Dairy farming: how to start with cows and buffaloes

A few milch cows or buffaloes can give a family a regular milk payment from the village milk society, with a small shed and a fodder plot. The work never stops: the animals are milked twice a day, every day, and need fodder, water and a clean shed. This guide takes you from deciding whether dairy farming suits you to milking, breeding and selling, one chapter at a time.

What this guide covers

• Dairy farming for beginners: is it right for you? — the daily work, fodder land and water, starting with two animals, the milk society and training.
• Choosing a dairy cow or buffalo: breeds compared — cow or buffalo, native or crossbred, and the dairy breeds compared.
• How to buy a milch cow or buffalo: checks and papers — milking her yourself before you pay, health and teeth checks, papers, paying safely and transport.
• Dairy cow shed: space, floor, roof and cooling — space for each animal, the floor, roof and manger, a calf pen, and keeping animals cool.
• Dairy cow feeding: fodder, concentrate, minerals and water — green, dry and concentrate feed, mineral mixture, water and fodder crops.
• Milking cows and buffaloes: clean milk and mastitis checks — clean, full-hand milking, checks for udder infection, and getting milk to the society fast.
• Cow and buffalo health: vaccine calendar and warning signs — the daily check, warning signs, the vaccination calendar and when to call the vet.
• Cow and buffalo breeding: heat signs, AI and calving — heat signs, artificial insemination, the pregnancy check, the dry period and calving.
• Calf care: colostrum, milk feeding, weaning and pens — colostrum, feeding calves, weaning and the calf pen.
• Selling milk: milk society, price and FSSAI rules — the milk society, how fat and SNF set your rate, the milk price, and selling calves and heifers.
• Dairy farming costs and income: a worked example — a worked example of costs and income for two animals, and your cost per litre.
• Dairy farming loans, insurance and schemes in 2026 — Tamil Nadu schemes, livestock insurance, the Kisan Credit Card and bank loans.

The short version

1. Check that it fits you. You need fodder, water and someone to milk every day. TNAU plans about 1 acre of fodder land for every 2 cows (TNAU). See is dairy farming right for you?
2. Visit the milk society first, then learn. Tamil Nadu had 8,851 village milk producers' societies on 30 June 2026 (Dairy Policy Note 2026-27); ask the nearest one how it tests and pays before you buy. TANUVAS runs a beginners' course called "Two cows, One Business" (TANUVAS). See visit the milk society first.
3. Choose animals that suit your area. Jersey crosses suit the plains and Holstein Friesian crosses the cooler hills (TNAU). TNAU prefers crossbreds with about 50% exotic blood, which keep more of the native cow's tolerance of heat (TNAU). See Choosing a dairy cow or buffalo: breeds compared.
4. Build the shed before the animals arrive. Plan about 65–70 sq ft of floor for each adult cow (TNAU), in a shed whose long side runs east–west (TNAU). See Dairy cow shed: space, floor, roof and cooling.
5. Milk her yourself before you pay. Judge a cow's yield from the average of three complete milkings in a row (TNAU), and keep every new animal apart from your herd for 30 days (NDDB). See milk her before you pay and paying safely.
6. Feed by the milk she gives. On top of her fodder and a base amount for her own body, NDDB advises about 400 g of cattle feed for every litre of milk a cow gives (500 g for a buffalo), and 70–80 litres of drinking water a day plus 2.5–3 litres for each litre of milk (NDDB). See Dairy cow feeding: fodder, concentrate, minerals and water.
7. Milk cleanly and prevent disease. Keep her standing for at least 30–45 minutes after milking (NDDB), and vaccinate against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) every 6 months under the national programme (PIB). See Milking cows and buffaloes: clean milk and mastitis checks and Cow and buffalo health: vaccine calendar and warning signs.
8. Breed on time and raise every calf. Aim for a calf every 12–14 months in cows and every 13–15 months in buffaloes (NDDB). See Cow and buffalo breeding: heat signs, AI and calving and Calf care: colostrum, milk feeding, weaning and pens.

Before you start

Answer these five questions honestly. If any answer is "no", sort that out first.

• Fodder land. Can you grow green fodder all year? TNAU plans about 1 acre of fodder land for 2 cows (TNAU); without water for fodder all year, you need more land. If you must buy all the fodder, work out that cost first with Dairy farming costs and income: a worked example.
• Water. Is there clean water all year, summer included? An adult animal drinks 70–80 litres a day, plus 2.5–3 litres for every litre of milk, and crossbred cows and buffaloes need at least 100 litres a day in summer (NDDB). Washing the animals and the shed takes more.
• Milking twice a day, every day. Who will milk at fixed times every morning and evening, on festival days and rainy days too, and who takes over when you travel? TNAU counts 125–150 hours of work per cow in a year, roughly 20–25 minutes a day (TNAU).
• Cash until the milk money comes. Feed is bought from the first day, and the society pays every 7, 10 or 15 days (Dairy Policy Note 2025-26). NABARD's unit cost covers only the first month's running costs; after that they come from the milk money or a Kisan Credit Card (NABARD). A heifer or a dry animal brings no milk money until she calves.
• A milk society nearby. Is there a village society you can pour into, morning and evening? In Tamil Nadu, any dairy farmer aged 18 or over who lives in the society's area and owns milch animals can join; where there is none, at least 25 milk producers of a village can apply to form one (Dairy Policy Note 2026-27). In the other states, ask for the nearest society of the state milk federation.

Common mistakes

• Buying animals before the fodder plot, the water and the shed are ready.
• Buying a high-yielding crossbred without the green fodder, cattle feed and water she needs.
• Paying for a cow without milking her yourself at her usual times.
• Milking at different times each day, or skipping a milking.
• Putting a newly bought animal in with your herd on the first day.

Frequently asked questions

How many animals should a beginner start with?

Start with two. NABARD's 2026-27 dairy unit costs for Tamil Nadu begin at 2 animals, with the second bought 6 months after the first, so that one is in milk while the other is dry (NABARD). TANUVAS teaches beginners the same way, and its advanced course is called "From two cows to ten" (TANUVAS). See start with two animals.

Should I keep cows or buffaloes?

It depends on your water, shade and feed. Buffalo milk is richer in fat, about 7–8% on average in the breeds on our pages (ICAR-NBAGR), and the society pays more per litre for richer milk. But buffaloes feel the heat more, and they calve later and less often, while well-fed crossbred cows give more milk (NDDB). Compare them in cow or buffalo?

How much will I get for my milk?

Your society pays by the litre, at a rate set by the fat and SNF of your own milk. The Tamil Nadu price and how it is worked out are in the milk price, which we check every three months. Ask your society secretary for the rate chart before you buy animals.

Is there a loan or insurance for milch animals?

Banks lend to buy milch animals and build sheds, and a Kisan Credit Card can cover feed and other running costs. In Tamil Nadu, milk societies also help members get loans and insure their animals (Dairy Policy Note 2026-27). Dairy farming loans, insurance and schemes in 2026 has the details, and we check it every month. Rules change — confirm with your nearest veterinary hospital or animal husbandry office.

How long before the milk money starts?

If you buy an animal in milk, the money starts with the society's next payment. If you raise a heifer instead, NDDB's target for her first calf is 24–30 months of age for a crossbred and 30–36 months for native cattle and buffaloes (NDDB).

Next

Start with Dairy farming for beginners: is it right for you?. When you are ready to buy, browse cows for sale and buffaloes for sale near you, and check each animal yourself before you pay. Have calves or heifers to sell? Post a free ad.