Jalandhar: LSD hits small dairy farmers, milk output & income down

Tribune News Service

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, September 8

Dairy farmer Hardeep Kaur (40) from Uppal Khalsa village, Nakodar, has started looking for a job at grocery stores, ready to work as a daily-wager.

Reason: Little money she and her husband earned from selling milk produced by their cows has dwindled, for their two head of cattle are suffering from lumpy skin disease (LSD). Milk production has fallen drastically and so does their income.

“Of the three cows, only one is healthy. These days, whatever we earn from selling milk is insufficient to makes ends meet,” she said.

Hardeep Kaur is not the alone in this battle.

There are several small dairy farmers, who have lost their cattle to the LSD. Those who haven’t are no better, as people have stopped buying milk from them.

Nachattar Kaur (65) from Nusi village in Kartarpur has four cows and all have been infected with the LSD. She has already spent a huge amount of money on the treatment of her cattle. “The government must step in and help dairy farmers. It cannot leave us hapless,” she said.

Another resident of Nussi village Jorawar Singh has lost one of his two cows to the disease. “I had taken a loan of more than Rs 1 lakh to buy the cattle. The only cow I am left with is unwell,” he said.

Deputy Director (Animal Husbandry) Harmaninder Singh said, “Milk production decreases when a cow is infected with the LSD. Once the cattle recover, production will pick up.”

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