Liter Of Milk Research Articles

Evaluation of the efficiency of biological and economic indicators in production systems on dairy farms

The efficiency of the livestock system is one of the factors of greatest social and economic interest in rural production areas. The project aimed to assess various biological and economic indicators to identify the most efficient dairy cows in grazing systems with supplementation within the Antioquia-Colombia dairy basin. We used retrospective data from 2009 to 2019 from farms in the municipalities of Entrerríos, San Pedro, and Belmira. The production systems in the northern region of Antioquia share common features typical of many dairy enterprises. They are primarily characterized by their utilization of grazing systems, each employing distinct supplementation regimes.The farms have their own records and official milk control from the cooperatives or associations from which the data was obtained. The productive categories of the evaluated cows were established according to the number of births, and within each subgroup, they were ordered by the total liters per lactation in ascending order. Productive, reproductive, health, and economic variables were recorded. Then cuts were made, thus forming three categories: low, medium, and high production. It was possible to determine the model that showed four groups of variables (breed, milk production per lactation, open days, and silage) with an important correlation of 97% and a greater contribution to the behavior of the cost per liter, obtaining an R2 of 0.91 (P <0.05) and a prediction error of US$ 0.0076 per liter of milk in the evaluated farms. It is concluded that, with few biological and economic predictive indicators, it was possible to identify the most efficient cows in grazing systems.

Model based process optimization of an industrial chromatographic process for separation of lactoferrin from bovine milk

Model based process development using predictive mechanistic models is a powerful tool for in-silico downstream process development. It allows to obtain a thorough understanding of the process reducing experimental effort. While in pharma industry, mechanistic modeling becomes more common in the last years, it is rarely applied in food industry. This case study investigates risk ranking and possible optimization of the industrial process of purifying lactoferrin from bovine milk using SP Sepharose Big Beads with a resin particle diameter of 200 µm, based on a minimal number of lab-scale experiments combining traditional scale-down experiments with mechanistic modeling. Depending on the location and season, process water pH and the composition of raw milk can vary, posing a challenge for highly efficient process development.A predictive model based on the general rate model with steric mass action binding, extended for pH dependence, was calibrated to describe the elution behavior of lactoferrin and main impurities. The gained model was evaluated against changes in flow rate, step elution conditions, and higher loading and showed excellent agreement with the observed experimental data. The model was then used to investigate the critical process parameters, such as water pH, conductivity of elution steps, and flow rate, on process performance and purity. It was found that the elution behavior of lactoferrin is relatively consistent over the pH range of 5.5 to 7.6, while the elution behavior of the main impurities varies greatly with elution pH. As a result, a significant loss in lactoferrin is unavoidable to achieve desired purities at pH levels below pH 6.0. Optimal process parameters were identified to reduce water and salt consumption and increase purity, depending on water pH and raw milk composition. The optimal conductivity for impurity removal in a low conductivity elution step was found to be 43 mS/cm, while a conductivity of 95 mS/cm leads to the lowest overall salt usage during lactoferrin elution. Further increasing the conductivity during lactoferrin elution can only slightly lower the elution volume thus can also lead to higher total salt usage. Low flow rates during elution of 0.2 column volume per minute are beneficial compared to higher flow rates of 1 column volume per minute.The, on lab-scale, calibrated model allows predicting elution volume and impurity removal for large-scale experiments in a commercial plant processing over 106 liters of milk per day. The successful model extrapolation was possible without recalibration or detailed knowledge of the manufacturing plant. This study therefore provides a possible pathway for rapid process development of chromatographic purification in the food industries combining traditional scale-down experiments with mechanistic modeling.

