Madhya Pradesh university discovers chocolate for cattle to improve milk production

Jabalpur, October 15

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A state-run university in Madhya Pradesh has discovered a yummy alternative to fodder and cattle feed in the form of a chocolate, which will help ramp up milk production and improve reproduction rate of livestock, an official said on Friday.

After research of two months, the Jabalpur-based Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University has prepared a multivitamin and mineral-rich chocolate for cattle, which can be an alternative feed when there is non-availability of green fodder, the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor SP Tiwari said.

The university, with the help of the state Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department, would soon supply these chocolates to farmers across the state, he said.

The university has plans to transfer the chocolate manufacturing technique to veterinary graduates who are willing to open a start-up unit for chocolate production, Tiwari said.

“The chocolate will enhance milk production, reproductive growth and conception rate in cattle. It is rich in vitamins and protein,” he said.

Cattle can consume the chocolate as it is and it can also be served with other feeds, he added.

“Each piece of chocolate is around 500 gm and is prepared with ingredients traditionally used in cattle feed such as mustard cake, rice polish, molasses, starch, lime powder and common salt,” Tiwari said, adding that each piece would cost Rs 25.

The university had designed wooden moulds for production of these chocolates and 500 pieces had been manufactured so far, he said.

The university had written to the state government and once it got the go-ahead, the product would enter the market, Tiwari said. PTI