Economic analysis of milk production in Parbhani district of Marathwada region of Maharashtra-A study of small scale farms

The present paper attempts to examine the economics of milk production on small farms in Parbhani district of Marathwada region of Maharashtra state. A sample of 60 farmers was selected through multistage sampling technique. The major finding of economic analysis revealed that the composition of milch animals on selected farm was 180, which includes 23 local cows, 60 crossbreed cows and 97 buffaloes. At overall level total fixed investment on milch animals was `117541.19 of which share of crossbreed cow was highest (46.48 percent) followed buffalo (34.86 percent) and local cow (18.66 percent). Whereas, working capital investment per animal per annum was highest in the case of crossbred cow (`30833.13) followed by buffalo (`29815.42) and found lowest for local cow (`16987.29). The analysis also revealed that per liter cost of milk production was highest in case of local buffalo (`26.05) followed by local cow (`24.14) and lowest in case of crossbred cow (`14.52) with input-output ratio of 1.42 for crossbred cow followed by local buffalo (1.18) and then local cow (0.86).