Start milk production and milk processing business with ease

Author: Ajay Rai

Milk is considered as a rich source of protein, calcium and all the other major and minor nutrients that are required for our body. It’s a complete meal in itself. Every one of us consumes milk in its original form or its others forms like curd, cheese, butter, ice-cream etc. Have you ever thought, how long the milk production and milk processing goes on before it comes to us for consumption. India is the largest producer as well consumer country of the world. Here, people consume milk in its original form, which comes directly from the dairy farm to the homes of people, where they consume it simply after boiling it. When the milk has to be packaged or converted to any other form yoghurt, cheese, ice-cream, butter etc., it has to undergo a long process to come in that form. The milk that is consumed by humans majorly comes from cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep; and from camel, reindeer etc. in less quantity in some countries.

Milk production and its processing can be a good source of business; however milk being a very sensitive ingredient, can become sour if not properly handled. Being a major source of protein, it can be converted to many other nutritious products.

If you too wish to start up a milk processing business, you need to set up a Dairy plant and include all the milk production and milk processing equipments. The holding capacity of these equipments will depend on how much milk processing has to be done each day. It can range from 1000L to 5, 00,000L per day. Cream, butter, ghee, toned milk, skimmed milk, double toned milk, and yoghurt etc. is what we usually get from milk processing. Before starting the milk processing business you would need the following equipments:

  • Milk Tankers• Pasteurizers• Separators• Homogenizers• Packing machine

How the basic milk processing takes place?

The fresh milk coming from dairy farm is first poured into the dump tankers where it is chilled in a chilling chamber up to 4ºC so that it does not becomes sour. It is then heated into a pasteurization chamber for pasteurization and immediately after the cream is separated from the milk in a cream separator to achieve skimmed milk. Depending on the standardization required, milk is converted to full cream, toned, double-toned or skimmed milk. The cream obtained after separation is processed further to obtain butter and ghee. The various standardizations of milk are then sent for packaging in the machines that produce pouches of various capacities. The milk plants are usually operating daily 18-20 hours.

The machines required for milk processing can increase or decrease according to the product range you are offering. If you are offering just different forms of standardized milk, then the machines mentioned above are enough; if the product range includes ice-creams, yoghurt and other desserts of milk then more milk processing and packaging machines are required. You should make sure that all the machines and equipments are bought from a reputed agency.