The effects of seasonality, management, infrastructure, and automation on the milking efficiency of herringbone and rotary milking parlors in Ireland

The objective of this study was to document the milking efficiency of a sample of Irish dairy farms and to understand the effects of (1) seasonality, (2) management practices, (3) parlor infrastructure and (4) parlor automations on milking efficiency metrics. A novel methodology based on empirical data from video-cameras, infrastructure surveys and milk yield data allowed for the accurate computation of milking efficiency metrics and quantification of the effects of seasonality, number of operators and parlor automations on milking efficiency across 2 parlor types. The data for this study were collected over 2 periods: period 1 (28/07/2020 - 23/10/2020, peak-late production) and period 2 (12/04/2021 - 19/05/2021, early-peak production) from a sample of 16 herringbone and 10 rotary commercial Irish dairy farms. Milking efficiency was evaluated on each farm using 3 KPIs; 1) cows milked per hour (cows/h), 2) cows milked per operator per hour (cows/op/h) and 3) liters of milk harvested per hour (L/h). Milking efficiency KPIs were calculated using 'total process time', defined as the time between the first cow entering the holding yard and the end of the cleaning process. Average herd size for herringbone and rotary farms was 180 and 425 cows, respectively. Average system size for herringbone and rotary farms was 20 and 50 clusters, respectively. For herringbone farms, the average milking efficiency was 94 cows/h, 73 cows/op/h and 1,012 L/h, whereas rotary farms achieved an average milking efficiency of 170 cows/h, 132 cows/op/h and 1,534 L/h. Parlor size was strongly correlated with milking efficiency (cows/h) for herringbone parlors (0.91) but was only moderately correlated for rotary parlors (0.50). Hence, we documented the effect of parlor size on milking efficiency is relative to parlor type. Cluster utilization values on herringbone farms were 5 cows/cluster/h, 4 cows/cluster/op/h and 51 L/cluster/h which were 67%, 33%, and 65% greater than rotary farms, respectively. We found for both herringbone and rotary farms hourly cow throughput (cows/h, cows/op/h) were greatest during period 1 and that the volume of milk harvested per hour (L/h) was greatest for period 2. Thus, we documented an inverse seasonal relationship between hourly rates of cows milked and milk harvested. We observed that for herringbone farms, milking efficiency (cows/h, L/h) had a strong positive correlation (0.75, 0.74) with the levels of automation use. However, the minimal variation in automations used among rotary farms made it difficult to evaluate their impact on milking efficiency. Similarly, we found that the impact of automations on milking efficiency was dependent on parlor type. On average, a second operator at milking for both herringbone and rotary farms increased values for cows/h (+19% - H, + 34% - R) and L/h (+21% - H, +12% - R) but lowered values for cows/op/h (-35% - H, -12% - R). The holistic methodology applied in this study allowed us to add novel data to the literature by quantifying the effects of seasonality, the number of operators present at milking and parlor automation use on milking efficiency across 2 parlor types.

Experimental performance analysis of a biogas energy assisted hybrid milk cooling system

Biogas energy assisted hybrid milk cooling system was investigated experimentally, in this study. The system operated in a cycle. Primarily, biogas was obtained from the residues of animals in the farm environment and an internal combustion gas engine is started with this gas. Then, the gas engine provided the power required for the compressor of the cooling system to operate. The main purpose of the study was to encounter the energy required for milk cooling only from the biomass potential of animal wastes and in this way, it was to bring a system with high energy efficiency for milk cooling process to the literature and industry. In experiments, 150 liters of milk in the first milking and 300 liters of milk in the last milking were cooled. It was determined that the energy consumption in the first and last milking is 2.29 kWh and 2.54 kWh. The results revealed that this developed system was 45.61% and 41.61% more advantageous for first and last milking, respectively, compared to conventional milk cooling systems in terms of energy consumption. When the system compared to other alternative energy source assisted milk cooling technologies with similar milk cooling capacity, It was observed that 14.55% and 24.40% more efficient with regards to energy consumption for the first and last milking. Additionally, experimental and Carnot COP values of the cooling system were determined as 4.29 and 8.26, respectively. These data revealed that the hybrid system had a higher performance of 38.4% compared to other milk cooling techniques.

