South First visited some dairy farmers for a reality check — how much does milk production cost the farmers and whether they are receiving the hiked amount.
Published May 08, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated May 08, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Raghavendra Hulakoti at his farm. (Supplied)
Synopsis: The Karnataka government recently hiked the price of milk by ₹4, which is directly credited to the bank account of dairy farmers. However, farmers say the amount is not sufficient for them to sustain themselves.
The recent ₹4 price hike of the milk by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), announced by the Congress government in the state, has created a lot of buzz among the common public.
The Opposition BJP and JD(S) have been criticising the move since 1 April, including holding statewide protests. However, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his cabinet ministers have been saying that the entire amount is being paid directly to farmers’ accounts.
Following the allegations and clarifications, South First visited some dairy farmers for a reality check — how much does milk production cost the farmers and whether they are receiving the hiked amount.
Most of the dairy farmers noted that they incur an average of ₹300 to ₹350 per day to feed one cow for it to produce the desired amount of milk for a specific day.
Even though farmers said they are receiving the full hiked amount, they noted that it still isn’t enough to earn a decent profit, as it costs them ₹30 to ₹34 to produce a litre of milk while KMF procures it at ₹35.
SK Ramesh, a civil engineer turned dairy farmer and a resident of Malur taluk in Kolar District, owns 20 cows. He told South First that even though the price of milk has increased, farmers have not gained much in reality.
He said, “We are given ₹35 per litre depending on the content of fat in the milk. On average, if we supply 20 litres of milk to the KMF (Karnataka Milk Federation) in a day, we are paid ₹700.”
He explained that he had been spending ₹350 daily to provide feed for a cow, which includes busa (cattled feed), hindi, mevu (grass), thavdu (rice bran) and fodder.
“Since I have labourers who work with me to look after a large number of cows, I have to pay them ₹500 per day. Above that, if we buy mevu from outside, it costs ₹7 per kg; if we grow it ourselves on the farm, it costs ₹5, if we include the water and electricity used to grow this grass into account. I have implemented machines for cutting grass in the fields rather than manpower.”
Ramesh believes that the price of milk must be increased to ₹55 per litre. He said, “In order for farmers to gain some profits, the government must increase the price to ₹55 per litre. Right now, Karnataka Milk Federation charges ₹46 per litre for a blue milk packet. The price varies for different packets of milk depending on the fat content. KMF is not helping farmers much because it is just a cooperative society that takes all our milk to the doorsteps of customers. They also charge us money for the feed we buy from them.”
He continued, “We don’t earn much from this. Dairy farming will not give you short-term profits, but long-term. After a few years, cows will not give 15 to 20 litres as they used to. In such times, farmers undergo loss because we cannot feed the cow a lesser quantity of feed just because it is giving less quantity of milk.”
Vanalakshmi (47) is a woman farmer staying in the Varthur Belgare region near Whitefield, told South First that she is neither having any profit nor any loss since she is getting back only the money she invested.
She said that it costs around ₹30 to ₹32 to produce one litre of milk, depending on the quality and fat content.
“I have four cows now, and when we supply it to the KMF, we are given ₹35 per litre for the milk with 3.5 percent fat content. Neither is there profit nor loss, whatever amount we invest, we get it back. So there is no extra gain.”
Explaining how much she has to spend on the cattle feed, she said, “KMF used to provide us cattle feed at ₹1,260 for 45 kg. The reduction in the money from the total payment we make when we buy feed. After they increased the cost of milk by ₹4, they increased the feed price by ₹100 per bag. Therefore, we have to pay ₹1,360 for 45 kg. Then we have to spend another ₹1,350 for wheat busa or rave busa. It costs ₹980 for chakke busa. Busa is like Bournavita or Complan we give to our children. Rave busa is more nutritious than wheat and chakke. It will give more strength to cows, and the production of milk increases.”
“We spend ₹2,600 for 50 kg of hindi, which is usually procured from nearby oil mills. Since we don’t own land, I have leased land for ₹35,000 per year where I grow grass for cows. We need to feed a total quantity of three to four kgs to one cow once a day. We have to feed them two times a day. While I don’t keep account of the cost of one cow to produce one litre of milk for one day, the total cost comes up to ₹300 per day for one cow.”
Dr Purushothama, a native of Ballari district, told South First that the dairy farmers earn more money by selling milk to individuals.
“Approximately, we incur somewhere around ₹30 to ₹32 to produce one litre of milk. If we sell milk outside, to individuals, we can easily earn ₹60 for one litre. But the government provides us only ₹35 per litre, depending on the content of fat and water. When we go and deliver the milk there, these contents are measured.”
