do so as adults, had a lower risk of developing breast cancer.
Calcium and a naturally occurring fat in dairy products known as Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) have been suggested as protective components in colon cancer.

Hydration

In order to remain adequately hydrated, it is recommended that we consume 6-8 cups of fluid each day.
If we become dehydrated, it can result in poor concentration and memory function and leave you feeling irritable and unwell.
Milk is an excellent choice of fluid as it not only re-hydrates the body, but provides a host of beneficial nutrients and protects the teeth at the same time!
Re-hydration after exercise is particularly important to replace lost fluids, and a recent study in the USA found that chocolate milk helped the body to recover after exhausting exercise!

Species variation of milk

Table 1. Gross Composition (%) of Milk from Domesticated mammals
Species	Fat	Protein	Lactose	Ash	Total Solids
Cow
Ayshire	4.1	3.6	4.7	0.7	13.1
Brown Swiss	4.0	3.6	5.0	0.7	13.3
Guernsey	5.0	3.8	4.9	0.7	14.4
Holstein	3.5	3.1	4.9	0.7	12.2
Jersey	5.5	3.9	4.9	0.7	15.0
Goat	3.5	3.1	4.6	0.8	12.1
Sheep	5.3	5.5	4.6	0.9	16.3

Mastitis Detection

Mastitis Detection

Prompt and accurate mastitis detection is essential to ensure that clinical

cases are treated successfully.

Clinical mastitis is inflammation of the udder where there are changes to the

milk in the form of clots, abnormal colour or any other changes to the

appearance of milk. These changes will be seen in all the milk. If clots are

seen in the first two or three squirts and then the milk goes clear, this is NOT

clinical mastitis but a local reaction in the teat itself. You do NOT need to

carry out a “Rapid” Mastitis test to decide if a cow has clinical mastitis. If the

milk appears normal then the cow does NOT have clinical mastitis.

Early identification and treatment of mastitis will result in;

• More rapid response to therapy

• Reduce the risk of cross infection, stopping other cows picking up

mastitis

• Stop mastitis milk going in to the bulk supply protecting the bulk tank

cell count and Bactoscan

• Less repeat cases and so less cows being treated

• Faster reduction in cell count

• Faster return to milk production

Not many farmers strip their cows before milking. In New Zealand the milking

unit is applied with little, if any, teat preparation. Some farmer’s may just strip

the high risk group like the high yielding cows. (Especially if they suspect

there may be a problem) In some herds mastitis detection is delayed as

milkers may not look for clinical signs and so any way that this can be

improved will be an advantage.

In line mastitis detectors have a number of advantages.

• Pick up clots

• Trap dirt or pieces of straw which helps focus the milker on improving

teat preparation

• Large detectors make it easy to see these clots

• Large volume detectors, like the Ambic Vision, should not interfere with

vacuum stability or milk flow provided they are kept clean

It is essential that the in line detectors are checked after every cow is milked.

If there are clots in a detector, then the cow should be examined for clinical

mastitis. If in doubt, she can be rechecked at the next milking.

Be aware that more and more farmers are using an internal teat sealant along

with dry cow therapy. It is not uncommon for cows to shed pieces of teat

sealant for the first week after calving. These may well appear as clots in the

detector, but they breakdown and have a distinct feel compared to mastitis

clots.

It is NOT advisable to treat a cow on the basis that there are clots in the filter

alone. The cow should be stripped to check for the presence of clinical

mastitis. Remember that inline detectors are an aid to mastitis detection; they

will not necessarily pick up all cases.

Detection of Mastitis

Detection of Mastitis

The ideal means of dealing with mastitis is to prevent it from happening. However, even under the best prevention and control programs, mastitis will occur. Remember that mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland. Detection of mastitis is generally based upon some indicators of the inflammation. However, treatment of mastitis works best if there is some information on the particular bacterium causing the problem.

Detection of the Inflammation : The detection of the inflammation is based upon the response of the animal to the infection. Several significant changes occur in the tissue and in the milk in response to infection. These include infiltration of leukocytes (referred to as somatic cells) and increased vascular permeability, resulting in alterations in the chemistry of the milk resulting from hydrolysis of milk proteins by hydrolytic enzymes and oxidative substances released from phagocytes, alterations in milk pH and ionic solutes, and ingestion of milk components by phagocytes.

Approaches to Detection of Mastitis Visualization and palpation of the udder : In clinical mastitis the udder may turn hard, red, and hot to the touch. Palpation of the udder may be painful to the cow. These symptoms arise from the changes in vascularity and blood flow of the gland when inflamed.
Palpating the udder to check for mastitis.	Brown Swiss heifer with swollen rear gland with mastitis.

Visualization of the milk : Gross changes in the milk may be observed at the time of milking such as the presence of flakes, clots or seruous milk. This is the most common means of detection of clinical mastitis. Stripping the first few squirts of milk from each quarter into a strip cup at the beginning of milking is a preferred method of detecting flakes or clots in the milk.
Examples of milk flakes and clots. Right-hand image, taken in a CMT paddle - has a few flakes (red arrows). Left hand image, taken on the lid of a metal strip cup - has many clots and serous milk from a cow with acute mastitis.

