In Kachrewada, one of the four major settlements of Mirde, the sheep pens have given way to parking space for one, sometimes even two, tractors. The affluence spills over to TVs and other such acquisitions.

The maximum growth in this sheep-for-tractor swap has come about in the last three years. But this may not last for long. The dhangars, who earned about Rs 1.5-2 lakh a year after repaying their loans and attending to their expenditure, are already beginning to feel the pinch.

“The indications so far this year are that the sales will come down a notch due to a combination of factors—there are too many tractors in this area,” says Shirish Doshi, partner at a Mahindra sales outlet in Phaltan.