| |DECEMBER 20219Artificial insemination using high merit semen doses which are from progeny tested animals can improve milk production by increasing milk production of the offspringin the cattle population. Sexed semen doses ensure a fe-male calf through sperm sorting technology by separating X chromosome material from Y chromosome material. This has two-fold benefits. It ensures that scarefeed and fod-der is given only to productive animals, enhancing protein feed conversion, and also can solve the stray cattle issue - abandoned animals can wreak havoc on agricultural land. Moreover, a farmer will receive higher monetary benefits from a female calf.There are several dimensions to environmental sus-tainability in dairy farming including greenhouse emis-sions, water use, land use, biodiversity, and more. The livestock sector represents 14.5 percent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Cattle are responsible for 150 metric tons of greenhouse emissions every year. Reduction in green house gases can occur in all stages of production, but the biggest reductions will occur through changes in farm management. Using high merit semen doses and sexed semen alone can lead to large reductions in methane emissions. A lower cattle population will not only help reduce environmental footprints through lower greenhouse emissions, but also reduce pollution caused by farm runoff and reduce land usage and lower water foot-prints as well.Innovative technologies also play a role in social and economic sustainability. With increased productivity, there will be more rural employment, as there will be more dairy farms that employ more people, which will have a positive effect on the rural economy. This will lead to our national goal of doubling rural farmer income.Protecting the environment goes hand in hand with supporting the livelihoods of the 70 million dairy farming community in India. 90 percent of the dairy farmers in In-dia are marginal farmers and have less than two cows and 70 percent of the farmers are women. Dairy farmers, in general are committed to raising animals sustainably and one-way corporations and governments can support their mission through supporting innovations that enhance farm productivity and improve animal welfare, reduce car-bon emissions, water use, and labour.Post farm dairy also needs a technology revolution for sustainability. Minimizing the carbon footprint at com-mercial dairies will need a commitment to source clean en-ergy to improve efficiency in key manufacturing processes and equipment. Improving energy efficiency, eliminating single-use plastic when possible, and increasing recycling is all important aspects.Therefore, achieving sustainability in the dairy in-dustry will take innovation, science, and technology to create breakthroughs and commitment from big dairies, corporations, government as well as educated informed customers.
< Page 8 | Page 10 >