A key response of the cow to infection by pathogens is localized entry of leukocytes (white blood cells) from the blood vessels in the infected tissue into the tissue near the site of infection. This movement of leukocytes from blood vessels to tissue is called diapedesis. The major leukocyte cell type that enters the gland during inflammation is the polymorphoneuclear neutrophile (PMN). Remember that mastitis is defined as inflammation of the mammary gland. And while most often that occurs from infection with bacteria, any trauma to the tissue that causes inflammation, even in the absence of an infecting pathogenic organism, will result in leukocytes entering the tissue.
	Milk leukocytes (PMN) stained and observed under a microscope.
The leukocytes that enter the milk in the alveoli are called somatic cells and the concentration of somatic cells in milk is called somatic cell count (SCC). The greater the SCC, the higher the level of inflammation in the tissue. So, SCC in milk is an important indicator of the inflammation status of the udder. Because diapedesis of leukocytes is localized, then only the udder quarter that is infected will have a significant increase in concentration of leukocytes (SCC). Tests such as the California Mastitis Test offer a cow-side very rough estimate of the SCC for each quarter and allow for focusing treatment efforts on that quarter. Cow-level SCC indicate the SCC of the mixture of milk from each quarter, such as obtained from DHI records. Ideally, uninfected mammary glands should have somatic cell counts of 50,000 cells/ml or less. In practice, composite milk samples (from all four quarters) of less than 200,000 cells/ml are taken as indicating the absence of infection. As cell counts increase so does the chance that mastitis is present.
Somatic cell counts can be run on milk from the bulk tank as an indicator of herd mastitis status. Bulk tank SCC indicates the overall level of mammary inflammation in the milking herd at each milking. It is the bulk tank SCC that is used by the milk processor plant to determine milk quality premiums to the producer. A bulk tank somatic cell count exceeding 750,000 cells/ml will result in loss of Grade A milk status (the producer can not continue selling the milk until the problem is taken care of). A single cow with high SCC probably will not increase the bulk tank SCC by very much, however if the herd has many chronically infected cows (often as in herds with a Staph. aureus problem or other contagious mastitis problem), then the bulk tank SCC may increase significantly.
	Bulk tank.
Even if the cow is not infected, the sterile milk coming from the cow will become contaminated by bacteria as it moves from the cow to the bulk tank. These contaminating bacteria will include coliform bacteria and other species that ultimately affect the very perishable milk. The bulk tank will always have a level of contaminating bacteria. Normal ranges should be less than 10,000 per milliliter of milk. Herds should try to keep the bulk tank bacterial counts below 3,000 per milliliter. If the bulk tank contains Strep. agalactiae which only survives in the mammary gland, then that means the herd has cows infected with that organism. If the bulk tank has elevated Staph. aureus, then that is an indicator that Staph aureus may be a problem in the herd. However, there are always contaminating coliforms and other environmental bacteria in the bulk tank milk, so bulk tank bacterial counts and speciation will not help diagnosis environmental mastitis problems. Most bacteria should be killed upon pasteurization.

Detection of Somatic Cells : Several methods for detection of mastitis are available for detecting somatic cells in milk, including the California Mastitis Test (CMT; a cow-side test; this is the one we use in class), the Wisconsin Mastitis Test (WMT; on-farm test), Microscopic Somatic Cell Count (usually requires a laboratory), Electronic Somatic Cell Counting (requires sophisticated equipment). The CMT and WMT detect formation of a gel when DNA in somatic cells react with a detergent. The reaction occurs on a paddle (CMT) and is graded subjectively (neg, trace, 1,2,3), or in a tube (WMT) and is measured in millimeters. CMT or WMT results can be used as rough estimates of the number of somatic cells in milk.

California Mastitis Test (CMT) paddle and reagent. CMT is used to detect subclinical mastitis.

Clean teats, strip a few squirts onto the ground, then collect sevearl milliliters from each quarter into the respective wells.	Tilt the plate in order to better estimate the volume of milk. Add a volume of CMT solution to each well that is approximately equal to the volume of milk in that well.
Mix the CMT solution and milk by swirling the paddle.	Positive reactions will be indicated by a gelatinous mass that collects near the center of the well as it is being swirled. Note the purple color of the gelatinous mass in this well..

Electrical Conductivity : Electrical conductivity of milk increases during mastitis due to increases in Na+ and Cl- and decreases in K+ and lactose. Changes in conductivity can be detected by hand-held or in-milkline instrumentation. The latter is the basis for the computerized milking systems that track electrical conductivity measurements on milk of cows at each milking. This data can be analyzed by comptuer programs to flag cows that have milk electrical conductivity that is altered from normal.

Feed Budgeting

Budgeting

Guesstimates aren’t enough in business. A feed budget will enable you to know what quantities of each feed you need to buy to produce the volume of milk necessary to make a profit.
There are various feed budgeting methods and tools available (paper and software based) and many dairy advisers who can help.

Three steps to developing a feed budget

1. Calculate your monthly feed demand.
2. Calculate your total feed deficit for each month.
3. Calculate quantities of each bought-in feed you require each month.

Key tips

• Develop a month-by-month feed budget for the full year.
• Make realistic allowances for feed wastage based on your feeding system.
• Revise your feed budget when circumstances change.
• Work with a business management specialist to work out your ‘break-even’ and ‘target’ feed prices.
• Once you have your feed budget and your ‘target’ feed price you are ready to go shopping.

More information

Plan for profit – feed budgeting 
Covers developing a monthly feed budget and allowing for waste, including:

• How much feed to buy
• Detailed calculation tables on monthly feed demand
• Develop a month-by-month feed budget for the full year
• Make realistic allowances for feed wastage based on your feeding system
• Revise your feed budget when circumstances change
• Daily ME requirements for different stock classes

Plan for Profit: What can you afford to pay?
Contents include:

• Estimate your 'break-even' and 'target' feed prices.
• What price could you afford to pay for feed and still achieve a reasonable profit? It’s important to plan well before you buy.
• Work with a business management specialist to work out your ‘break-even’ and ‘target’ feed prices.
• Armed with your feed budget and your ‘target’ feed price, you’re now ready to go shopping.
• Document includes worksheet and net cash flow calculation examples