A three-year comparison of once-a-day and twice-a-day milking in seasonal-calving pasture-based systems

Globally, the majority of dairy cows are milked twice a day (TAD); however, in pasture-based production systems, such as in Ireland, the idea of milking once a day (OAD) is being considered for reasons such as improved work-life balance. The immediate effects within a lactation, as well as the multilactation consequences of OAD, compared with TAD milking, require understanding. The objective of this randomized experiment was to compare OAD and TAD milking, over a 3-yr period, by examining the differences in milk production and composition, body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), dry matter intake (DMI), udder characteristics, locomotion score, and milking time. Over the 3-yr period, 83 cows were enrolled in the experiment; 32, 44, and 48 cows in yr 1, 2, and 3 of the experiment, respectively. Each year, 23% of the herds were primiparous animals, while the remainder were second lactation or greater in parity. All cows were milked in the morning at 0700 h; only cows milked TAD were milked a second time each day at 1600 h. Cows rotationally grazed pastures for the duration of the lactating period and were housed during the nonlactating period. Milking cows OAD reduced cumulative milk yield by 26%, and milk solids yield (kg of fat + kg of protein) by 21%, across the 3 yr of the experiment when compared with cows milked TAD which produced 4,126 and 365 kg/cow, respectively. A contributory factor to the reduced production was a shorter lactation length (9.7 d) of the cows milked OAD compared with TAD (294 d). Milk fat percent of cows milked TAD was similar for all 3 yr of the study (5.05%), whereas milk fat percent of the cows milked OAD increased year on year, with each year being greater than the previous year (5.02%, 5.32%, and 5.70% for yr 1, 2, and 3; respectively). Milk protein percent was greater (+0.19%) for cows milked OAD compared with TAD which was 3.78%. Compared with cows milked TAD, total DMI for cows milked OAD was 22% less at the start of lactation (<167 d), but as the lactation progressed (>167 d) we observed no difference in DMI between treatments. Similar to the literature, milking cows OAD significantly increased average somatic cell score, both during (+16%) and at the end of lactation (+19%), compared with milking cows TAD which were 4.69 and 4.79, respectively. We detected positive aspects associated with OAD milking such as greater BW, BCS, and fertility performance. Milking OAD reduced both milking time per cow per day (reductions ranged from 34% in the first 4 mo of lactation to 43% during mo 5-9 of lactation) and milking time per liter of milk (-3.5 s/L) throughout lactation, leading to less labor inputs on-farm which can have positive implications for farmer work-life balance. The significant time saving and potential savings in costs (e.g., electricity) need to be considered in conjunction with the milk production reduction when considering OAD milking for the entire lactation.

Feeding microalgae is the key to increasing the economic efficiency of milk production

The article discusses the results of feeding green microscopic aquatic plants Chlorella Vulgaris to black-and-white cows. Drinking a suspension of chlorella to fresh cows for 99 days of lactation showed that feeding a suspension of chlorella kept the average daily milk yield of the cows of the experimental group, in the transitional spring-summer season, at a high level during the entire accounting period. The average daily milk yield in the experimental group of first-calf heifers was 9.3 % higher than in the experimental group. This made it possible to milk in the experimental group, on average, one head more milk in its natural form than in the control group by 250.5 liters. Additional milk yield in the experimental group, in terms of the basic milk fat content of 3.4 %, amounted to 547.5 liters, and the profit from the sale of this milk per 1 head of the experimental group was more by 16.6 thousand rubles, compared with the control. The use of chlorella suspension in feeding cows of the 2-nd and 3-rd lactations shows that 534.2 liters of milk can be additionally obtained from one cow in 99 days, based on a basic fat content of 3.4 %. Additional profit from the sale of milk per 1 cow, in this case, will be 16.1 thousand rubles.

Bovine mastitis: Prevalence, causes and associated risk factors in Silte Zone, Ethiopia

