Marmum Dairy Farm has witnessed a record 27 per cent jump in its annual growth during the 2006-07 period and is hopeful that its milk production will hit 18 million litres this year.

Marmum is a subsidiary of Dubai Investments Industries, the industry arm of Dubai Investments.

The announcement comes on the back of Marmum's decision to import 300 registered heifers from Australia in 2007.

The last shipment of 115 heifers arrived from Australia on February 3, thus bringing the total number of heifers on the farm to over 3,500, said a company official.

“Marmum had set a target of increasing milk production by 2.5 million liters last year. To that end, we decided to make a purchase of about 300 heifers. We then began to look out for top-notch breeding stock with a close watch on the animals' pedigree and genetics, “said SR Raju, general manager, Marmum. 
“We are absolutely delighted with the quality of the heifers we purchased from Australia and believe that we made a spot-on decision,” he added.

Marmum Dairy Farm has seen tremendous growth over the last two years. The dairy herd has been augmented while cutting-edge technology has brought the farm itself on par with international standards.

“We have made conscious efforts in the last few years and undertaken major improvements in reproduction protocol, animal genetics, nutrition and in the management of the farm itself. I believe that the growth we have witnessed is a testament to these efforts,” Raju added.

The completion of Marmum’s second dairy parlour now allows the farm to milk 80 cows simultaneously thrice a day. “The herd currently produces on average, more than 30 liters per cow per day, which is exceptional production for this part of the world,” he added.

Marmum Dairy Farm expects to add an additional 430 of its own farm-bred heifers to its milking herd in 2008.  The average of the first lactation heifers is 9,500 liters per lactation.

“We have noticed that heifers born and bred on Marmum’s Dairy Farms produce about 1,000 liters of milk more than imported heifers, per year.

This constitutes one of the main reasons we prefer including our own home-bred heifers in our herd. Other reasons include biosecurity, disease prevention and animals better adapted to this region’s environmental conditions,” Raju added.-TradeArabia News Service