Table 2.
Parameters used for estimating the cost of selected reproductive problems a with reported positive observations/total observations (percentage) or mean value of the positive observations in the surveyed dairy farms of Assam and Bihar, p-value of inter-state variation and absent data (non-responding farms).
| Parameters Used for Estimating the Cost of Reproductive Problems | Assam | Bihar | Total | p-Value | Non-Responding Farms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean number of dairy animals per farm | 5.6 ± 0.6 | 3.3 ± 0.2 | 4.3 ± 0.3 | <0.001 | 0 |
| Farms with reproductive problems/total farms | 68/242 (28.1) b | 151/292 (51.7) | 219/534 (40.0) | <0.001 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with reproductive problems/total dairy animals | 444/1348 (32.9) | 411/954 (43.1) | 855/2302 (38.0) | <0.001 | 0 |
| Mean reproductive problems in affected households | 6.5 ± 0.7 | 2.7 ± 0.2 | 3.9 ± 0.3 | <0.001 | 0 |
| Abortion cases | |||||
| Farms with history of abortion in dairy animals/total farms | 35/242 (14.5) | 38/292 (13.0) | 73/534 (13.8) | 0.63 | 0 |
| Dairy animals aborted in 1st trimester/total aborted dairy animals | 4/62 (6.5) | 4/50 (8.0) | 8/112 (7.3) | 0.04 | 0 |
| Dairy animals aborted in 2nd trimester/total aborted dairy animals | 9/62 (14.5) | 24/50 (48.0) | 33/112 (31.3) | 0 | |
| Dairy animals aborted in 3rd trimester/total aborted dairy animals | 49/62 (79.0) | 22/50(44.0) | 71/112 (61.5) | 0 | |
| Aborted dairy animals/total dairy animals | 62/1348 (4.6) | 50/954 (5.2) | 112/2302 (4.9) | 0.05 | 0 |
| Aborted animals treated/total aborted dairy animals | 49/62 (79.0) | 41/50 (82.0) | 90/112 (80.5) | 0.03 | 0 |
| Mean treatment d expenditure c of treated abortions | 1475.7 ± 100.4 | 1182.1 ± 79.6 | 1319.9 ± 65.4 | 0.02 | 0 |
| Repeat breeding cases | |||||
| Farms with repeat breeding/total farms | 59/242 (24.4) | 132/292 (45.2) | 191/534 (34.9) | <0.001 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with repeat breeding/total dairy animals | 241/1348 (17.9) | 272/954 (28.5) | 513/2302 (23.2) | <0.001 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with repeat breeding treated/total dairy animals with repeat breeding | 206/241 (85.5) | 197/272 (72.4) | 403/513 (79.0) | <0.001 | 0 |
| Mean extra insemination required per repeat breeder | 2.8 ± 0.1 | 2.5 ± 0.1 | 2.6 ± 0.1 | 0.09 | 0 |
| Mean expenditure of inseminating or natural mating per time | 200.5 ± 6.8 | 128.0 ± 2.8 | 150.0 ± 0.4 | <0.001 | 120 |
| Mean treatment e expenditure of treated repeat breeders (through 7 FGDs f) | 1750.1 ± 61.9 | 1542.8 ± 52.8 | 1638.5 ± 48.7 | 0.02 | 0 |
| Retained placenta cases | |||||
| Farms with retained placenta/total farms | 34/242 (14.0) | 39/292 (13.3) | 73/534 (13.7) | 0.05 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with retained placenta/total dairy animals | 95/1348 (7.0) | 49/954 (5.1) | 144/2302 (6.1) | 0.005 | 0 |
| Mean dairy animals with retained placenta per farm reporting the problem | 2.7 ± 0.5 | 1.2 ± 0.2 | 1.9 ± 0.3 | 0.005 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with retained placenta treated/total dairy animals with retained placenta | 79/95 (83.1) | 37/49 (75.5) | 116/144 (79.3) | 0.03 | 0 |
| Mean treatment g expenditure of treated retained placenta cases (through 7 FGDs) | 825.0 ± 44.2 | 707.1 ± 35.2 | 761.5 ± 31.6 | 0.06 | 0 |
| Purulent vaginal discharge cases | |||||
| Farms with purulent vaginal discharge cases/total farms | 26/242 (10.7) | 23/292 (7.9) | 49/534 (9.3) | 0.26 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with purulent vaginal discharge/total dairy animals | 41/1348 (3.0) | 26/954(2.7) | 67/2302 (2.9) | 0.01 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with purulent vaginal discharge treated/total dairy animals with purulent vaginal discharge | 31/41 (75.6) | 22/26 (84.6) | 53/67 (80.1) | 0.03 | 0 |
| Mean dairy animals with purulent vaginal discharge per farm reporting the problem | 1.6 ± 0.1 | 1.1 ± 0.1 | 1.4 ± 0.1 | 0.01 | 0 |
| Mean treatment h expenditure of treated purulent vaginal discharge cases (through 7 FGDs) | 1216.7 ± 70.3 | 1064.3 ± 44.6 | 1134.6 ± 44.3 | 0.08 | 0 |
| Stillbirth cases | |||||
