Abstract

A field survey was conducted with a total of 540 dairy farmers interviewed personally to collect data on their socio-economic condition and feeding management practices of dairy farmers from 6 Upazila under 3 divisions of Bangladesh. As result, a maximum of the respondents (43%) belonged to the secondary level of education whereas only (3%) of the illiterate farmer was involved with dairy farming. Farmers of patiya owned the highest amount of land (253.5 decimal/household) whereas the lessened in Munshiganj (76.4 dec). Intensive farming was preferred mostly by half of the respondents rather than extensive (34%) and mixed (8%) farming. Crossbred genotypes were preferred most (86%) to rear for dairying than deshi animals (14%). Each farm had 4.0 no’s lactating cows irrespective of the area but the maximum was found in munshiganj (7.0 nos/ farm). The average daily milk production scenario was 9.15±4.54 liters for cross and 3.26±1.01 liters for deshi cows. Farmers preferred grass-based feeding systems for dairying supplemented with straw and concentrate. The study also revealed that the annual income from dairy businesses ranged between 305235 to 1223369 BDT in the areas considered under this study.

Key words: Cattle genotypes, farming system, feeding management, milk production, annual income.