Abstract:
The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge level of dairy farmers regarding improved dairy farming practices in Western Uttar Pradesh. The study employed an ex-post facto research design with a sample of 200 dairy farmers selected from eight villages across Meerut and Saharanpur districts using multistage random sampling technique. Data were collected through well-structured interview schedules and analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and rank statistics. The findings revealed that majority of respondents possessed medium level of knowledge across all practice categories: breeding practices (52.50%), feeding practices (55.00%), management practices (51.00%), and health care practices (79.00%). The overall knowledge level showed 53.00 percent farmers with medium knowledge, 35.00 percent with low knowledge, and only 12.00 percent with high knowledge. Practice-wise analysis indicated breeding practices ranked first (71.40% knowledge score), followed by feeding practices (65.10%), management practices (59.50%), and health care practices (53.07%). The study concludes that extension agencies need to strengthen training programmes, seminars, and awareness campaigns to improve technical knowledge among dairy farmers, particularly in health care and management practices.