| Farms with stillbirth cases/total farms | 3/242(1.2) | 12/292 (4.1) | 15/534 (2.7) | 4.01 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with stillbirth/total dairy animals | 5/1348 (0.4) | 14/954(1.5) | 19/2302 (1.0) | 0.09 | 0 |
| Dairy animals with stillbirth treated/total dairy animals with stillbirth | 4/5 (80.0) | 7/14 (50.0) | 11/19 (65.0) | 0.62 | 0 |
| Mean stillbirth cases per affected farm | 1.7 ± 0.3 | 1.2 ± 0.1 | 1.3 ± 0.1 | 0.62 | 0 |
| Mean treatment expenditure of treated stillbirth cases (through 7 FGDs) | 1066.7 ± 49.4 | 957.1 ± 57.1 | 1007.7 ± 40.0 | 0.18 | 0 |
| Reproductive month loss | |||||
| Mean calving interval (months) | 15.5 ± 0.1 | 14.9 ± 0.1 | 15.2 ± 0.1 | <0.001 | 482 |
| Mean reproductive month loss because of abortion (months) | 5.7 ± 0.5 | 4.9 ± 0.3 | 5.3 ± 0.3 | 0.02 | 0 |
| Mean reproductive month loss because of repeat breeding (months) | 1.9 ± 0.1 | 1.7 ± 0.6 | 1.8 ± 0.1 | 0.09 | 0 |
| Expenditure of managing dairy animals | |||||
| Mean expenditure of concentrate feed consumption/dairy animal/day | 70.8 ± 6.1 | 59.3 ± 2.8 | 64.6 ± 3.4 | 0.09 | 395 |
| Mean expenditure of fodder consumption/dairy animal/day | 20.0 ± 2.9 | 15.4 ± 1.0 | 17.5 ± 1.5 | 0.14 | 406 |
| Mean expenditure of other miscellaneous items (medicine, breeding, detergents, etc.)/dairy animal/day | 12.0 ± 0.5 | 10.6 ± 0.4 | 11.2 ± 0.5 | 0.18 | 413 |
| Mean labour expenditure/animal/day | 13.7 ± 1.3 | 12.3 ± 0.5 | 12.9 ± 0.7 | 0.30 | 413 |
| Mean electricity expenditure/animal/day | 1.7 ± 0.4 | 1.9 ± 0.2 | 1.8 ± 0.2 | 0.68 | 413 |
| Total expenditure of management/animal/day | 118.2 ± 11.5 | 99.4 ± 4.0 | 108.1 ± 6.1 | 0.12 | 413 |
| Reduced milk yield of aborted animals | |||||
| No. of animals suffered milk yield loss | 34 | 37 | 35.5 | 0.52 | 0 |
| Farms with reduced milk yield | 20 | 27 | 23.5 | 0.41 | 0 |
| Mean volume of milk loss per animal/day (litre) | 1.8 ± 0.2 | 1.3 ± 0.1 | 1.6 ± 0.1 | 0.07 | 0 |
| Mean days with reduced milk yield loss/aborted animal | 104.0 ± 5.5 | 73.3 ± 2.3 | 88.6 ± 4.50 | 0.04 | 0 |
| Mean milk price/litre at the farm gate | 41.3 ± 0.4 | 29.8 ± 0.4 | 33.8 ± 0.4 | 0.001 | 145 |
| Salvage selling | |||||
| Farms that sold dairy animals for salvage/total farms | 32/242 (13.2) | 26/292 (8.9) | 58/534 (11.0) | 0.11 | 0 |
| Dairy animals that were sold for salvage/total dairy animals | 57/1348 (4.2) | 35/954 (3.7) | 92/2302 (3.9) | 0.10 | 0 |
| Mean price of healthy animal | 65,468.7 ± 4401.5 | 50,961.5 ± 4132.6 | 58,965.5 ± 3175.5 | 0.40 | 0 |
| Mean price of animals with reproductive problems | 14,281.2 ± 1335.9 | 12,846.1 ± 929.3 | 13,637.9 ± 845.1 | 0.02 | 0 |
| Mean salvages selling loss per dairy animal | 51,187.5 ± 3849.1 | 38,115.4 ± 3640.5 | 45,327.6 ± 2791.5 | 0.02 | 0 |
a Here reproductive problems mean incidence of the five major reproduction related problems (abortion, repeat breeding, retained placenta, purulent vaginal discharge and stillbirth) of large ruminant dairy animals occurred in the previous 12 months from the date of survey. b Figure in the parenthesis indicates percentage of the corresponding total. c All financial figures are in Indian Rupees (INR). Conversion rate USD 1 = INR 67.2 (average conversion rate of the year 2016, the year of study. Source—https://www.exchangerates.org.uk/USD-INR-spot-exchange-rates-history-2016.html, accessed on 17 May 2021). d Treatment of abortion and stillbirth included antibiotic/hormone/vitamin/others depending on the complexity of the problem. e Treatment of repeat breeding included antibiotic/hormone/dewormer/mineral mixture/irrigation of uterus with antiseptic solution/others depending on the possible cause of repeat breeding. f In every community development block (CDB) one focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with the farmers who encountered the reproductive problems to get the agreed cost of each problem, where all total 121 farmers participated. g Treatment of retained placenta included hormone/manual removal of placenta/irrigation of uterus with antiseptic solution/antibiotic/others depending on the complexity. h Treatment of purulent vaginal discharge included antibiotic/irrigation of uterus with antiseptic solution/others depending on the complexity.