Wikipedia
India has a population of 105 million buffalos, and 26.1% of the population lives in Uttar Pradesh. India also has nine well-recognized breeds based on their phenotypic characteristics (Murrah, Nili Ravi, Surti, Jaffarabadi, Bhadawari, Mehsana, Nagori, Toda and Pandarpuri), distributed over several agro-climatic zones.
Bhadwari is an improved water buffalo breed from Uttar Pradesh, India, that is kept for milk production mainly in the Agra and Etawah districts, and in the Bhind and Morena districts of Madhya Pradesh. Cows usually lactate during 272 days with an average milk yield of in this period. Buffaloes play an indispensable role in the Indian economy, accounting for approximately 56% of total milk production in the nation, and 64% of the world’s production. Their contribution has been overwhelming due to their ability to thrive under harsh climatic condition and low requirement of input contribution.
Bhadawari buffaloes are specifically renowned for the high content of buttermilk fat found in their milk, which ranges from 6 to as high as 12.5 %. The relative high percentage of buttermilk present in their milk is due to the Bhadawari’s efficiency in converting animal feed into butterfat; the Bhadawari buffaloes’ unique, advantageous profile therefore attracts farmers of many developing countries to interbreed them with one of the best meat and milch breed of buffaloes, the Murrah breed. Increasingly important in the livestock industry of countries with agricultural-based economies such as Bulgaria, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Nepal, the resulting hybrid breed of the Bhadawari and Murrah both enhances the milk production of other low-yielding breeds and creates a better market for liquid milk.