Farex for Calves

The milk cooperative has patented a product called the Mahalakshmi Milk Replacer, which replaces milk from a calf’s diet

One of the fundamental truths of life that you pick up at primary school is that like babies, calves drink milk. Not in Kolhapur, though. The Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari Dugdha Utpadak Sangh, a milk cooperative that sells the popular Gokul brand of dairy products in Maharashtra, has patented a product called the Mahalakshmi Milk Replacer. The Replacer does what its name suggests: replace mother’s milk from a calf’s diet. In its first three months, a calf drinks as much as one-tenth of its body weight in milk, which is disastrous for farmers. “With this formula, a calf can be weaned just 10 days after it’s born,” says Dr PR Patil, the head of animal husbandry at Gokul. Patil’s calf Farex is a concoction of the extracts of grains, soybean and pulses. In three years of testing the Replacer, milk production has increased and farmer’s costs have reduced. But isn’t it ironic that a calf is not allowed to drink its mother’s milk? “Our product is palatable, digestible and promotes growth. It fulfills all the requirements of scientific good food,” says Patil. 

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Manju Sara Rajan