Mastitis is an important disease of dairy cows, and it causes huge economic losses to dairy farm owners due to a decrease in milk production, and reduction in milk quality, and an increase in the cost of cow treatment. A crosssectional study was conducted in Southern Ethiopia’s Silte zone from October 2020 to June 2021 aimed to estimate mastitis prevalence, assess related risk factors, and identify prevalent bacterial causes. Three hundred eighty-four lactating cows were examined for abnormalities in udder quarters and teats. Milk samples were tested for subclinical mastitis via the California mastitis test (CMT) and cultured for causative agents from clinical mastitic and CMT-positive cows. The overall prevalence of mastitis was 54.9% (95% CI=49.9-59.9), of which 52.1% (95% CI=47.1-57.1) was subclinical and 2.9% (95% CI=1.6 -5.1) clinical mastitis. From a total of 1536 quarters examined 41 (2.7%) quarters were found blind and 427 (27.7%) quarters were affected by mastitis. Overall, more hind quarters, 236 (55.5%) were affected than the front quarters, 189 (44.5%) of udder. The prevalence of mastitis was significantly higher during early lactation, ≤4 months (p&lt; 0.05); and it was increased with increasing parity (p&lt; 0.05) and age (p&lt; 0.05). Cows with no bedding were more affected than those with bedding (p&lt; 0.05). Multivariable logistic regression showed that cows with round and flat teat ends were 2.84 and 11.85 times more likely to contract mastitis. Also, cows with pendulous udder, producing more than 10 liters per day milk and during the early 4 months of lactation were 1.87, 6.81, and 2.14 more likely affected by mastitis than normal udder, producing less than 10 liters of milk per day and lactation after five months, respectively. Milk samples collected from 211 mastitis-positive cows were cultured using standard bacteriological technique, and the isolated bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (29.5%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (14.2%), Staphylococcus intermedius (11.6%), Staphylococcus hyicus (11.1%), Streptococcus agalactiae (8.9%), Streptococcus disgalactiae (6.3%), E. coli (5.8%), Streptococcus uberis(5.3%), Klebsiella spp. (1.6%) and Enterococcus spp. (1.1%). Owners should givepro per udder care and are advised to apply dry cow therapy. Extension workers should raise awareness.

Factors influencing milk production among dairy farmers in Southwest, Nigeria

It is estimated that herds of cattle worth $18.2 million are reared and 82% of these animals are raised in an extensive system but Nigeria spent about $1.2 billion on milk importation, this indicates that the nation is still far from sustainability. The study examines the management practices of dairy farmers, sources of information, challenges, and factors that influence milk production in the study area. The study area covered Southwest, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 293 respondents. Data were analyzed using descriptive and influential statistics. The result shows that the majority of the respondents were between 51-60 years, married, with no formal education, and had 21-30 years of farming experience. The majority produced an average of 11-20 liters of milk per day, radio was their main source of information, challenges faced by dairy farmers were the health of the animal, climate change, and breed of the animals. The factor influencing the farmers’ decision is the milking of animals (P>0.032). It is concluded that dairy production in the study area is not thriving as expected due to the above challenges. Therefore, dairy farmers need more orientation, government support, and training on the intensive management system.

Risk Factors of Mastitis and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli isolated from Cows Kept by Farmers in Githunguri Sub-County, Kenya

Mastitis poses a major challenge in dairy cattle farming as it leads to production and economic losses. Some mastitis causing bacteria have shown resistance to some antibiotic and the risk factors associated with the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are not well understood. The current study assessed the prevalence and risk factors associated with occurrence of mastitis in dairy cows kept by small-holder farmers in Githunguri Sub-County, Kenya. Further, susceptibility of the isolated Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli to commonly used antibiotics was evaluated. The study design was cross sectional where 91 milk samples from 40 farms were sampled from two wards in the study area. Structured questionnaires were used to assess risk factors of mastitis. The milk obtained from lactating cows was first subjected to California mastitis test (CMT) and then taken to microbiology laboratory for isolation and identification of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli using standard bacteriological tests. Antibiotics sensitivity of the isolated bacteria was examined using disc diffusion method. Based on CMT, the overall prevalence of mastitis was 50.5%. The prevalence of mastitis was associated (p&lt;0.05) with hygiene levels, being highest (69.2%) in the dairy cattle whose udder and leg hygiene were dirty. Highest prevalence of mastitis (p&lt;0.05) was found in cows who were not milked regularly (52.4%) compared to those who were milked regularly (47.6%) (p&lt;0.05). Cows which were cleaned using bore hole water had higher prevalence (53.3%) of mastitis compared to those cleaned using tap water (46.7%) (p&lt;0.05). Cows that produced between 21-30 liters of milk per day had the highest prevalence (66.7%) of mastitis, while those producing between over 30 liters milk per day had lower prevalence (25%) (p&lt;0.05). The prevalence of S. aureus and E. coli were 30.8% and 12.1%, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus isolates showed varied resistance to all the tested antibiotics with the highest resistance being against Oxytetracycline (57.7%) and Tetracycline (38.5%) but were sensitive to Vancomycin (100%), Ampicillin (100%), Chloramphenicol (96.2%), Penicillin (92.3%) and Gentamycin (92.3%). All the Escherichia coli isolates were sensitive to Chloramphenicol, Kanamycin, Gentamycin and Oxytetracycline but were resistant to Ampicillin (88.9%) and Vancomycin (88.9%) amongst other antibiotics. In conclusion, half of the sampled cows had mastitis whose risk factors was associated with poor hygiene and irregular milking of the cows. The isolated bacteria showed varied resistance to commonly used antibiotics. To reduce the prevalence of the mastitis and AMR, there is need for extension service workers to train farmers on improved management of the mastitis.

