The farm diary
“My father kept two cows. I kept the habit of waking up before them.”
Written with Ramaji · photographed at Katol, Oct 2026
Ramaji took over the farm in 2007 with two Gir cows and a bicycle he used to carry milk to the Katol co-op, 6 km away. Prices were set by whoever bought it, and payment came when it came.
Ramaji took over the farm in 2007 with two Gir cows and a bicycle he used to carry milk to the Katol co-op, 6 km away. Prices were set by whoever bought it, and payment came when it came.
Today there are fourteen cows, all Gir, all named. Milking starts at 4:30 AM, before the heat, and the milk is in a chilled can at our Katol centre by 6. From there it’s tested, bottled and at your door the next morning.
The cows graze on his own berseem and jowar; he buys no packaged feed. In summer he runs a sprinkler shed his son built from old irrigation pipe. “If they’re uncomfortable, you taste it in the milk,” he says.
“Lakshmi gives the most milk, Ganga gives the most trouble.”
