author(s)
VS Prajapati, MD Odedra, VV Gamit, AR Ahlawat and HA Patel

abstract
This review focus on the feeding system of dairy animals varied in different states within the region. The composition of feed varied depending on the availability of crop residues and by products, socioeconomic conditions of farmers and availability of common grazing land. On average, a dairy animal was offered 6 kg dry roughage, 5 kg green fodder and 1.6 kg concentrate feed in the region, though the amount of feed differed in different states depending on the production level and economic conditions of farmers. The dairy farmers of North Bihar were fed on average dry roughages 8.85 kg, green fodder 5.33kg and concentrate feed 0.77kg per head per day ^[13]. Rice straw was found most common dry roughage in all states except Eastern UP and Bihar where wheat straw is preferred. Grazing is practiced in all most all states by the resource poor farmers. In Chhattisgarh 100% of surveyed households practiced grazing of animals due to the abundant availability of common property resources and nearby forest areas. As a result, farmers did not cultivate green fodder. In other states more than 60% households practiced grazing except for Bihar and Eastern UP where rice-wheat crop was prevalent with abundant availability of crop residues. So far as the method of feeding is concerned, separate feeding of dry & green roughage and concentrates was practiced by farmers of Odisha (94%), Assam (86%) and West Bengal (74%). In states like Chhattisgarh (100%), Eastern UP (90%), Bihar (94%) and Jharkhand (46%), a mixed feeding system was followed where dry & green fodder was mixed with concentrates and water. A combination of dry and green fodder together was fed by the farmers of West Bengal (26%), Jharkhand (18%), Assam (14%) and Eastern UP (10%).