Dairy farming suits you if you can grow fodder, have water all year, milk twice a day every day, and pour your milk into a society nearby. Start with two animals, learn as you go, and grow the herd from your own heifer calves. This chapter helps you check each of these before you spend any money.
Is dairy farming right for you?
Dairy farming is a good fit if most of these are true:
- You have land to grow green fodder, or a steady supply you can buy.
- There is clean water all year, in summer too.
- Someone in the family can milk at fixed times every morning and evening, every day of the year.
- A village milk society is close enough to take your milk twice a day.
- A veterinary hospital is within reach, or the mobile veterinary unit on 1962 comes to your village.
Wait a little before you start if you would have to borrow the whole amount, if you cannot keep the first month's feed money aside, or if nobody can milk when you are away.
The daily work
Milch animals need someone every day, on festival days and in the rain too. A typical day looks like this:
- Early morning: clean the shed, wash and dry the udder, milk, and take the milk to the society.
- Morning: give water and fodder, and cut green fodder from your plot.
- Afternoon: in hot weather, give shade and splash water on the animals; buffaloes need a wallow or a shower (see keeping animals cool).
- Evening: milk again at the same time, take the milk to the society, and look at every animal for heat signs, limping or a drop in milk.
- Every day: remove the dung and write down the milk, heat dates, inseminations and vaccinations in a notebook.
How much time does it take? TNAU counts 125–150 hours of work per cow in a year (TNAU), roughly 40–50 minutes a day for two cows. UAS Bangalore reckons one worker for about 10 dairy animals (UAS Bangalore). Plan extra time if you grow and cut your own fodder.
Fodder land and water
Fodder is the base of every dairy. Plan the land and the water before you buy.
- Fodder land. TNAU plans about 1 acre of fodder land for 2 cows (TNAU). UAS Bangalore is more cautious: 5 acres of irrigated land for 5 dairy animals (UAS Bangalore). Without water for fodder all year, you need more land.
- What to grow. TNAU's Cumbu Napier hybrid grass gives its first cut 75–80 days after planting, then a cut every 45 days, 7 cuts a year (TNAU). TANUVAS teaches a course on small "10 Cent Fodder Plots" (TANUVAS). See Dairy cow feeding: fodder, concentrate, minerals and water.
- Drinking water. An adult animal drinks 70–80 litres a day, plus 2.5–3 litres for every litre of milk; crossbred cows and buffaloes need at least 100 litres a day in summer (NDDB).
- Washing water. Washing a milking cow and her shed takes another 80–90 litres a day, by UAS Bangalore's count (UAS Bangalore).
Visit the milk society first
Before you buy an animal, go to the nearest village milk producers' cooperative society and ask:
- When it takes milk and how it tests each lot. Members bring milk every morning and evening, and each lot is measured and tested (NDDB).
- How often it pays. In Tamil Nadu, the milk money goes into your bank account every 7, 10 or 15 days (Dairy Policy Note 2025-26).
- What it costs to join: at least one share and an entrance fee, as the society's bye-laws say (NDDB).
- What else it supplies: cattle feed, mineral mixture, artificial insemination, vet care, insurance and help with loans (Dairy Policy Note 2026-27).
- For its rate chart, to see how the fat and SNF of your milk change what you are paid. The Tamil Nadu figure is in the milk price.
In Tamil Nadu, any dairy farmer aged 18 or over who lives in the society's area, owns milch animals and will supply milk can join; women's societies take only women (Dairy Policy Note 2026-27). If your village has no society, at least 25 milk producers can apply together to the district's Deputy Registrar (Dairying) to start one. In the other states, ask the same questions at the nearest society of the state milk federation.
Start with two animals
- Two is the smallest bank unit. NABARD's 2026-27 unit costs for Tamil Nadu start at 2 animals: ₹2,07,000 for 2 crossbred Jersey cows or ₹2,20,000 for 2 graded Murrah buffaloes, with a simple shed (NABARD). These are planning figures for banks; your own costs will differ. See Dairy farming costs and income: a worked example.
