Over 55,000 cattle have died since the lumpy skin disease first appeared in Rajasthan in July, and it is now spreading like wildfire there.

As the collection fell by more than 21% in the month of August, the disease has now started to have an impact on the state’s milk production.

According to a senior official with the Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation (RCDF), the epidemic has reduced milk collection by 5–6 lakh liters per day throughout the state and has had an impact on milk output.

However, because the department has made significant attempts to boost the collection, the decreased collection has not had an impact on the milk demand-supply ratio.

According to the (RCDF), collection centers gathered roughly 27.54 lakh liters of milk daily in August. Compared to the expected amount of 35 lakh liters per day, the collection is thought to have decreased by 6 to 8 lakh liters per day. According to the source, July’s expected collection rate of 30 lakh liters per day was also not met at 23. 60 lakh per day.
The monsoon season, which begins in Rajasthan in June, is predicted to result in an increase in milk collecting.

Due to the disease, milk production has nearly disappeared in many areas of Rajasthan’s Barmer districts.
Bhikharam Choudhary, president of Barmer Dugdh Utpadak Sahkari Samiti Limited (Milk Production Cooperative Committee), stated that two months ago, when things were normal, the total amount of milk collected each day was about 15,000 liters, with 70% of that coming from cows.

He stated, “Due to lumpy, which has mostly hit the cows, we are hardly getting 1000litres of cow milk, that too is not regular.”

In Barmer, there are a total of 72 operating milk federations, 10% of which have ceased operations due to their complete reliance on cow milk, according to him.
The disease lumpy has killed a significant number of people in several areas, which has caused a halt in the supply of milk from certain regions.

Pumaram Bishnoi, a cattle farmer from Dedavaas village in Barmer, shared his struggles, saying, “Earlier, I sold about 15 liters of cow milk every day, but today, I’m buying it for personal requirements. This sickness claimed the lives of all three cows.

The cost of livestock has also increased due to this sickness. A cow used to cost between 10,000 and 15,000 rupees, but today it might cost between 30 and 40,000. The collection has decreased across the board, significantly affecting the small and marginal cattle rearers in Ajmer.

Ramchandra Choudhary, President, Ajmer Dugdh Utpadak Sahkari Samiti said, “Before lumpy, per day collection was 2.70lakh litre, which has now reduced to 2.45lakh litre. The collection gap is more when compared with the expected growth, which we were expecting to touch 3.50lakh litre per day.”

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