Silvester D'Souza

Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Jan 7: Raviraj N Shetty, a successful dairy farmer from Asodu in the taluk deserves to be visited by interested dairy farmers to know about how he manages it and how he has tuned this occupation into a profit-making venture. Those who claim that dairying is a loss-making proposition should find how Raviraj has proved that dairying can be made profitable by conducting it systematically and duly using modern technology. His dairy farm has also been steadily growing into a study centre.

Raviraj Shetty, son of Saukoor Narayana Shetty, a district judge by profession, completed his BA degree at Bengaluru. Although he had several choices of professions before him, he opted for agricultural sector. After coming to Asodu, he adopted complete organic farming and began his 'Nandi Poultry Farm'. 

He also continued to follow the traditional profession of dairying. Along with complete organic model of farming, he took a decision to undertake dairying activity on a large scale. In a few years, he went ahead with the confidence that dairying can be taken up on a large scale along with organic farming. Backed by in-depth experience about dairying, interest, and use of improved technology can make this activity into a self-reliant one, he believed and went head.

Model organic farmer

Raviraj Shetty follows the model of organic farming. He has 4,000 areca nut trees besides coconut and cocoa trees. There are different varieties of mango, mangostin and different kinds of jam trees. He also has grown black pepper vines on areca nut trees. nutmeg trees, teakwood trees etc.

Shetty has never used chemicals in his agricultural land. He follows total organic method of farming. Therefore, he gets dung in abundance. Urine of dairy animals land water from the washed cattle shed directly flow into his plantation. As he follows pure organic method of cultivation, his plants and trees have never suffered from any diseases.

Raviraj Shetty has four open wells and four tube wells. He also has implemented a good irrigation system. He is careful to see that water is used very judiciously. He has fitted drip irrigation system in the entire plantation and thereby saving precious water.

Normal system of agriculture can be seen in his land. He does not follow the method of loosening soil at the base of coconut trees, and provides fertilizer on the surface. He says that because of this, roots of the trees do not suffer any damages. For areca nut trees too he carves out a cross pit between two trees and pours dung slurry into it. He says that he has found this method to be extremely beneficial. 

No fertilizer for fields

Raviraj grows 25 quintals of paddy in one acre field. He does not use any chemical fertilizers. He follows organic method of cultivation. He allows all his 30 cows to graze in the field. During the two hours they graze in the field, the fields get dung and urine of the animals, which automatically turn into fertilizer. He does not provide any other fertilizer to the field. For the cows to move around, he grows crops only during the Kharif season.

Model dairy farmer

With the purpose of undertaking dairying on a large scale, he built a model cattle shed. He went to Kolar and bought HF and jersey cows from there and looked them after well. He provided them high quality cattle feed apart from green grass, dry grass, areca sheets and water. The animals are allowed to move freely in the field.     As such, he now has 30 lactating cows. Each of these cows yield 30 to 32 litres of milk daily on an average. The cows are affectionate towards him because of the way he looks them after and takes care. His cows begin to calve before they get teeth. As he found that artificial insemination is not very effective, he has bought a HF       breed bull from Kolar for crossing.

Cattle feed is prepared by him by using different pulses. No chemicals are used. He has grown Napier CO 4 and CO 3 green grass over four acres of land. He also slices areca nut sheets and provides the same to cows along with green grass.

Model shed

Shetty has built his cattle shed in a cool place surrounded with areca and teakwood trees. He has provided mat all over the shed to ensure that the animals do not suffer from scratches. He uses machine to wash the cattle and provides water to be sprayed over them from above. In addition, two huge fans have been provided in the cattle shed.

Raviraj has given prominence to technology so that burden of work on workers is reduced. He has implemented automated drinking water, excess water flowing back, system to supply washed water of the shed to reach the farm through drip system. He also has appointed workers to get stationed in the shed and keep an eye on the animals. He also visits the shed now and then and treats the cattle suffering from fever and other problems himself.

Shetty also has lot of aspirations about dairying. He plans to collect a thousand liters of milk every day. He has built another cattle shed. If he keeps the same number of cows, the milk collection will rise to 800 liters. If another shed is built, the collection will be over a thousand liters everyday, Shetty says.

Raviraj has served as founder president of Asodu Milk Producers Cooperative Society. He has been active in all social and religious activities in the region. He has been serving as the president of the managing committee of Lord Kalinga Subramanya temple at Kalavara village. He says that one should be sincere and earnest in what one does to achieve success. He feels that people who have interest in agriculture cannot get the level of joy hey get there out of any other activity.