Animal husbandry is the art of rearing animals for getting milk, skin, hides and horns and using them on the farms for agricultural purposes. Ox, he-buffalo and camel are used as draught animals in performing activities like ploughing, sowing, thrashing and transporting farm products.
Cow, she-buffaloes and goat provide us milk. Animal husbandry is, thus, an integral part of crop farming and contributes to the nutritional supply of the people. It also enhances the income and provides profession to many others. Thus, it balances development of rural economy.
Cattle rearing states of India include, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Quality bulls comes form Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Haryana produces Sahiwal and Rajasthan provides Nagora breed of cattle. Hallikar and Khillar breeds come from southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Surti comes from Gujarat and Murrah comes from Punjab.
Total milk production of India amounted to 170 lakh tonne in 1950-51. This rose to 810 lakh tonne in 2000-01. India, now-a-days, is the largest producer of milk in the world.
Sheep are raised in those areas that are normally not suitable for agriculture and cattle rearing. One-fourth of the total sheep of India is found in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra. Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. Sheep provide us wool, mutton and skin.
