Dairy Farming Business (10 Cows)
डेयरी फार्मिंग व्यवसाय · दुग्ध व्यवसाय (डेअरी फार्म)
Keep ten crossbred or improved indigenous cows in a proper shed and sell milk daily to a dairy collection centre or directly to households.
Investment
₹12.6 lakh
Profit a month*
₹30,000
- Space
- 1,500 sq ft
- Staff
- 1 + you
*Operating profit before the loan instalment in year 2, at the assumed sales level. Change the assumptions in the calculator below.
A small dairy farm keeps milch cows, feeds them green fodder, dry fodder and concentrate, milks them twice a day and sells the milk the same day. This profile follows NABARD's ten-cow unit: cows giving 8–10 litres a day, a pucca shed and a milking machine. It suits a farming family with land for green fodder and the willingness to work every day of the year, starting before dawn. Milk sells daily and is paid weekly or fortnightly, so cash comes in steadily. The result depends on three things: litres per cow, the price you get, and what feed costs. Selling directly to homes pays much more than selling to a collection centre. The hard parts are feed prices, animals that fall ill or fail to conceive, dry periods with no milk, and no holidays.
Skills needed: Experience with cattle: feeding, heat detection, calving and spotting illness early. State animal husbandry departments and KVKs run dairy training.
Profit calculator
Change the numbers to match your town70 litre/day: Cow milk
Total investment
₹12.6 lakh
Your own money
₹1.26 lakh
Subsidy
—
Bank loan
₹11.3 lakh
Mudra Tarun Plus
A typical month in year 2
| Sales | ₹1,05,300 |
| Raw material & packing | −₹3,159 |
| Electricity | −₹2,538 |
| Salaries | −₹12,600 |
| Rent | ₹0 |
| Other running costs | −₹56,700 |
| Operating profit | ₹30,303 |
| Loan instalment (EMI) | −₹20,083 |
| You keep each month | ₹10,220 |
After the loan is repaid, the EMI becomes your income too. Your own salary is not counted as a cost: the profit is your income.
- Loans above ₹10 lakh under Mudra (Tarun Plus) are only for borrowers who have repaid an earlier Tarun loan.
- Year 1 shows a loss at the assumed utilisation. Banks look closely at year-1 viability.
Need this for a bank loan?
Turn these numbers into a full project report: cost of project, means of finance, 5-year profit and loss, balance sheet, repayment schedule, DSCR and break-even.
Make my project reportInvestment breakdown
| Machinery & equipment | Price |
|---|---|
| Crossbred or improved indigenous cows in second or third lactation × 10NABARD unit cost 2023-24: ₹60,000 a cow, 8–10 litres a day. Buy in two lots four to six months apart so milk is continuous | ₹6,00,000 |
| Pucca cattle shedAbout 1,500 sq ft at ₹200 per sq ft (NABARD unit cost) | ₹3,02,500 |
| Milking machine, four bucketNABARD unit cost | ₹1,20,000 |
| Milking buckets, cans and other utensils | ₹6,250 |
| Chaff cutter | ₹20,000 |
| Bulk milk cooler or chiller, smalladd-onUseful for direct evening sales; not needed if a collection centre takes milk twice a day | ₹1,50,000 |
| Machinery & equipment (without add-ons) | ₹10,48,750 |
| Cattle insurance for three years (11.5% of animal value, NABARD norm) | ₹69,000 |
| Veterinary check, vaccination and tagging at purchase | ₹10,000 |
| Transport of animals and registrations | ₹15,000 |
| Electricity and water connection to the shed | ₹15,000 |
| Working capital 0 days of raw material, 10 days of credit to buyers, 1 month of expenses | ₹99,870 |
| Total project cost | ₹12,57,620 |
Typical market prices as of October 2026, from supplier listings. Prices vary by brand, capacity and city; always get 2–3 quotes.
Cost and margin per unit
| Cow milk (per litre) | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Milk cans, cleaning chemicals and transport to buyers | 1.50 |
| Material cost | 1.50 |
| Selling price | 50.00 |
| Margin before running costs | 48.50 (97%) |
Capacity is ten cows giving 9 litres a day each (NABARD assumes 8–10). Utilisation reflects that roughly a fifth of the herd is dry at any time. The ₹50 price is for direct sale to households: farmers in one 2026 news report quoted ₹50–60 a litre for cow milk. Collection centres and cooperatives pay by fat and usually much less; enter your own rate.
Space, power and staff
1,500 sq ft
Rented farm · rent ≈ ₹0/month
Assumes your own land for the shed, plus about an acre or more for green fodder. Add rent in the calculator if you lease land.
3 kW, single-phase
Bill ≈ ₹3,000/month at full capacity
1 staff + you
- 1 × Farm worker living on site: ₹12,000
Licences and registrations
FSSAI registration
mandatoryWhen: Before selling milk directly to consumers or shops · Cost: ₹100/yr for basic registration
Milk producers who are members of a registered dairy cooperative and supply only to it are generally covered through the society. Check foscos.fssai.gov.in for your case.
Animal identification and insurance
mandatoryWhen: At purchase, for a bank-financed unit · Cost: Insurance about 11.5% of animal value for three years (NABARD norm)
Banks require ear-tagging, a veterinary certificate of age, yield and health, and insurance for every financed animal.
Local body or pollution-control permission for a cattle shed
if applicableWhen: Before building, especially inside or near a town · Cost: Varies
Many towns restrict cattle sheds in residential areas, and states have dung and waste-water rules for dairies above a certain herd size. Ask your gram panchayat or municipality.
Udyam registration
recommendedWhen: Before applying for a loan · Cost: Free
Apply only on udyamregistration.gov.in.
