First fodder cake unit in South India opens in Chamarajanagar

Capacity to produce 12 tonnes of fodder cake per day

The first ever fodder cake manufacturing unit in the whole of south India was dedicated at Manachanahalli in the taluk on Wednesday.

MP R Dhruvanarayan inaugurated the unit, with a capacity to produce 12 tonnes of cake everyday, constructed at a cost of Rs 2 crore under Rastriya Krishi Vikas scheme by the Mysore-Chamarajanagar District Milk Union (Mymul).

The unit is intended at making maximum use of the available fodder — to minimise wastage — and to enhance the nutritious value of fodder by making use of other available raw materials. The cakes, each weighing 10 kg, can also be stored and transported easily. Such units are presently functioning only in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.

Contents

Almost 60 per cent of the cake comprises of hay — that of paddy, jowar, maize, etc. The rest is residues of grains and cereals and molasses. The mixture is compressed under pressure to produce the cakes.

Half a cake is sufficient for an average cow that produces an average yield of milk per day.
The cakes are useful in tackling drought.

They can be transported easily to places which face shortage of natural fodder, say Mymul officials.