Green Fodder:
Diaries located within the city limits are generally depends on corn growing farmers for green fodder, farmers are blindly using highly toxic pesticides. Pesticides that are taken up by the plants through roots and leaves and move to other parts of the plant and will remain in the plant for up to 113 days. After plucking corncobs within 45 to 60 days, farmers are selling remaining green matter as green fodder to dairies. In the laboratory, we can find residues of these pesticides in the milk of the animals feed with this kind of green fodder.
In Veral Dairy, we feed our cattle with organic green fodder grown in our farm using bio-slurry, which is a mixture of dung, urine & wash water.
Benefits: The keeping of our Cows and Buffalos at their peak health ensures Safe milk to our customers. Milk extracted from Green grass fed cattle contains Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which is very good for the heart. CLA is only available in dairy products from green grass fed cattle.
Dry Matter (hay):
Dry matter (Kutti) plays a major role in fat and SNF percentages in milk. Kutti traders sprinkle water on dry matter for weight gain, which facilitates the growth of toxic compounds called Mycotoxins that are naturally produced by certain types of moulds (fungi) on feed & fodder. The problem will be more severe during rainy days. Veral Dairy is equipped with sheds to store 1000 MTS Dry fodder, as a minimum yearly requirement.
Concentrates:
It is a Mixture of various cereals, pulses, oil cakes, etc. Which are main source of proteins and energy.
Supply Chain:
After collecting the milk from Cows and Buffalos, its temperature will be reduced to 4⁰C to retain its freshness, nutritional values & to avoid additives. Milk should not be kept out of the refrigerator for more than two hours. If the temperature goes above 32⁰C, bacteria can start to grow. Veral delivers milk in a chilled condition at customer's doorstep within 12hr, unlike most of the other milk brands that are delivered in pouches are 7 to 10 days after collecting it.
The health of the Cattle:
Cows/Buffalos do occasionally get sick and sometimes require medical assistance. We keep sick cow/buffalo separately to closely monitor and to make sure they are not milked with the rest of the herd. Less than 1% of our milking animals got sick in the last 6 months.
Toxins Carryover from feed to milk:
There are two types of toxins, which can be carried over from the animal's feed & fodder to the milk. (a) Residues of pesticide in green fodder and (b) Mycotoxins in animal's feed and fodder. Veral dairy implements all the standard practices necessary to prevent the carryover of harmful toxins into the milk.
What is Mycotoxins?
Mycotoxins are toxic compounds that are naturally produced by certain types of moulds (fungi), on feed & fodder, mainly during storage, often under warm, damp and humid conditions. Most mycotoxins are chemically stable and survive food processing (including pasteurization).
Aflatoxin is one of the most common and highly harmful mycotoxin. Its carry-over rang from feed/fodder to milk is 1.8 to 6.2%, and is carcinogenic (Cancer causing agent). Aflatoxin will not break down even if heated to 1000C
Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) mapped the areas where liver diseases is a major concern. AIG in association with ICRISAT carried out a study, which confirmed that the high levels of aflatoxin in the Milk is the reason for liver diseases. In these areas, cattle are fed with ground nut husk, which normally contains a heavy dose of Aflatoxin.
Mycotoxicosis refers to all of those diseases caused by mycotoxins. These diseases may be difficult to diagnose. Mycotoxin binders will bind mycotoxins and prevent them from being absorbed through the gut and into the blood circulation and finally into the milk. The use of mycotoxin binders is a great way to reduce mycotoxicosis, which will improve livestock health & productivity and will ensure safe milk to the consumers.
We at Veral Dairy always consult expert's advice in preventing mycotoxicosis. As an additional safety measure and as some form of assurance to customers, we add 15 gms of FERMBIND to each animal as recommended by M/s Allfermen Nutritional Technologies, Bangalore. FERMBIND is a Mycotoxin binder derived from a specific yeast strain. It is highly effective in preventing mycotoxicosis by binding harmful mycotoxins and preventing toxins to enter milk.
