Balu Pandurang Mote is a goat and sheep farmer from Baramati in district Pune, Maharashtra. He is owner of the brand Sheli Aharshastra Group. He released his video on FTB detailing his business and how he can be of help to other farmers interested in goats and sheep.
Balu an Agriculture graduate, is from a farming family and inherited some goats and farms. He started with traditional farming and shifted to goat rearing, as it was more profitable. His family used to rear goats but in a traditional way. Balu has learnt new techniques and methods to improve his capability in managing his goat and sheep farm.
It's costly to rear goats, but you will get good returns on your investment. Arranging water was difficult initially, but with good income he was able to arrange the water for goats. Income from the farm is enough to sustain him. The goats mate and produce offspring, whom he raises for meat, milk, fiber and skin.
He started goat farming in June 2015 and today they have 200 sheep and 25 goats. There were lots of difficulties in going large scale but he slowly learnt. He also suffered financial losses in the beginning , as he had to invest heavily, but overcame these issues and today is a successful goat farmer. You will have to invest in goats initially but within a year the goats will be earning you Rs. 4,000 per year with 2 offspring.
He observes the performance of each goat. He keeps record of the monthly progress of the goats. Their date of birth, their monthly weight and other such important details are recorded. He has a chart of age versus the minimum and maximum weight which allows him to look after the goats.
He shows us the excellent shed that he has built for his goats with excellent feeding system. There is excellent ventilation in the shed for the goats. They have excellent boundaries to make sure that the goats don't go stray. The shed is on the north-south side and the goats never get ill. He has built a 76 meter long feeding area for goats where all the goats feed on green grass and other feed important for goats and sheep. The animals are fed Maize, animal feeds, various grasses, dry fodder etc. They have planted some grass and maize in the fields to provide fodder to the goats.
You learn with experience and the quality of your goats and their milk will depend on what you feed them. You have to work with your goats all year round. You should make good efforts and you will succeed. Balu pointed out not to raise goats by seeing or reading any success story. Because goat rearing is not as easy as it seems. This business has to be done with careful planning and intelligence.
I share my knowledge and other useful information with goat farmers around here. I try to help the society as much as I can. He has formed his own WhatsApp, Telegram Group called Sheli Aharshastra. Through this he guides 5000 to 7000 farmers. He also writes a blog on goat farming. He has created his own goat diet calculator and says goat feeding can be planned. He can teach you to get higher income at minimum cost. He regularly conducts seminars through Google Meet and all the training that he provides is free of cost. Everyone in his Sheli Aharshashtra group respectfully calls him Mama.