Solar-Powered Milking Machine: A New Cost-Effective and Energy Efficient Dairy Farming Technology

The use of renewable energy technologies has the capability to increase industry and business productivity, attracting additional investment and economic growth. Despite the fact that solar energy has been successfully introduced and adopted in other economic sectors, its application to the small and marginal dairy industry had not been extended prior to the current applied research.

India’s Contribution In Milk Production

India is the largest milk supplier and producer in the world. Around 80% of this milk is produced by marginal and small farmers of the country.  Dairy farming plays a vital role in the country's agricultural economy. Farmers spend hours drawing milk. It takes a lot of time and energy to milk cows and buffaloes. It is a cumbersome task, especially when it is done manually.

Chitradurga: In order to make the milking process time and cost-efficient, the farmers of Chitradurga have adopted the technique of milking cows by using solar-powered milking machines.

Fortunately, these regions have an abundance of sunlight, which can be used in this milking machine. This technology is not only cost-efficient and hassle-free but is also sustainable. Usually, a farmer spends 30 minutes milking one cow.  By using this machine milk of about 20-30 cows can be easily drawn within an hour. It can also be operated individually and is also easy to use.

The First Introduction Of The Machine and Its Features

The SELCO company is a pioneer of awaring people about solar energy. It firstly introduced this solar-powered machine to farmers of Chitradurga.

The solar-powered machine runs on a DC motor, which makes it affordable to the farmers, and also it does not pose any threat or harm to the animals, on which it is being used.  It has got positive feedback from the farmers using it, all over the state. Many of them said that the yield of milk has increased drastically without compromising cattle's health.