Thirty-six-year-old Poornima Krishnamurthy, the mother of one-year-old twins, was rather worried when she was asked to start feeding cow milk to her sons. Her concern was the high level of adulteration.

So Poornima, a corporate lawyer by profession, settled for farm fresh milk, which is considered to be rich in the A2 protein that aids brain development.

“We all know that the milk we consume is produced from cows that are injected with hormones. I began looking around for wholesome alternatives and came across this company, which is into farm fresh milk. I decided to buy from them,” she said.

Poornima is not alone. Organic farm fresh milk, which is produced primarily from cows of indigenous breeds, seems to have caught the fancy of many, leading to the mushrooming of a number of ‘farm-to-home’ dairy start-ups.

Boom seen

According to industry sources, while the demand for ‘organic farm fresh milk’ is still nascent in India, it is expected to witness ‘exponential growth’. Some of these start-ups are anchored by young professionals who have quit their jobs in MNCs and investment banks to tap the growth in the sector.

Most milk currently produced in India is from Jersey (English-French) and the Holstein Friesian (Dutch) breeds or from their cross-breeds with Indian cows or buffaloes. A majority of these cows are injected with hormone supplements or antibiotics for the enhancement of milk production.

On the other hand, organic milk is typically produced from indigenous breeds, which are fed on organically grown fodder.

Hardy animals

These cows usually do not require hormone supplements or antibiotics as they are ‘native’ breeds and hence acclimatised to Indian conditions, said Raja Marthandan, founder of Shudh Farms in Thiruporur, Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu.

“I have always been passionate about animals and organic farming; so I thought of combining the two. Jersey cows can give A2 (proteins) but they may fall sick too often, requiring antibiotics, etc. So, I decided to stick to the native variety, focusing primarily on the production of pure farm-fresh milk,” said Raja, an MBA from XLRI.

Raja has around 50-odd cows producing about 200 litres of milk a day. He aims to scale this up to 500 litres by adding 50-60 more cows.

Riding the A2 wave

A number of start-ups are riding on the ‘A2 wave’. Kolkata-based The Good Cow Company has a variety of cows capable of producing A2 milk. The A2 tag helps the company charge a premium: the milk is priced at ₹80 a litre (as compared to an average price of ₹42 a litre for pouch milk) and comes with an ‘assured home delivery’ for 365 days.

“We have 75 cows of all ages; we are not fussy about which breed, so long as they are capable of producing A2 milk,” said Sharad Bhutoria, founder of The Good Cow Company.

Some of the native breeds capable of producing A2 milk include the Sahiwal from Punjab, Gir from Gujarat, and Tharparkar from Rajasthan.

“We feed our cows hydroponically-grown wheat-grass,” Bhutoria said, referring to the method of cultivation in a soil-less, water-based medium. Apart from growing their own cattle fodder, these companies also try to ensure that their milk is untouched, right up to packaging. This reduces the bacteria count and is a much healthier option, he added.

According to sources, the organic dairy market is currently around 1 per cent of the total industry. However, with rising awareness around adulteration of milk and its associated health hazards, the segment is likely to witness robust growth in the coming years.

According to industry sources, desi cows produce around 1,600-2,500 kg of milk per lactation cycle, which is lower than the average yield of HF (Holstein Friesians) and Jersey pure-breds and cross-breds, which is estimated to be close to 5,000 kg per cycle.

A2 or cow?

“We need to be clear if we are making a pitch for A2 milk or for desi cows; if it is A2, then there are buffalo, goat and cross-bred varieties capable of producing a good quantity of milk. Scalability is an issue as desi cows suffer from poor productivity,” said Kuldeep Sharma, a dairy consultant.

“We need to have regulations as to what is organic milk and what is A2 milk so that the consumer is clear. But unfortunately, the cow is a sensitive issue in our country. In the absence of any kind of regulatory labelling on this kind of product, you can actually end up confusing your consumers,” he said.

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