Bordered by Afghanistan and Iran to the west and India to the east, Pakistan is a place like no other. With a population of almost 200 million people, agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economy.

Pakistan is the fifth-largest dairy producer in the world, but there are many challenges in producing milk in the region – different to the challenges we’re used to in Ireland.

Some 8.5 million farming families produce 35 billion litres of milk annually from 60 million cows and buffaloes. The vast majority of these farmers have between one and six animals.

However, a small number of large-scale, modern dairy farms have been established and more are planned. I travelled to Pakistan recently, visiting some of these new dairy farms.

They want to access the latest equipment for their herds and we can supply them.

One farm we visited was Friendship Dairies in the Karachi region. This is a new commercial dairy farm set up in 2013 by a local businessman, whose family has sought to diversify its business interests. After an examination of alternative enterprises, dairy farming came out on top.

Located on the outskirts of Karachi – the greater city area is home to 45 million people – Friendship Dairies is currently milking 500 cows three times a day on a 40-point rapid exit parlour, with plans to expand to 5,000 cows in the coming years.

  • So far, all cows have been imported from Australia and are Holstein/Jersey cross.
  • All heifers are kept on-farm and bull calves sold immediately to local farmers. The herd is averaging 6,500 litres.
  • The herd will head towards more Holstein cows for the future as a way of increasing production.
  • Native breeds, while more suited to the climate, are not high producers of milk.

    • The cows are housed year-round and fed on a diet of alfalfa, corn silage, soyabean meal and wheat straw. All milk produced is sold to a local processor, with a current price of 50 rupees, or 43c/litre.

    The owner plans to build a processing facility where all milk will be processed on-farm and sold in the Karachi marketplace.

    High temperatures

    One of the main challenges for cows in Pakistan is heat stress. Large fans were installed over the cubicles in this farm’s sheds to help control the temperature.

    Water is misted along the length of the feed rail, also helping to keep the cow cool. But with temperatures rising to 45°C and humidity at 85% or higher through May, June and July, it’s not easy being a cow in Pakistan.

    The misting along the feed fence provides a gentle spray of water on the cows. This is where cows tended to spend most of their time in the middle of the day when temperatures were at their highest. But even with the fans and the misting, the cows still were feeling the effects of the heat.

    In Pakistan, most farming work is done manually as labour is freely available and relatively low-cost compared with other countries. This farm is supported by a workforce of 60 people who all live on-site. Daily tasks, such as pushing the feed in for the animals, are all done manually, with a man for each shed containing 220 cows. A second person is responsible for keeping the cubicle beds clean. A typical working week is six days and monthly salaries start at about $90.

    Security is a big issue in this part of the world and this farm employs 20 security guards. They are armed with machine guns and the entire farm is surrounded by a 14ft-high wall which runs for five miles.

    Tractors are basic and the common model in Pakistan seems to be a Massey Ferguson 385, of which Friendship Dairies has three.

    The farm has a very experienced farm manager who has worked in large dairy operations in different parts of the Middle East and he has in place some key assistants who each have a dedicated role.

    So for cows, young stock, milking etc, each area has a well-trained person who is supported by additional local labour. Educating and training locals in good stockmanship is very difficult and, as with all workplaces, there are those keen to learn and grow and those who are not.

    We first visited this farm in November 2013 when there were only 50 cows being milked. The farm has made steady progress since.

    Initially, all cows were in sand beds, but the quality of sand available and the problems it creates for slurry removal, meant that management decided all cubicles will now be changed to mattress matting, which we are supplying.

    Cow comfort is a priority on the farm. Rubber matting is also used in the milking parlour and the first of the EasyFix Green Cubicles will be installed soon.

    As part of our trip, we also visited some other large farms in Karachi and Lahore. The farms we visited are eager to expand, with targets of up to 15,000 cows.

    There is a growing appetite for dairy products in Pakistan and especially in value-added products such as flavoured milk, cheese and yoghurt. Consumption levels are likely to continue to rise for the foreseeable future.