MilkLedger: paying thousands of dairy farmers fairly for every litre, twice a day
A dairy cooperative collected milk from thousands of farmers at village centres every morning and evening, recording quantity and fat on paper slips. Payments took weeks and disputes over quality were common. We built MilkLedger: connected milk analysers and scales at collection centres, instant SMS slips, direct payments every ten days, cattle feed and vet services, and cooperative dashboards.
Paper slips at dawn
MilkLedger's chairman grew up in a dairy family. Twice a day, farmers brought milk to village centres, where secretaries measured quantity, tested fat and wrote a paper slip. Slips were lost, arithmetic errors crept in, and farmers waited weeks to be paid. Quality disputes damaged trust between farmers and the cooperative.
“Our farmers wake at four to milk their cattle. The least we owe them is an accurate slip.”
Mornings at the collection centres
We spent early mornings at village centres. Queues formed quickly; measuring and testing were manual; rates depended on fat and solids-not-fat, calculated with a chart. Connectivity was patchy, and power cuts were common.
- Quantity and quality measured objectively
- An instant, accurate slip
- Payments on time, directly to the bank
- Access to feed and vet services
Measured by machines, paid by the system
At each centre, a tablet connects to the milk analyser and weighing scale. Quantity, fat and solids are recorded automatically, the rate is calculated from the cooperative's chart, and the farmer gets an SMS slip immediately. Everything works offline through power cuts and syncs when connected.
Payments are calculated every ten days and sent directly to farmers' bank accounts, with deductions for feed or services shown clearly.
The team
Device integration and offline reliability drove the team.
Board workshops and village rollout.
Centre tablet app and farmer experience.
Centre app and device integration.
Cooperative console and payments.
Collection data and quality analytics.
6 people in total, working as one team.
Decisions we made
Agreed with the cooperative board, including farmer members.
Manual testing or connected analysers?
- Manual fat testing
- Analysers connected to the tablet
Our call: Analysers connected to the tablet. Connected readings removed disputes and errors.
Cash or bank payments?
- Cash at the centre
- Direct bank payments every ten days
Our call: Direct bank payments every ten days. Regular, transparent payments built trust and records.
Online or offline?
- Online only
- Offline-first with sync
Our call: Offline-first with sync. Villages had power cuts and patchy signal.
Every feature, module by module
Everything that shipped for farmers, centres and the cooperative.
- 01Analyser integration
Fat and SNF read automatically.
- 02Scale integration
Quantity read automatically.
- 03Rate chart calculation
Rates from the cooperative chart.
- 04Instant SMS slips
Farmers receive slips immediately.
- 05Offline operation
Works through power cuts.
- 06Farmer app and SMS
Collections and payments.
- 07Direct bank payments
Every ten days.
- 08Feed orders
Cattle feed with deductions shown.
- 09Vet service requests
Request visits for animals.
- 10Chilling centre receipts
Milk received from centres.
- 11Tanker tracking
Routes and quantities.
- 12Quality at chilling
Re-testing and variances.
- 13Collection dashboard
Volumes by centre and shift.
- 14Quality analytics
Fat and SNF trends.
- 15Payment cycles
Calculate, approve and pay.
- 16Member management
Farmers and shares.
- 17Role-based access
Centres, chilling, office and board.
- 18Audit trail
Every reading and payment recorded.
Rollout
Centres were equipped and trained village by village. Farmers' trust grew as soon as they saw quality measured by the analyser and received SMS slips they could check at home.
- Weeks 1–2Discovery
Mornings at collection centres.
- Weeks 3–4Design
Centre app and device integration tests.
- Weeks 5–13Build
Apps, integrations, payments and console.
- Weeks 14–16Pilot villages
First centres equipped and trained.
- Weeks 17–20All centres
Village-by-village rollout.
What we learned
Objective measurement builds trust. Machines ended quality disputes.
Work through power cuts. Offline operation was essential.
- React Native
- Next.js
- NestJS
- PostgreSQL
- Milk analyser and scale integration
- Offline sync
- Bank payouts
- AWS Mumbai