Kisan Credit Card for animal husbandry
recommendedWhen: For feed and running costs · Cost: As per bank
NABARD suggests a KCC to cover feed in lean months.
How it works
- Grow or arrange green fodder before buying animals.
- Buy healthy cows in early lactation with a veterinary certificate; tag and insure them.
- Feed green fodder, dry fodder and concentrate by milk yield; give clean water at all times.
- Milk twice a day with clean hands or a machine; cool or deliver the milk quickly.
- Watch for heat and inseminate on time so each cow calves about once a year.
- Vaccinate and deworm on schedule; keep records of yield, breeding and health.
Loan route
Mudra loan (Tarun Plus)
Own money ₹1.26 lakh · Loan ₹11.3 lakh · EMI ≈ ₹20,083
No collateral, no subsidy. Only if you have taken and fully repaid an earlier Tarun loan.
How Mudra worksPMEGP (new units)
Subsidy ₹1.89 lakh (general, urban) to ₹4.4 lakh (special category, rural). EMI ≈ ₹16,736–₹13,389.
Own money 5–10%. Applicant must be at least 8th pass for this project size. Subsidy is held as a 3-year deposit, then adjusted against the loan.
How PMEGP worksAssumes 10.5% interest, 7 years including a 6-month moratorium. PMEGP was approved up to FY 2025-26. Check on the KVIC PMEGP portal that applications are open before you plan around the subsidy.
No collateral and no third-party guarantee (covered by the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units).
Who buys and how to sell
Buyers
- Dairy cooperative or private dairy collection centre
- Households on a daily milk round
- Tea stalls, sweet shops and hotels
- Paneer, khoa and curd makers
Ways to sell
- Twice-daily supply to a collection centre, paid by fat and SNF
- Direct door delivery with monthly billing
- A milk booth at the farm gate
- Standing supply to sweet shops and tea stalls
Season: Milk yield and fodder are best in winter and the monsoon; yields drop in summer. Demand rises in the festival season.
Competition: Other farmers and organised dairies. Direct buyers pay a premium for milk they trust to be fresh and unadulterated.
Risks and how to handle them
Feed and fodder prices rise faster than the milk price
Grow your own green fodder, make silage, and feed concentrate according to each cow's yield.
A cow dies, falls ill or stops giving milk
Insure every animal, vaccinate on schedule and keep a veterinarian's number at hand.
Cows fail to conceive, so dry periods stretch
Track heat cycles, use timely artificial insemination and feed minerals.
Low price at the collection centre
Build a direct customer round for part of your milk, or add curd, paneer or ghee.
Payment delays or milk rejected for quality
Keep milk clean and cool, and avoid depending on one small buyer.
Tips from the trade
- These numbers work only at a direct-sale price of about ₹50 a litre or more. At ₹45 the unit cannot cover a loan on these costs, and collection centres often pay less than that. Put your real price in the calculator before deciding.
- The loan is taken over 7 years here; NABARD gives 3 to 7 years as the repayment period for dairy units.
- Start with five cows and add five after four to six months, as NABARD advises, so there is milk all year.
- Dung is worth money as manure, vermicompost or biogas; it is not counted here.
Questions people ask
How much milk does a cow give?+
NABARD's unit assumes good crossbred or improved indigenous cows averaging 8–10 litres a day over the lactation. A cow is dry for roughly two months before the next calving, which is why this page does not count every cow every day.
Is there a subsidy for dairy farming?+
Central and state schemes for dairy change often and differ by state and category. Ask your district animal husbandry office and bank which scheme is open now; do not plan around a subsidy until it is sanctioned in writing.
How much investment is needed to start a dairy farming business (10 cows) business?+
About ₹12.6 lakh for a small unit: ₹10.5 lakh for machinery and equipment, ₹1.09 lakh for set-up costs and ₹99,870 as working capital (stock, credit to buyers and one month of expenses). Prices as of October 2026.
How much profit can a dairy farming business (10 cows) business make per month?+
At 78% of capacity, sales are about ₹1.05 lakh a month and operating profit about ₹30,303 before the loan instalment. After an EMI of about ₹20,083, the owner keeps about ₹10,220 a month until the loan is repaid. These are estimates; your prices, rent and sales decide the real figure.
Which machines are needed for dairy farming business (10 cows)?+
Milking machine, four bucket (about ₹1.2 lakh); Chaff cutter (about ₹20,000).
Can I get a Mudra loan or PMEGP subsidy for dairy farming business (10 cows)?+
With a project cost of about ₹12.6 lakh, the bank loan of about ₹11.3 lakh falls under Mudra Tarun Plus. Mudra has no subsidy. As a new unit you may instead apply under PMEGP, where the subsidy is 15–35% of the project cost (up to about ₹4.4 lakh here for a special-category applicant in a rural area). PMEGP was approved up to FY 2025-26. Check on the KVIC PMEGP portal that applications are open before you plan around the subsidy.
What licences are required for dairy farming business (10 cows)?+
Mandatory: FSSAI registration, Animal identification and insurance. Depending on your set-up you may also need: Local body or pollution-control permission for a cattle shed, Udyam registration, Kisan Credit Card for animal husbandry.
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Sources
- NABARD Jharkhand Regional Office: Unit Cost 2023-24 (dairy, goat, poultry, fisheries)
- Business Today: farmers' buffalo and cow milk rates in Haryana (September 2026)
- Dairy Knowledge Portal: 10 crossbred cow farm
- FSSAI FoSCoS (registration and licensing)
Prices as of October 2026. Prices here come from online listings and published guides and have not yet been confirmed with local suppliers. Profit figures are estimates from the assumptions above, not a promise of income.
Spotted an outdated price? Tell us. Data for this page: HowIndiaEarns.