Innovative Organic Dairy Farming by an Enthusiastic Entrepreneur in Karnataka – A Case Study

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a study on entrepreneurial motivation based on the contribution made by a green card holder and a software techie in Karnataka. The results clearly showed that the entrepreneur was primarily motivated by his dream to have a modern dairy. Founder of a software firm in Seattle, Mr.Shivanna, had earlier returned to India to start a branch of his company in Mysore city. But today, he has given up the plush home, other attendant comforts and taken up the challenge of running Oxygen Acres, an organic farm on the outskirts of the city dedicated to provide high quality organic milk. Without the basic knowledge in Dairy farming, to fulfill his dream, he visited dairy farms in the United States and learnt the techniques of cattle rearing and everything about maintaining a farm from scratch. Reminiscing the way he started in 2007 with barren land and he had flatten it and carve out plots. By 2009, he started growing grass for cattle. The farm now has 28 cows and eight calves. He has launched the supply of organic milk to the city from August 2010. The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is the "high-quality organic milk in sealed containers. Presently he has provided employment to eight local people in his farm with a future aim to install a bio-gas plant to cater the needs of cooking, water heating and electricity of the farm and to make it a selfsufficient dairy unit. The achievement of the young techie in the organic dairy farming is discussed.