Knowledge and adoption of scientific dairy farming practices in operational area of Kisan Sewa Kendra, Muzaffarnagar

The study evaluated the knowledge and adoption of scientific dairy farming practices among beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of Kisan Sewa Kendra (KSK) in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Using a pre-tested interview schedule, data were collected from 160 dairy farmers (80 beneficiaries and 80 non-beneficiaries). Knowledge and adoption were measured across breeding, feeding, healthcare, and management domains using weighted mean scores. Beneficiaries exhibited significantly higher overall knowledge (85.17%) and adoption (74.89%) compared to non-beneficiaries (69.91% and 59.04%, respectively). Management practices recorded the highest knowledge and adoption levels, while healthcare practices showed comparatively lower adoption. Mann-Whitney U test confirmed statistically significant differences between the two groups for both knowledge and adoption (p < 0.01). The findings highlight the effectiveness of KSK as a field-based extension model for promoting scientific dairy farming.