Dairy farmers participated enthusiastically in a cow milking competition held as part of Raitha Dasara on Saturday at J.K. Grounds.

A total of 18 cows from Mysuru, Mandya, Bengaluru, Hassan and other districts participated in the contest held in two phases morning and evening.

The participating cows along with their calves, were brought to the venue on Friday for trial run.  A cowshed has been set up at the venue to accommodate them. Only cows with a milk yield capacity more than 15 litres were allowed to participate. Each cow yielded an average of 20 litres of milk, with separate session held in morning and evening. Farmers took away the milk collected during the competition.

Taking part in the competition is considered  a matter of pride among dairy farmers. Ajay Reddy, a young farmer from Jayanagar in Bengaluru, who holds key position in a private company, travelled all the way to Mysuru with a large, genetically bred cow he had purchased from a farmer in Punjab. Despite his lucrative job, he remains passionate about dairy farming and encouraging youth to join. Manjunath, a farmer from Saligrama taluk, who has been participating in the competition for the past two years, urged the government to increase the price of milk. He says, farmer with low yielding cows find difficult to sustain in dairy business at the prevailing milk price.

Kiran Guli, a farmer from Hassan , participated with a cow that won a prize in a similar competition held in Srirangapatna.

Farmers participated in the competition are into dairy business from several years and many of them maintaining at least 10 cows on their farm. Each participated cow cost more than ₹3 lakh and investment also more.

Animal exhibition

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services organised an animal exhibition showcasing rare breeds of cattle and sheep as part of Raitha Dasara.

Cattle breeds such as Sahiwal, Punganuru, Tharparkar, Dangi, Jaffarabadi, Murrah, Hallikar(bull) and Kangayam are among attractions in exhibition.

The exhibition also features Bandoori breed sheep, a native of Malavalli and also Dorper sheep.

Competition winners

Ashwinin Ambareesh Bidadi, Bengaluru Rural district won the first prize followed by Sri Gururaghavendra Dairy Farm, Laxmipura, Saligrama, Mysuru in the second place. Ravi S. from Bengaluru secured third prize and Kiran Gooli, Chennehalli, Channarayapatna, Hassan won the fourth prize.

First iwinner received a cash award of ₹1 lakh, while second prize winner received ₹80,000, third and fourth  prize winner received ₹60,000 and ₹40,000 respectively, according to the organisers.