- Buy the second animal 6 months after the first. NABARD's units are planned this way, so that one animal is in milk while the other is dry.
- Grow one step at a time. TANUVAS's courses follow the same path: "Two cows, One Business" for beginners, then "From two cows to ten" (TANUVAS).
- Raise your own heifers. NDDB says it is better to raise your own calf into a milking cow than to buy one from an unknown source (NDDB). See Calf care: colostrum, milk feeding, weaning and pens.
Before you buy, read Choosing a dairy cow or buffalo: breeds compared and How to buy a milch cow or buffalo: checks and papers.
Find cows and bulls near you on Kattutharai
See cows, calves and bulls for sale direct from farmers near your village, with photos, the village name and the distance. No middlemen. Call or chat with the farmer, then see the animal milked by hand and check it yourself before you pay.
Looking for a particular breed? Search its name in the Kattutharai app, for example Kangayam, Hallikar or Gir.
Learn before you buy
- TANUVAS courses. The 2026–27 list of farmer courses and the online registration form are on the TANUVAS farmers' page (TANUVAS).
- Where to go in Tamil Nadu: TANUVAS's 20 training and research centres, from Coimbatore to Villupuram (TANUVAS), and its Krishi Vigyan Kendras at Kattupakkam, Kundrakudi, Namakkal and Villupuram (TANUVAS).
- Your milk society. Societies and milk unions run training and awareness camps for members on clean milk and animal care (NDDB).
- Ask before you choose a breed. NDDB advises deciding with your local vet, KVK or the Kisan Call Centre (NDDB).
- In the other southern states, ask your district KVK or the training centre of the state veterinary university: KVAFSU in Karnataka, KVASU in Kerala, SVVU in Andhra Pradesh and PVNRTVU in Telangana.
Ear tags and records
- Every animal needs its ear tag. Animals registered on the government's Bharat Pashudhan portal get a 12-digit tag number that also carries their FMD and brucellosis vaccinations (PIB). Animals are usually tagged by the vaccination team or veterinary staff; ask your vet if one has no tag.
- Insurance depends on the tag. Government-supported cattle insurance needs the 12-digit tag and a photo of the animal with its tag clearly visible (DAHD). If a tag falls off, tell the veterinary dispensary at once.
- When you buy or sell, ask the vet or vaccinator to record the new owner against the tag. See papers to collect.
- Keep a notebook of each animal's milk, heat dates, inseminations, calvings, vaccinations and deworming.
Common mistakes
- Buying the animals before the fodder plot is growing.
- Buying more animals than the family can milk, feed and clean every day.
- Starting without asking the society how it tests milk and how often it pays.
- Spending every rupee on animals and keeping nothing for the first month's feed.
- Leaving a lost ear tag unreplaced, or a sale unrecorded against the tag.
Frequently asked questions
How much land do I need for two cows?
About 1 acre of fodder land, by TNAU's figure, plus room for a shed with about 65–70 sq ft of floor for each adult cow (TNAU). Without water for fodder all year, you need more land. See Dairy cow shed: space, floor, roof and cooling.
Should I buy a cow in milk or a heifer?
A cow in milk starts earning with the society's next payment, and you can check her yield before you pay: see milk her before you pay. A heifer gives no milk until her first calf; NDDB's target is 24–30 months of age for a crossbred and 30–36 months for native cattle and buffaloes (NDDB).
Can I keep milch animals part-time?
Only with help. Milking happens twice a day at fixed times, every day, and the milk must reach the society soon after. Someone in the family must be able to milk when you are away.
Is dairy farming profitable?
It can be, but nothing is guaranteed. The result depends on how much milk your animals give over the whole year, what feed costs and the rate your society pays. Work through Dairy farming costs and income: a worked example with your own figures before you decide.
Next
Next, read Choosing a dairy cow or buffalo: breeds compared. To see what farmers near you are selling, and their asking prices, browse cows for sale and buffaloes for sale.