Sarda Farms Case Study

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works like a ferris wheel turned onto its side. Cows enter as the ride passes the entrance and the milking mechanism is attached. By the time the cow does one full rotation, they will exit and that spot will be filled by the next cow in line. The major benefit to this system is that at all times, cows are being milked and there is no stop in the process. This continuous process could be a good thing for Sarda farm since it would reduce the downtime between batches. Operators do not have to move up and down the line like in the other parlour designs. In this system the entrance exits are lined up closely. The downside to this system is the huge area it requires in order to operate. Secondly, such a complex milking system will require a very large initial investment to get started. 

​As Sarda farms begins to grow, they need to re-evaluate their milking parlour system. All of the systems have their downsides but Sarda needs to choose the system that best suits their long term plans. 

Quality Assurance

         Sarda appeals to a market of milk drinkers that enjoy their high quality and environmental approach to production. To ensure their product is consistent for their consumers, Sarda follows the methylene blue reduction test (MBRT). This is the process where methylene is added to the milk to turn it blue, and the time it takes for it to turn back to white signified the amount of bacteria in the milk. The MBRT time for Sarda farms was six hours, this showed the excellent quality of milk the farm was producing. By running their milk through this test is another example of how owners of Sarda are doing everything in their power to ensure their farm is improving as it grows. 

Production Output

​ As explained previously, India isn’t the best place for farming due to the unplanned hours of power outages. These outages can have an affect on the production if the blackout lasts long enough to halt full production. In the next 6 months, the expected demand for milk is supposed to increase to 25,000 litres per day which is a 10,000 litre increase. This will force Sarda farms to ramp up their production. Sarda will have a tough time predicting whether or not they can meet this increase in demand. Each one of their processes relies on the cow; For example, the artificial insemination process only had a 65% success rate on the first cycle. If the cow cannot become impregnated, the farm must wait 21 days for the next cycle. This will throw off the farms expected production numbers for that month. In other businesses when production is stopped, they will instil overtime hours to bring the levels back to expectations. In the dairy business they cannot put the cows into overtime to make up for lost time, they must wait. All of the semen that Sarda uses is not "washed” so they can not accurately predict the amount of bull calves’ vs heifers born. If more bulls are born at a given time this can throw off their future output predictions since they have little use for the bulls in their farm. In general, working with animals makes it harder to predict its output since it does not work on a consistent basis like a machine. 

Recommendations

​ Sarda Farms overall operational strategy is very effective and can be witnessed by its great success over its life. A few adjustments to its current system would increase its productivity as well as position themselves for better growth. Sarda farms uses a batch technique of production. The batch technique requires set up time as well as cleaning time which has not been incorporated into Sarda’s production time. As the farm continues to grow milking cows in batches of 24 will not be feasible. Currently they are able to milk all of their cows in 21 hours, adding more cows will push the process to over a day. If Sarda were to adopt a continuous flow method, the farm would see an increase in production. The continuous approach eliminates the need for set up time and the cleaning portion is incorporated into the process. Sarda will need to invest into a rotary milking parlour system to make this transition. The rotary system is designed for larger herd sizes meaning Sarda will not have to change their parlour system as the farm grow. The short turnaround time increases the overall milking productivity for the farm.  It is designed in a way that requires less manpower to operate the parlour at full capacity, thus increasing productivity while reducing costs. Until the farm undergoes a serious amount of growth this new process will give the farm free time. With this spare time they can focus on the other aspects of the farm as well as look into new revenue opportunities, for example, producing butter. The improvement of the milking parlour was only one of the aspects that have to be taken into consideration when Sarda is planning for the future. With a larger milking parlour and more cows Sarda needs to consider an upgrade to their barn. With cows being religious animals in India it is important that they are treated properly. Sarda already has standards in place that ensure the cows stay comfortable and healthy. With more cows entering the barn, Sarda has to be able to keep up with those standards. 

Improvement Strategy  

​ Moving forward, Sarda Farms needs to make the proper steps to ensure the productivity of the farm does in fact increase. The ALPRO system really helps the farm gather important data that can be used for the future. It is vital that the farm increases the amount of cows that successfully become pregnant on the first attempt. When it does not happen on the first attempt it creates a snowball effect that begins to trickle down into the other areas of production. It could be beneficial for Sarda to bring in a professional consultant to help them transition from the batch production to the continuous flow. This will help all the employees learn the differences between the two systems and what needs to be done so it operates at full capacity.