How many times have we heard of inhuman exploitation of cows by dairy farmers to maximize milk yield, and cursed them for giving all of us discerning milk and dairy consumers a feeling of guilt. Here comes an overseas Indian committed to caring for cows like pets, and bringing to our homes great tasting farm fresh cow’s milk, untouched by hand and conforming to the highest quality standards prevailing anywhere in the world.
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Fifty-four years old Deepak Gupta, till recently based out of Singapore and heading commodities business in Asia for Agri-major Cargill, has just started supplying packaged cow’s milk under the brand name ‘Himalayan Creamery’ direct to homes in Chandigarh tricity from his highly automated and self sustaining 20 acres integrated single-source dairy farm, located in serene rural surroundings outside Nabha town in Punjab. The first Israeli technology based dairy farm, among the biggest organised dairy farms in the region, is based on the concept of ‘social entrepreneurship’.
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Photos By : Life In Chandigarh
The farm is home to 350 beautiful Holstein Frisian and Jersey cows, sourced from different parts of the country, and is currently milking 200 cows in a ‘herringbone’ milking parlour, keeping 150 calves for future growth of the herd. The milk from the parlour is untouched by hand and through a network of pipes goes into the processing plant where it is instantly chilled, pasteurised and packed on the farm. The packaged milk is then stored in a cold room before being loaded on to refrigerated trucks to be delivered farm fresh to customers at their doorstep. No need to boil the milk, as is the practice in Indian households, since it comes free from hormones, pesticides and antibiotics.
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Visit To Farm
As Deepak Gupta fondly takes us around his farm with his team of officials, on Sunday, he explains: “The farm puts a lot of focus on animal comfort. The cows live in spacious sheds fitted with water showers and fans. Cow brushes that rotate on demand keep them clean and improve their comfort and welfare. The cows are fed a high quality feed made up of corn silage, soybean meal, wheat bran, minerals and dry and green fodder. Some of the green fodder is grown organically on the farm using manure from the farm itself. The natural diet ensures that the milk tastes great and is of high quality.
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“There is a state-of-the-art animal monitoring system from SCR of Israel, which allows the farm to monitor its cows 24 hours a day, even remotely. This helps, as each individual cow’s behaviour and health can be seen real time.”
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Self-sustaining Operations
Besides dairy, the farm also grows green fodder, wheat and vegetables with organic farming methods. It uses the manure to generate biogas for electricity before using it as fertiliser for farming. “I feel that social entrepreneurship is a great way to drive change in agriculture, especially in food surplus Punjab. We share best practices in dairy farming with local farmers, educate them about animal health, feeding and hygiene, creating employment opportunities for rural youth and seniors. This could become a model of rural development and at the same time be a source of supply of fresh and safe food for our ever growing cities,” adds Deepak.
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The farm is producing 4,000 litres of milk daily, most of which is currently being supplied to institutions. “In the past two months we have also signed up more than 100 families in Chandigarh tricity who get ‘Himalayan Creamery’ milk delivered to them every morning. More customers are coming on board daily. Our plan is to eventually scale up our operations and increase the strength of the cows to 750-1,000 with the intention of producing 15,000 litres of milk,” Deepak informs.
“We will deliver milk directly to customers, but also have plan to open ‘Himalayan Creamery’ counters at some select stores in prime locations of the tricity, to provide unadulterated great tasting milk to health conscious consumers,” sums up Deepak.
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The introductory price per litre of cow’s milk, with an average fat content of 3 to 4 percent, is Rs 48.
For the health conscious, this should not be a big ask!
Ring : 8283822200
Facebook.com/himalayancreamery
info@himalayancreamery.com
