A high-tech farm set up by the Animal Husbandry department at Mattupetty in Idukki district with the objective to revive the dairy sector in the State was commissioned by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today.
Chandy commissioned the modern bull mother farm and the nucleus breeding system for pure bred and cross-bred animals from here through video-conferencing.
“I am inaugurating the farm by drinking a glass of milk,” Chandy, who was advised rest due to an leg injury, said at the function held at his official residence here.
The research-oriented facility has been established by the Kerala Livestock Development Board (KLDB) on the sprawling premises of the Swiss farm set up in 1963 at Mattupetty.
Project objective
The Rs 8.47-crore project seeks to produce superior quality bull calves and high-value female calves with enhanced milk production potential for domestic use and supply to different States.
The farm will employ multiple ovulation and embryo transfer technology to improve the genetic stock. The hi-tech bull mother farm is equipped with automatic milking parlour, computerised feeding station, and milk recording facility.
As many as 200 genetically superior cows of the Holstein Freisen and Jersey breeds will be housed in the farm as the nucleus herd, officials said.