The problem associated with tuberculosis in cattle and how this is being addressed

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a zoonotic disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis that primarily infects cattle but has a wide range of hosts. It represents a global health problem affecting the livestock industry tremendously, with economic losses of about 3 billion annually. Dairy cattle produce a decline of 10% in terms of liters of milk produced and 5% in the meat industry because of live weight loss and seized carcasses in abattoirs. The core of the current control measures implemented in most countries against bTB is based on the diagnosis with tuberculin skin test (TST) and culling of infected animals. Unfortunately, control programs have failed to eradicate the disease since no vaccine protects cattle from infection. Moreover, the strain of M. bovis Bacillus Calmette Guerin, BCG used as a vaccine for human tuberculosis, interferes with surveillance tools. Nowadays, most researchers have been working on improving the efficacy of BCG through a prime-boost strategy that involves a first immunization with BCG and a booster with different types of vaccines. A less explored approach by experts has been the development of a new vaccine that only includes some protective antigens of M. bovis that should be absent ot in low representation in TST. On the other hand, because TST precludes implementation of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine–based control programs, several investigations have been carried out to replace the TST with a DIVA test that allows to differentiation infected from vaccinated animals. In this review, most of the studies cited agree that without an effective vaccine and a compatible diagnosis, no program for eradication would be successful against tuberculosis in cattle. Keywords: bovine tuberculosis; bTB; Mycobacterium bovis; diagnosis; tuberculin skin test, TST, bPPD; vaccines, DIVA.

Taking the diet of cows into consideration in designing payments to reduce enteric methane emissions on dairy farms

Enteric fermentation from dairy cows is a major source of methane. Significantly and rapidly reducing those emissions would be a powerful lever to mitigate climate change. For a given productivity level, introducing fodder with high sources of n-3 content, such as grass or linseed, in the feed ration of dairy cows both improves the milk nutritional profile and reduces enteric methane emissions per liter. Changing cows' diet may represent additional costs for dairy farmers and calls for the implementation of payments for environmental services to support the transition. This paper analyzes 2 design elements influencing the effectiveness of a payment conditioned toward the reduction of enteric methane emissions: (1) the choice of emission indicator capturing the effect of farmers' practices, and (2) the payment amount relative to the additional milk production costs incurred. Using representative farm-level economic data from the French farm accountancy data network, we compare enteric methane emissions per liter of milk calculated with an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Tier 2 method, to baseline emissions from a Tier 3 method accounting for diet effects. We also quantify the additional milk production costs of integrating more grass in the fodder systems by estimating variable cost functions for different dairy systems in France. Our results show the relevance of using an emission indicator sensitive to diet effects, and that the significance and direction of the additional costs for producing milk with a diet containing more grass differ according to the production basin and the current share of grasslands in the fodder crop rotation. We emphasize the importance of developing payments for environmental services with well-defined environmental indicators accounting for the technical problems addressed, and the need to better characterize heterogeneous funding requirements for supporting a large-scale adoption of more environment-friendly practices by farmers.

