Heart of Punjab: Golden ‘toori’ loses its sheen
It might seem strange and astonishing how small ecological changes make a great impact on the lives of human society. Take in the point that with the decrease in the number of cattle and buffalo, the prized possession of the agrarian society since time immortal, there has been a decline in the value of hay made from wheat.
“Toori’ as it is known in Punjab finds it difficult to find any buyers even for Rs 200-250 per quintal this season. It is the same humble dry fodder which had fetched a lucrative price of Rs 1,200 per quintal in year 2023. Be it a good time or a bad season, but it never had gone down below Rs 500 per quintal in the past few years. The reason being that it is used as dry fodder for milch animals. Its use in industry as fuel had further pushed the prices up.
However, the recent preliminary animal census by the government has revealed that the number of cattle and buffalo, in particular, has decreased by 2.32 lakh and 5.22 lakh, respectively, compared to the previous 2019 animal census. Lesser number of milch animals means lesser requirement for dry hay. Even the industry has replaced “toori” with paddy bales as fuel, thus giving another blow to the humble but irreplaceable dry fodder.
The low demand for the dry hay of wheat has already started manifesting itself in the low price of the dry fodder this year. If it was priced between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 per quintal in previous years, presently it is being sold between Rs 200 and Rs 250 per quintal. Interestingly, it also costs around Rs 250 per quintal to prepare a quintal of dry hay from fields after the harvesting of wheat grains. It means that farmers and traders would be unable to recover their investments.
Traders involved in the storage and sale of dry fodder revealed that earlier they used to send it as far as Rajasthan. “Now with bales of paddy becoming popular, the demand for hay has diminished. Even the industry which used it as fuel has now got paddy bales,” said Jaiveer Goel, a trader. Davinder Singh, another trader who is in the business for more than a decade, said, “In 2023, ‘toori fetched a price of Rs 1,200 per quintal.” He said the local demand of hay had decreased due to the decrease in the number of animals.
While the farmers have already faced the trouble which decrease in animal population can cause, the government which is trying hard to stop burning of crop residue, too, might face a peculiar and difficult situation after wheat harvesting. “What would farmers do with the wheat straw left after harvesting? They have no use for it as they do not have animals and no one else would buy it. The only cost-effective option would be to burn it,” said farmer Gulzar Singh.
It is certainly strange that “toori” which finds mention in the Lala Dhani Ram Chatrik’s iconic poem, “Vaisakhi”, which is sung till day as “Toori Tand Samb, Hari Vech Vat ke, Marda Damame Jatt Mele aa gya” (after storing toori and selling the crop, the boisterous Jatt has come to the fair) has to see these days. In the poem, “toori” coming before wheat gives it a place of prominence.
Problems galore
Recent preliminary animal census reveals that the number of cattle and buffalo, in particular, has decreased by 2.32 lakh and 5.22 lakh, respectively.
Lesser number of milch animals means lesser requirement for dry hay
Industry has replaced ‘toori’ with paddy bales as fuel, giving another blow to the humble but irreplaceable dry fodder
With bales of paddy becoming popular, demand for hay has diminished
Govt which is trying hard to stop crop residue burning, too, might face a peculiar & difficult situation after wheat harvesting
Punjab