SEASONAL AND HANDLING EFFECTS ON MILK QUALITY FROM PIRES RURAL PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION

João Paulo Pacheco Rodrigues ,Rogério De Paula Lana,Luana Marta De Almeida Rufino,Marcos Inácio Marcondes,Thiago Carvalho Da Silva

doi:10.21206/rbas.v6i1.305

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of year seasons, refrigeration methods, transport and number of milking sessions on the quality of milk produced by farmers members of an association in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. In the years 2009 and 2010, monthly milk samples from each property were collected to analysis contents of fat (FAT), protein (PRO), nonfat solids (NFS), somatic cell count (SCC) and total bacterial count (TBC). The effects of months, year season, types of refrigeration at the property, transportation methods and number of milking sessions were evaluated. The results were analyzed in mixed model, assessing the effects of year season on all characteristics (FAT, PRO, NFS, SCC and TBC) and effects of transport, refrigeration and number of milking sessions on SCC and TBC. There was effect of season in all evaluated characteristics, with greater contents of FAT, PRO and NFS in autumn. Total bacterial count was lower in winter and higher in spring, while the SCC was lower in summer and higher in autumn. There was no effect of transportation or refrigeration on SCC, but they affected TBC. Somatic cell count varied according to number of milking sessions. Year season, transport type, refrigeration method and number of milking sessions influence the milk quality.

Highlights

The milk production chain can be found in all the Brazilian regions (Lopes et al, 2007)
Concerning the importance of associativism as an alternative utilized by small milk farmers in Brazil, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of seasons of the year, methods of refrigerating milk at the property, types of transport and number of milking sessions on the quality of the milk produced in an association of rural farmers in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
The study was held in Associação de Produtores Rurais de Pires (Pires Rural Producers Association APRPires), which is constituted of 38 farmers, who commercialize milk together, with average daily production between 15 and 400 liters, located in the micro region of Juiz de Fora, in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, at an altitude of 636 meters, latitude of 21°57’’ south and longitude of 43°32’’ west

Summary

Introduction

The milk production chain can be found in all the Brazilian regions (Lopes et al, 2007). In the 90s, the Brazilian agro industrial milk system went through innumerable changes, in which the process of refrigeration and transport with bulk tank stood out, which fostered the efficiency of the dairy industry and the improvement of the milk quality. This change hampered the situation of the smaller scale farmers (Galan, 1998). The purchase of cooling tanks for the milk refrigeration in the property represents a high cost of investment, and stimulated the emergence of the joint acquisition of these products through farmers associations, as an alternative to meet the requirements of the Normative Instruction no. 51 (Brito & Diniz, 2004).

Objectives

Methods

Results