Key determinants of milk production in dairy farms of Jaffna district, Sri Lanka

Dairy farming has tremendous potential in the economy of the Jaffna district. However, the dairy farms of the district were incompetent to cater to the demands. Therefore, this study investigated the factors determining milk production in dairy farms of the Jaffna district. A total of 150 farms were selected using a stratified and simple random sampling technique. Milk production and socio-economic data were collected using a structured questionnaire covering randomly selected 5 Veterinary Surgeon Divisions. Data were analysed for descriptive statistics followed by multiple linear regression analysis. Results of the descriptive statistical analysis of demographic data showed that 38.6% of farms were under semi-intensive, 37.3% were under intensive management systems and the rest of 24% were under an extensive management system. Further, 65.3% of animals were Jersey crosses, while 22.6% were local breeds and 12% of animals were Sahiwal crosses. About 75% of the farmers were feeding their dairy animals with roadside grasses and only 25% were feeding with quality forages. The average milk production per animal per day was 3.14 L. The best fitted multiple linear regression model predicted that R² value of 92.05% daily milk production suggesting that experience of farmers, frequency of drinking water supply, frequency of feeding concentrate, amount of concentrate given (kg d^˗1), amount of mineral supplement given (g d^˗1) and types of management system were significantly (P<0.05) affected the daily milk production of Jaffna district. It is suggested that the dissemination of knowledge regarding these key-determinants of milk production is crucial for the improvement of milk production from the Jaffna district.