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A study by the ICAR Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute has found that several districts of the drought prone Bundelkhand region straddling Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh face a severe shortfall in dry matter fodder availability, with districts such as Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur and Chitrakoot falling below 40 percent of requirement. Farmers in the region depend on dry fodder such as wheat straw that typically lasts only five to six months, after which cattle are set loose to free range graze on depleted common land, a practice that depresses milk yields and often triggers disputes over grazing rights. The India Meteorological Department has forecast below normal rainfall for large parts of the country through September 2026, raising the risk that this year's fodder shortage in already deficient districts could worsen further.