Good News for Dairy Farmers! Govt. Plans to Give Genetic Boost to This Indigenous Cattle Breed

Uttarakhand is currently preparing for the genetic enhancement of its native Badri cow, which grazes on herbs that grow in the Himalayas, to raise its productivity.

The Animal Husbandry Department suggested using sex-sorted semen technology at a recent chintan shivir (brainstorming session) that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held with top state officials to increase the stock of the small Badri cattle. To increase the number of cattle with a high genetic stock, officials suggested using the embryo transfer technique.

The State is investigating the marketing potential of Gaumutra ark (distilled cow urine), cow dung, and Panchgavya in addition to Badri ghee, which costs between Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per kilogram (five products of the cow: curd, ghee, dung, and urine).

The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources had granted certification to the Badri cow, the first registered cattle breed in Uttarakhand, according to B.V.R.C. Purushottam, Secretary, Animal Husbandry.

New technologies

“The problem with this breed of cattle is that it can only produce one to three liters of milk each day, which is quite a little amount. We have chosen to use multiple ovulation embryo transfer (MOET), a traditional embryo flush, which is the most popular procedure used in advanced cattle breeding, to force farmers in Uttarakhand to breed Badri rather than switching to high-milk-producing alternative breeds like Jersey," Purushottam said.

The official added that the other method to boost the production would be ovum pick-up in vitro fertilization (IVF). It will cost 50 crore rupees to implement assisted reproductive technologies (ART) for the project to increase the productivity of local Badri cattle in order to generate employment and entrepreneurship.

The State intends to reach its goals in 10 years, as was stated in the chintan shivir held in Mussoorie during the final week of November. As the State approaches its 25th anniversary of formation, the shivir (session) attempted to create a road map for Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand had established a nucleus breeding bull mother farm in Nariyal village in Champawat district because the plan calls for producing high-quality Badri studs for semen production through the use of embryo transfer technology and sex-sorted semen to reduce the population of unproductive men.

Currently, 4.79 lakh of the approximately seven lakh Badri cattle in Uttarakhand are cows.

The holy Char Dham at Badrinath is where the Badri breed got its name. The cow breed is small in size with long legs and a diversity of body colors, including black, brown, red, white, and grey. They also have a balanced gait for the hills. This breed is generally more disease-resistant, largely because of its dietary habits.

Badri Cow Grazes on herbs

According to officials, the Badri cow is unique, since she lives in the Himalayas, where she eats only herbs, avoids harmful substances like polythene, and is remote from poisonous pollution.

"Since the Badri cow solely grazes on the shrubs and herbs found in the mountains, its milk has a high organic value and rich therapeutic content. The same thing makes its goods unique, which is why its ghee is quite expensive. Due to its diet and habitat, its urine has a high value. The average milk fat content during lactation is 4%, and the lactation milk yield ranges from 547 kg to 657 kg,” according to R.S. Negi, CEO of the Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board.

According to Negi, Hetha Organics offers Badri cow products online, while the Uttarakhand Cooperative Dairy Federation provides Badri ghee under the brand name Aanchal.

“We sell undistilled gaumutra to Hetha Organics for Rs 5 per liter and cow urine distillate to them for Rs 28 per liter. We also sell fresh Badri cow dung to a few entrepreneurs for Rs 1 per kg, which they use to make products,” he continued.

Hetha Organics' founder, Aseem Rawat, claimed that for the previous eight years, the company had focused on producing and marketing locally sourced cow products.