MELBOURNE: Kirin, the Japanese brewer, is expanding its food business in Australia through the acquisition of Dairy Farmers by its National Foods division.

The acquisition, for 910 million Australian dollars, or $780 million, is intended to help it diversify away from a shrinking domestic beer market.

DH News Service, Chikmagalur:

Benefits of dairying will be made available to the people of all 5 taluks in the district within the next two years, said Deputy Commissioner R Narayanaswamy.

At present, dairying is done only in two taluks. The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) has agreed to expand its network to all taluks, he said after inaugurating an Entrepreneurship Motivation Programme organised by Karnataka State Finance Corporation and Industries and Commerce department at the District Industries Centre here on Wednesday.

This followed reports of large-scale sale of adulterated milk

"Urea, tissue paper, animal fat, sodium bicarbonate, soap powder and starch mixed with milk'

UNDER SCANNER: The seized milk sachets in Thanjavur on Tuesday.

CHENNAI: Officials of the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine on Tuesday conducted State-wide raids on branded and unbranded milk following reports of large-scale sale of adulterated milk by unlicensed vendors in Tamil Nadu.

While the population of cattle is going down in the state, the milk production has gone up. According to the latest census, there has been a decrease of 16.56 per cent and 13.62 per cent in the buffalo and cow population, respectively, in the state. On the other hand, the milk production has increased by 18 per cent. At present, 85 per cent of the cow population is cross-bred and has the highest average milk production per day as compared to other states.

Innovative development initiatives and good management practices have given a new image to the autonomous hill district of Assam. PHOTOGRAPHS: RITU RAJ KONWAR Ginger fields in Karbi Anglong. The district produces the best organic ginger in the world.

TEOK

The Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation has started selling camel milk at its dairy milk parlour at Bikaner House in New Delhi. The new pasteurised milk packets have been priced at Rs.20 for half litre. Federation Chairman and Managing Director Madhukar Gupta said here on Monday that researchers had recently found camel milk good for the health of diabetes patients. The initial reports of the camel milk sale in Delhi were very encouraging, Mr. Gupta added.

Kamdhenu scheme which was started with an objective to boost milk production and make Goa self-reliant has not been as successive as it should have been. But the State Government has not given up its hope to have "milk revolution' in the State. It is contemplating to expand the scope of the Kamdhenu scheme to increase milk production which is less than 1 lakh liter a day. "We are thinking of allowing purchase of 20 animals instead of only ten animals allowed now but nothing has been finalised as yet,' said an Animal Husbandry official.

Milk producers attached to cooperative societies supplying milk to Jaipur Dairy have threatened to stop their deliveries unless the public sector dairy reverses its decision to drastically reduce the payments by "arbitrarily' changing the solid non-fat (SNF) norms. The Rajasthan Dugdha Utpadak Sangh said here that Jaipur Dairy was paying an abysmal Rs.2 to 8 per litre to the cattle breeders for milk supplied by them, but had raised the milk prices for consumers thrice during the past two months. This has led to a loss of Rs.1.50 crore a month to the milk producers.