The Rs 150 crore Chitale Dairy Farm, located at Bhilawadi, around 240 km from Pune, handles about 60 million litres of milk per annum. Thanks to RFID, all that is a cakewalk.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Advertisement
n The orange tag is a simple
numbering of the buffalo for keeping track of the number of buffaloes. Plus the
number is electronically associated with the electronic ID, which is stored in
the computer.
n The blue tag is the metallic
cover under which the smart card has been locked for safety purposes. Since
buffaloes cannot be expected to maintain any kind of discipline, the blue
metallic cover ensures that there is no damage to the card inside.
n At the time of allocating the
electronic ID, a link is created with the physical ID.
n The card stores a host of
information on the buffalo mainly on three counts—
Feeding: The farm has a unique feeding system that feeds the buffaloes
correctly. The buffalo can never eat more than a certain programmed portion of
daily ration at one time. The total ration is fed over 24 hours in small amounts
from half a kg to two kg.
Milking:
Everytime the buffalo enters the parlor, the transponders in
the strap (blue tag) is identified. On the milking point controller (MPC), a
warning lamp lights up at the appointed symbol if the buffalo is not milked or
if the milk is not directed to the tank. If the buffalo has not produced as much
as expected, the warning lights will glow.
Breeding: This contains information on the genetic stock of the animal
and all aspects related to animal rearing related to pregnancies, vaccinations,
any diseases. This has resulted in 15 to 20% improvement in total milk yield.
The national average of buffalo milk yield in the country is 800-1000 litres in
300 days. At the Chitale dairy farm, they are able to achieve 2500 litres in 300
days.