Mangaluru: To support dairy farmers, the Dakshina Kannada Milk Union has decided to increase the special incentive for milk by 50 paise per litre, from Rs 1 to Rs 1.50, starting January 1.

Compared to other districts, the cost of milk production is higher in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi due to fodder scarcity, high temperatures, lack of animal feed, and a shortage of labour.

To address these challenges, the government has been urged to provide higher procurement prices ranging from Rs 2 to Rs 3 per litre in the coastal districts. This was announced by Union President K P Sucharitha Shetty during a press conference on Tuesday.

Revised Rates

The board has revised the incentive structure as follows:

• The society’s margin is increased from 80 paise to Rs 1.05.
• Farmer Welfare Trust’s contribution is raised from 5 paise to 10 paise.
• Payment for every 0.1 fat unit is increased from 17 paise to 20 paise.
• The price for 4.5 fat-8.5 SNF milk supplied by societies is revised from Rs 37.74 to Rs 38.25 per litre, and for farmers, from Rs 36.74 to Rs 36.95 per litre.

Currently, the union has 749 societies with 51,138 active members, collecting an average of 3,40,158 litres of milk daily. By December-end, the union expects a turnover of Rs 870 crore and a profit of Rs 7.76 crore.

Support for Dairy Farming

To boost dairy farming and reduce production costs, the union supplies 600 metric tonnes of compound feed monthly to societies at Rs 7.50 per kg. Superior cattle breeds identified in Erode, Tamil Nadu, will be made available to farmers. A subsidy of Rs 16,000 per cow is provided for transportation, insurance, and free feed, according to Sucharitha Shetty.

Key officials including MD Vivek D., Vice President Jayarama Rai, and board members participated in the press conference.