A Future in Dairy Farming

In Talas, a region in northwest Kyrgyzstan, several families are looking to support themselves by dairy farming. These farmers are hard workers, and it takes the whole family’s involvement as they get up early each day to milk all the cows by hand, keep the cows fed and watered and maintain hygienic milking conditions. However, running a business is difficult especially as they try to improve efficiency and standards from current methods that are far outdated.

CDI veterinary staff stepped in to help with encouragement and suggestions for future success. Some starting suggestions for the local farmers included improving their record keeping, monitoring and ensuring proper nutritional intake for the cows, and the potential for using portable milking machines in the future to improve efficiency. CDI staff stayed with two local families, made relationship connections with the additional farming families and were impressed by their eagerness to improve their dairy businesses. This was an example of how CDI partners with other local organizations. Our veterinary staff were glad to offer consultation services and encouragement through advice to the farmers who are working within a developing cooperative structure to support their own families.