Why students in Hyderabad are psyched about milking a cow and tasting 'pure' milk at Sid's Farm

How does fresh milk feel, right after it has been milked from the cow? — This is one of the first questions that visitors at Sid's Farm get asked immediately after they have milked the cow themselves. Now that's one task not everyone can boast of having experienced. But by signing up for one of the Open Days at Sid’s Farm, which is about 50 km from Gachibowli, Hyderabad, you can not only milk a cow, but understand processes like pasteurisation and more.

The maximum number of people that can be accommodated at on Open Day at Sid's Farm is 70. Maybe it's time to sign up now?

Founder and CEO Kishore Indukuri completed his master's and PhD from the University of Massachusetts, worked with Intel for more than six years and came back to Hyderabad to start Sid's Farm. "It started as a promise to my son Sidharth, to provide him with milk that is free from preservatives, hormones or antibiotics," says the 41-year-old Kishore. In 2012, he made the same promise to the citizens of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and since then, his 65-acre farm with 100 cattle has delivered milk to 10,000 satisfied customers.

But the Chintapalli-born entrepreneur did not stop at that. Two years back, he started Open Days where schools and others can come visit the farm every second and fourth Saturday. Now, they have taken up the Open Days with gusto and you can even book a slot (for a humble Rs 35-80) on meraevents.com as well.    

All together: Kishore (centre) with a batch at Open Day | (Pic: Sid's Farm)

Getting back to how an Open Day at Sid's Farm looks like, Kishore goes on to explain how after milking the cow and a fun tractor ride, they are given a tour of their 4,000 sqft processing facility. "Milk is actually very versatile. You don't need to add preservatives, but you must refrigerate immediately," explains the alumnus of IIT Kharagpur. Right from manual testing to testing for antibiotics in milk — visitors are privy to all the steps and the team leaves no stone unturned to deliver on their promise of delivering quality milk. They can even participate in seed planting activities and watch for themselves the kind of balanced diet cows should be given.

Visitors can also observe their grass chopping operations and water harvesting system while on this tour. "They are taken through the entire cold chain process," informs Kishore and adds, "These kinds of activities give students an idea about where their food comes from. Also, when the young ones touch the cow, its udder and then finally, milk it, they understand what animal husbandry is really about." They have conducted this activity for more than 25 schools like Delhi Public School, Prerana Waldorf School and others and have given lectures about the same at CHIREC International School and Oakridge International School. Kishore hopes that more visitors come calling to his farm and learn about it.

Scenes from the Open Day: 

The processes at their processing facility:
- At their milk reception dock where milk is tested for taste and smell by two people
- Next, every 40 litre can of milk goes through a series of tests for screening adulterants, antibiotics and hormones. They start with adulterant testing where they screen for the presence of urea, sugar, salt, starch, hydrogen peroxide, neutralisers and other preservatives
- Then they screen milk for three classes of antibiotics (tetracycline, beta-lactam and sulfonamides)
- The milk is also screened for aflatoxins and hormones

For more on them, check out sidsfarm.com