Due to the fact that I have received emails saying I must be mistaken about the facts I wrote in the Cows’ Journal and that Prakash as an organization must be being taken advantage of…I felt it necessary to write this further explanation. India in NOT the USA and we are dealing with the poorest of the poor. The largest concentration of poverty in the world is in India. I feel that Dr. Suresh feels that his professional integrity has been questioned. So here is Dr. Suresh’s answer to my inquiry.
“Yes, cow gives milk 365 days in very good and healthy conditions, where all the needed energy and adequate nutrition is available. By the grace of God your country is very good in that, but in India the picture is totally different. The report I wrote to you about the two cows given to Kishor is totally expressing the literal condition of a very poor village person.
In villages still the majority of the people don’t know about feed supplements like vitamins, minerals and hormones, so the milk yielding capacity is totally dependent on natural resources like rain, weather, forages and cereal grains which are readily available from July to January. But, when February starts getting hotter and hotter, which may go up to, 110 to 114 degree in May and June, the end of sufficient quantity of feed and water is gone.
Sometimes, even people can’t get enough water to drink…then what is the condition of animals in these villages? All these factors affect milk yield very drastically in these 6 months. Cows’ milk yield declines very quickly because of unavailability of sufficient drinking water, hay, straw and the hot weather. The milk quantity is barely 1 liter or even 1/2 liter and is not sufficient to take 30 km away for sale, so they use it in the home. That’s why it becomes a financially dry period for most of the extremely poor village people.
Also most of the village people prefer to have the cow produce a calf every year to increase their husbandry and milk yield, but this takes away from the saleable milk.
My report was based on the practical aspect of village reality and not theoretically. It is very hard for me also professorially to realize these facts.
I hope this will help you to understand the reality. But still my decision about giving two cows to Kishor was good. This gift was a complete surprise to him. He has really made some good progress in his business and is still continuing.”
Sincerely,
Dr Suresh Wankhede (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)
Director of Vet-Med Ministries
As hard as we try to do due diligence, we know that at times there are misunderstandings. I hope this Journal has cleared up any mistaken ideas.
