cows for profit

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna!

Dear Hare Krishna dasi,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

We are trying to establish the "Adopt a cow" program here in Mayapur.

However, we are getting a lot of opposition from different devotees.

 

There is one particular fellow who is speaking very strongly, that cows

generate enough "wealth" from milk sales. he quoted Nanda Maharaj, who was

living very opulent, because of all the profit he was getting from selling

milk.

I can not tell you how frustrated I am, that our own ISKCON devotees have

this kind of mentality. They actually discourage others to give donations

for cow protection.

 

The modern days mentality, that I send my wife to work and I can just sit

back and live of the money she brings home.

 

They agree that the old cows need to be supported.

 

What I don't understand, is, how they can think that cows and bulls can

generate their own funds.

 

I told him, since he is a householder, he should keep his own cow and see

how much "profit " he will earn from selling the excess milk.

 

please comment.

 

Your servant,

Hrimati dasi

[Guest guest]

Dear Conference,

 

I am interested in presenting our new business plan that we are forming so that

the conference can no about it and offer constructive critisism and advise.

Here in Argentina, we are starting an organic farm with box-delivery system

direct to the household, with the vegetables being offered at a cheaper price

than the grocers or supermarket; thus competing by price substitution and not

by a niche premium. From all I have gleamed from this conference, I believe the

only way to bring cow protection into the world in a truly profitable and

productive way is via organic cropping with the oxen being used to power the

on-farm system. As far as I have understood, a rotavator is good upto one

hectare, from one ha to 40 ha oxen are optimum, 40 ha onwards then the tractor

becomes economomically optimum with today´s opportunity-cost accounting,

discounting all other considerations which SP so nicely talked about. Thus,

though we are starting with only 3 ha, I am looking to buy and take more, as a

lot of land nearby is fiscal. A local small-scale dairy farmer is interested in

protecting his animals, and we are thinking of taking over his

jersey cows, with him still running the dairy but the animals being owned by

myself, and training the oxen.

The core of the business model thus rests in expanding the quality,

cheaper-priced organic box system so that we have a profitable business and

then bringing oxen into the system to take away from renting tractors. We

believe it is possible to sell cheaper than the market as we have no

intermediaries and as here in the thrid world labour regulations allow us to

use cheap local labour as well as devotee assistance, mostly in marketing

material and in providing a captive market.

 

So, the way I see the business working is that crops provide the profit with

oxen being the backbone of productive farm, with an optimum extended-milking

regime (for two years after the first pregnancy moving to three and four year

lactations in the next 2, 3 and 4 lactation cycles) adding-value to the

products to sell yoghurts, cheeses, ghee, etc., then the milk will also add to

its profitability, but, decidedly, will not be the focus of the business model,

but a happy by-product from the ox-cropping regime.

 

I am interested in sharing this vision and looking for support and positive

critisism as foresaid. If you can find holes im the model, please do, and

inform me about them so that I can have a water-tight system.

 

Thank you for your attention, Hare Krsna, all glories to Srila Prabhupada and

the vaisnave acharyas,

 

Gopananda dasa

 

 

 

Hrimati ACBSP <Hrimati.ACBSP (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

Noma Petroff <npetroff (AT) bowdoin (DOT) edu>; Rosalie Malik

<labangalatika (AT) vsnl (DOT) net>; Cow (Protection and related issues) <Cow (AT) pamho (DOT) net>

Thursday, 1 June, 2006 10:41:00 PM

cows for profit

 

 

Hare Krishna!

Dear Hare Krishna dasi,

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

We are trying to establish the "Adopt a cow" program here in Mayapur.

However, we are getting a lot of opposition from different devotees.

 

There is one particular fellow who is speaking very strongly, that cows

generate enough "wealth" from milk sales. he quoted Nanda Maharaj, who was

living very opulent, because of all the profit he was getting from selling

milk.

I can not tell you how frustrated I am, that our own ISKCON devotees have

this kind of mentality. They actually discourage others to give donations

for cow protection.

 

The modern days mentality, that I send my wife to work and I can just sit

back and live of the money she brings home.

 

They agree that the old cows need to be supported.

 

What I don't understand, is, how they can think that cows and bulls can

generate their own funds.

 

I told him, since he is a householder, he should keep his own cow and see

how much "profit " he will earn from selling the excess milk.

 

please comment.

 

Your servant,

Hrimati dasi

 

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