However, he confirmed that the farmers have been getting the hiked ₹4 per litre.
Asked what the cost is for feeding the cow, he said, “It varies depending on the kind of feed that we provide them. On average, a person can incur somewhere around ₹250 to ₹300 per cow per day, which is more than what we earn from the government.”
He added, “The breed of cows also varies in different regions of Karnataka. For instance, in the Mysuru region, there are jersey cows that give 15 to 20 litres of milk daily. Similarly, in the Dharwad-Hubballi region, they have the Muruga breed of cows that give 10 to 11 litres of milk daily. In Shivamogga, there is are kilari breed of cows which give somewhere around six to 11 litres of milk. In Northern parts of Karnataka like Raichur, Ballari, Bidar and others, we have Naati cows or Jawari cows.”
“The production of milk from these cows varies due to different reasons, including climate, water and the quality of feed. In the northern Karnataka region, the climate is dry and hot, hence, the production might also reduce when compared to the cows in other parts of the region. We feed them dry grass, wet grass (hasi hullu), busa, hindi, hottu, etc.”
Srikanth Darur, a farmer from Darur village in the Ballari district, has over 20 cows, out of which ten provide a sufficient amount of milk.
He told South First that even though the government has increased the procurement price for every litre of milk by ₹4, it has not helped much.
“Farmers incur a cost of ₹30 to ₹34 to produce one litre of milk, depending on its fat and SNF (solid-not-fat) content. The standard fat measurement of KMF is 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent and 8.5 percent. Climate, water availability, and the cows’ diet also affect the fat content in milk,” he said.
“It is better to supply milk to individuals because there we charge ₹60 per litre. KMF provides only ₹35 per litre. Each cow in my dairy gives seven litres of milk, and I can provide 70 to 80 litres to the KMF daily. In a month, I can contribute 2,100 litres of milk. However, the income is equivalent to the money spent on the maintenance of cows,” said Srikanth.
“The money provided by them is not sufficient to even buy a new cow, which costs between ₹90,000 and ₹1,20,000. In the current times, it is difficult to survive in dairy farming. These days, some youngsters are inspired by random YouTube videos and choose this profession, thinking they can earn in lakhs, but they don’t understand the expenses in feeding and giving the required medical treatment for cows.”
Even though the KMF has a token system for providing doctors for the treatment of cows, they are hardly available when we need them,” he noted.
A BTech graduate, 30-year-old Abhikesh DB is in his third year of dairy farming at his farm in Malur in the Kolar district.
“I am a civil engineer. After working for six years in Bengaluru, I made a career shift to dairy farming because my father and my entire family are into this business. I agree that the entire ₹4 comes into the account of farmers. At the same time, the KMF, or the government, has increased cattle feed prices by ₹100 to ₹200 for every bag weighing 45 kg. So, the money we earn is spent on cattle feed. On average, we spend ₹40,000 per month on cattle feed,” he told South First.
Abhishek added that he has procured three acres of land to grow the grass required for cows so that he doesn’t have to spend money buying it.
“You require ₹300 to ₹350 to feed and maintain one cow. Currently, after the price was increased, we are getting ₹35 per litre from KMF. Earlier, I earned ₹28 per litre for milk. The government also provides ₹5 per litre as an assistance fund for dairy farmers. However, that is not given on a regular basis. Whenever they have funds, they credit them into our bank accounts. We cannot rely on that money. I get ₹12,000 once in three months or sometimes four months,” he said.
Feeding cows at the farm. (Raghavendra Hulakoti)
Raghavendra Hulakoti from Asundi village in Gadag district is a well-known name in the dairy farming industry. He has been in this profession since 2014 and has a dairy that consists of 80 cows.
“If I have 80 cows or if some other farmer has 30 cows, it does not mean all cows provide milk. Some will be pregnant, some will have just delivered the baby, and some will have undergone insemination. Therefore, fewer than 50 percent of cows will be providing milk. The cows that deliver the baby will provide around 10 to 20 litres of milk per day for five months. Later, the quantity will reduce. In such cases, farmers undergo loss,” he told South First.
Explaining more about the prices, he said, “On average, you require ₹2,000 to ₹2,500 daily to maintain ten cows. When I speak of maintaining cows, it means giving them mevu, busa, hindi and labour charges. If a cow provides ten litres of milk daily, we need to provide 300 g of busa for each litre of milk daily and 25 kg of grass for 10 cows per day.”
Noting that some other dairy companies provide more money, he said, “On average, I can supply 1,000 litres of milk to Dodla Milk Point, which procures one litre of milk for ₹40 (₹5 more than the KMF), and I earn ₹4,000 per month.”
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
