Bhavani Devi, I.SUJATHA, R.2018-06-092018-06-091998D5730http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810050356airyfarminglongbackhasbeenrecognisedasanimportantfarm activity for enhancing farmers income levels in our country. It is supplementary(or)complementaryenterpriseespeciallytomillionsofsmall andmarginalfarmersandlandlesslabourers.Itisruralbased,landsaving andgender-neutral.Theprofitabilityofdairyenterprisedependsuponcost structure and income generation capacity of the enterprise and good marketing outlets. However,veryfewstudies wereconducted on theeconomic aspects of dairy enterprise in Chittoor district. In this context, it is felt necessary to conduct a micro level study to examine the economics of productionandmarketingofmilkwiththespecificobjectivessuchas(1)to analysecostsandreturnsondairyfarms;(2)tostudyresourceuseefficiency andresourceproductivityondairyfarmsand(3)tostudythemarketing aspectsofmilk. The present study was conducted in Chittoor district ofAndhra Pradesh.Twomandals,SrikalahastiandMadanapallewithhighestnumber ofmilchcattlewerepurposivelyselected.Fromeachmandal,threeVillages wereprrposivelyselectedfollowingtheabovecriterionmakingatotalofsix villages.Allthedairyfarmersinselectedsixvillageswerelistedoutandfrom eachvillage,12farmerswererandomlyselectedmakingatotalsampleof72 dairyfarrxiers.Theagenciestowhomthefarmerssellthemilkwereidentified and22intermediarieswerechosen.Thedatawerecollectedbysurveymethod usingappropriateschedulefortheyear1996-97.Bothtabularandfunctional analyses were employed. Tabular analysis was used to study the labour utilisatinpatternpcostsandreturnsondairyfarms, marketedsurplusand '_rice spread. Cobb-Douglas Production Function was used to study the resourceuseefficiency.Multiplelinearregressionanalysiswascarriedoutto studythebreedefficiencyonsamplefarms. Thenumberofmandaysemployedperfarm,localcow,crossbredcow and local buffalo were 137.42, 57.84, 55.41 and 81.22 per lactation respectively. ThetotalcostsworkedouttoRs.15,933.45,Rs.4,626.55,Rs.8,836.30 andRs. 8,158.67respectivelyperfarm,local cow, crossbredcowandlocal buffaloperlactationrespectively.Amongdifferntcostitemsfeedcosttooka - lion’sshareaccountingforabout75percentoftotalcost.Theperlitrecostof milkproductioinperfarm,perlocalcow,crossbredcowandlocalbuffalowere Rs.4.86,Rs.7.29,Rs.3.69and6.29. The gross returns worked out to Rs. 28,728.66, Rs. 5,155.07, Rs. 18,718.26 and Rs. 13,724.03 perfarm, local cow, crossbred cow and local buffaloperlactationrespectively. ThefamilylabourincomeperlitreofmilkproductionworkedouttoRs. 3.68,Re. 0.67,Rs. 3.98andRs. 3.92respectivelyperfarm, perlocalcow crossbredcowandlocalbuffalo. Thebreak—evenmilkyieldworkedoutto407.80It,458.56It,209.63 and 205.12 It per farm, per local cow, crossbred cow and local buffalo respectively. Thereisapossibilityofenhancingmilkyeildinallcategoriesofmilch cattle by resource readjustment. The crossbred cow had the ability of increasingthemilkoutputby886litresoverlocalcow. Thepercentageofmarketedsurplustototalproductionworkedoutto 91.64ondairyfarms. The gross marketingmargins offor the channels II, III, IVand V workedouttoRs.3.85,Rs.5.50,Rs.5.50andRs.7.25perlitrerespectively. Theproducer’sshareinconsumer’srupeeworkedoutto100percent, 65.0percent,57.69percent,57.69percentand51.67percentrespectively inchannels—I,II,III,IVandV. Thestudyindicatedthatitwasmoreprofitabletofollowvigourously crossbreeding programmeforimproving the potentialityoflecalcowsalong with better managementof feeding andstreamliningthemarketingofmilk. Appropriateneedbasedtechnologyshouldbedevelopedforenriching theroughagesandcropresiduesformeetingthenutritionalrequirementsof milchanimals.ennullThesis