After four decades of research, NDRI pushes Karan Fries breed for farmers

The Director of the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, Dr Dheer Singh, has written to the Haryana Government urging it to promote the newly registered Karan Fries cattle breed among farmers to improve dairy productivity in the state.

Developed by NDRI scientists after more than four decades of research, the breed has recently been notified by the Union Government. Dr Singh has requested the state government to include Karan Fries in its breeding policy so that the breed can be taken to farmers’ fields to upgrade existing crossbred cattle.

Dr Singh said the breed offered an added advantage as it was well adapted to the agro-climatic conditions of the region compared to other Holstein Friesian crosses currently found in farmers’ herds.

“Karan Fries is a synthetic cattle breed developed by crossbreeding the globally renowned high milk yielding Holstein Friesian with the indigenous Tharparkar cow in 1982. We had started efforts to develop it from 1971. Now it has been genetically stabilised and notified by the Union Government. I have written to the Director General of the Animal Husbandry Department of the state government to come forward and include Karan Fries in the state breeding policy for taking it to farmers’ fields,” said Dr Singh.

He also offered the state government elite germplasm of the breed to help enhance milk productivity and strengthen the dairy economy.

According to Dr Singh, Karan Fries represents the outcome of over four decades of sustained breeding research and scientific innovation at the institute. Through several generations of selective breeding, the population has now achieved genetic stability.

The breed combines the high milk production potential of Holstein Friesian cattle with the resilience and adaptability of the indigenous Tharparkar breed, making it well suited to Indian climatic conditions.

Describing Karan Fries as a major breeding achievement of the institute, Dr Singh said the cattle possessed strong adaptability to hot climates, making them particularly suitable for dairy farming in regions where extreme weather conditions often affect the performance of exotic breeds.

Scientists at NDRI say the breed has demonstrated strong milk production potential. On average, a Karan Fries cow produces around 3,550 litres of milk per lactation, which is more than double the yield of many indigenous cattle breeds in the country.

Some high-performing animals of the breed have recorded between 4,000 and 6,000 litres of milk in a 305-day lactation period, with a peak daily yield of 46.5 litres, indicating the breed’s strong genetic potential under Indian management conditions.

Dr Singh said frozen semen doses of the breed were available at the NDRI sale counter at nominal prices and could be easily accessed by farmers.