South India's maiden fodder cake unit at Ch'nagar

Facility to be dedicated on February 20, ensuring quality feed

 In a first of its kind unit in South India, Mymul has set up a dry fodder cake manufacturing unit at Manchanahalli in Chamarajanagar taluk. The unit planned on an experimental basis will be dedicated on February 20.

It will manufacture dry fodder cakes comprising 60 per cent of paddy hay, maize, dry grass of jowar; 30 per cent of raw products used for cattle feed and 10 per cent of ‘hindi’ and kakambi mixture. Latest technology is being used to prepare this cake each weighing 10 kg.

Preparations are on for opening ceremony of the unit scheduled on February 20, with housing and district-in-charge minister V Somanna doing the honours at 11.30 am. Chamarajanagar MP R Dhruvanarayan and president of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) G Somashekara Reddy will also participate.

Mymul president N Mahadevappa will preside, ZP president G Nagashri, MLAs C Puttarangashetty, H S Mahadevaprasad, G N Nanjundaswamy and R Narendra, MLC K R Mallikarjunappa and others will participate.

Addressing a press meet here, Mymul director H S Basavaraju said with the main objective of controlling the expenses of milk production, Rashtriya Krishi Vikasa Yojane, Karnataka Milk Federation has set up the fodder cake manufacturing unit in the district.

Funds of Rs 1.6 crore under Krishi Vikas Yojana and Rs one crore from Mymul have been sanctioned for the purpose. This unit will play a major role in managing dairy farming in the district.

Basavaraju stressed importance should be given on health of the cattle and producing quality milk.

This unit will be of great help to the dairy farmers as the expenses will come down considerably, he added. The fodder cakes will be available to dairy farmers through milk producers cooperative union, he said.

Lakshmiprasad Yadav of Cattle feed division of Mymul said the cake is a mixture of both dry and raw feed, which is said to be nutritious for cattle and will increase milk production.

Each tonne of dry feed will be sold at Rs 7,000 and Rs 6,500 in Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts respectively. In the first phase, five cooperative unions of the district have been distributed fodder cakes and 20 cattle have been given the feed and observed high yield of milk, he explained.

Mymul director Manjula, Dr Anandraj, Venkatesh and others were present.