Dairy farmers are now focusing on recovering their livestock after Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis killed 50 percent of the milking herds.

Dairy farmers are now focusing on recovering their livestock after Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis killed 50 percent of the milking herds.

Fiji Co-operative Dairy Company Limited’s Chief Executive Kushmendra Prasad says a lot of culling was done to remove the infected cattle from the farms.

Prasad says due to the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis many farms opted to close.

“The revenue decreased because the herds were out. What happened was some of the farms were unable to cater so they closed. What FCDCL and the Agriculture Ministry did, they started subsidizing to get them into the business.”

Prasad says the 14 percent increment in the milk price last year provided an opportunity for farmers to re-invest in their farms.