Mysuru
At the state-level cow milking competition, held as part of the world-famous Mysuru Dasara celebrations, a cow from Anekal, Bengaluru, secured the first prize by producing the highest quantity of milk.
The cow, owned by Ajay from Anekal, yielded a total of 38.150 liters of milk—21.500 liters in the morning and 16.650 liters in the evening—earning him the first prize along with ₹1 lakh cash award. The competition, organized by the Raitha Dasara Sub-Committee along with the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, was held on Saturday at the J.K. Grounds in Mysuru. A total of 15 HFX breed cows from Mysuru, Mandya, and Bengaluru districts participated.
The contest was conducted in two rounds—morning at 6:30 a.m. and evening at 5:30 p.m.—with 20 minutes allotted for milking in each round. Interestingly, most participants were young farmers around the age of 30.
Based on the combined yield from both sessions, prizes were awarded as follows: 1st Prize: Ajay (Anekal, Bengaluru) – 38.150 liters – ₹1,00,000, 2nd Prize: Sanjeev (Chittenahalli, Periyapatna) – 37.150 liters – ₹80,000, 3rd Prize: Harshit Gowda (Benchkal Palya, Nagarabhavi, Bengaluru) – 37.100 liters – ₹60,000 and 4th Prize: Nishanth Shivaram (Ganjam, Srirangapatna) – 36.850 liters – ₹40,000.
The remaining 11 participants each received a consolation prize of ₹10,000 and a memento.
The prizes were distributed by Animal Husbandry Minister K. Venkatesh, who appreciated the winners. Speaking on the occasion, he said farmers are increasingly showing interest in dairy farming, leading to higher milk production. Currently, the state produces over 1 crore liters of milk per day. The government has introduced several schemes and subsidies to encourage dairy farming. Farmers must treat dairying not just as a side business but as a primary livelihood, he added.
On the issue of rising production costs, Venkatesh said the government had already increased milk procurement prices twice, by a total of ₹ 7, despite criticism from the opposition. This was done keeping the welfare of farmers in mind, under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The event was attended by:
Nagabhushan, President of the Animal Husbandry Association
Gopi, Vice President
Dr. Nagaraju and Dr. Poornananda, Deputy Directors, Department of Animal Husbandry
B. Shivaswamy, Managing Director, Karnataka Milk Federation
J. Chaitra, Financial Advisor, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences
Bhimappa K. Lali, Special Officer of the Dasara Sub-Committee
K.H. Ravi (Working President), K.P. Yogesh (President), Harish Moganna (Vice President), Govinda Shetty, Srinivas, Raghu, K.S. Krishnamurthy, Dr. B.N. Dhananjay (Deputy Agricultural Director), and several others.
Large crowds thronged the venue: Over a thousand people from different parts of the city gathered to watch the competition with great enthusiasm. Many interacted with the cow owners to learn about cattle rearing, maintenance, and fodder practices.