Comparative carbon footprints of buffalo milk produced at smallholder and organised farms in Hisar district of Haryana, India

The present study was conducted to compare the carbon footprint of milk produced in 75 smallholder farms and two organised buffalo farms in Hisar district of Haryana using Life Cycle Assessment approach. Primary data was collected from farmers and farm managers for the study. Functional unit was one litre of milk with system boundary being ‘Cradle-to-farm gate’. Methodology prescribed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was used for estimation of emissions from different sources. Secondary data was also relied upon for synthetic fertilizers and seeds, combustion of fossil fuel, production of concentrates and dry fodders. The average carbon footprint of milk produced in rural smallholder and organised farms were 3.54 and 4.53 kg CO₂-eq./L milk, respectively, indicating superiority of village level production systems. Methane from enteric fermentation was estimated to be contributing nearly half of the total greenhouse gas emissions. It is suggested that rural smallholder production systems should be favoured over organised ones given the lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Comparative quality analysis and economic feasibility of solar assisted yogurt processing unit for decentralized dairy value chain

Due to the lack of farm-gate milk processing facilities, dairy farmers have to sell raw milk, resulting in economic and quality compromises. The study compared the quality of yogurt processed in solar assisted yogurt processing unit with the existing milk value chain and its techno-economic feasibility. For this, an investigation of the experiment was executed where four different milk processing approaches were compared. The quality attributes for processed milk like fat (5.283%), solid-not-fat (9.0833%), salts (0.6833%), protein (3.8%), lactose (4.1%), total solids (14.383%), pH (6.87), density (1.031 kg/L) and freezing point (− 0.532 °C) were found within the standardized ranges. Similarly, for the case of yogurt, these attributes were found as fat (5.5%), solid-not-fat (8.683%), acidity (0.93%), lactose (4.73%), total solids (14.183%), pH (4.3433), density (1.039 kg/L) syneresis (9.87 mL/100 g), S. thermophilus count range (10.18–10.30 log cfu/mL) and L. bulgaricus count range (10.26–10.34 log cfu/mL). Moreover, no detection of coliform count in solar-processed yogurt, endorsed the current idea to perform three processes of heating, fermentation, and cooling in a single unit. Based on the energy sources utilized, the payback period was calculated to be 1.3–9 years with an expected lifespan of 15 years while in terms of product profit, the payback period was predicted to be 1.78 years. The processing cost per liter of milk for yogurt production was calculated to be 0.0189 USD. Considering CO2 emission savings, it is anticipated that a solar-powered yogurt processing unit can generate 107.73 MWh of useful energy during its operating life with zero CO2 emission.

Prevalence of Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in Fresh Cow Milk Produced in Chattogram, Bangladesh

This study was carried out to examine the prevalence of AFM1 contamination across different areas of Chattogram, Bangladesh, and to assess the level of AFM1 in raw milk samples from various dairy farms. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the farming standards of three different Chattogram neighborhoods—Bakalia, Khulshi, and Pahartali—and to ascertain the amount of AFM1 in milk. In the study location, 30 commercial dairy farms were randomly chosen, and data on farming methods, milk production techniques, and knowledge of aflatoxin contamination were gathered. Using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, collected milk samples (n = 90) were examined for the presence of AFM1. The farms produced 71.67±14.71 liters of milk on average every day, which was primarily supplied to dairy processing plants. For feeding the cows, all farms used concentrates and forage. The mean concentration of AFM1 in milk samples collected from Bakalia was higher (190.00±120.87 ng/L) than that in milk samples collected from the Khulshi (108.44±66.19 ng/L) and Pahartali (189.25±160.78 ng/L). The overall prevalence of AFM1 was 43% (N=39) of the total examined samples. A total of 69% (N=27) and 5% (N=2) of AFM1 positive samples exceeded the European Union Regulation (50 ng/L) and BSTI/BFSA regulations (500 ng/L) respectively. There was a significant difference in the occurrence of AFM1 in Bakalia regarding Khulshi and Pahartali. This research will aid in measuring the AFM1 content in raw milk and helping to address public health issues.

Metabolic indicators and their relationship with reproductive efficiency in dairy cows in the high tropics

The specialized herds of the high tropics of Nariño are characterized by semi-intensive breeding models, that is, feeding based on grazing and supplementation. The objective was to analyze the milk production of grazing Holstein cows under conditions of the high tropics, taking into account the energetic and protein metabolites, and their relationship with the dry matter intake (CMS/Kg/d), the body condition (BC), and the reproductive variables. Three periods of lactation were evaluated, thus, between 4-10 days (P1), 45-55 days (P2), and between 185-200 days (P3). The investigation was carried out in four dairy production farms. The forage supply consisted of a mixture of Lolium hybridum, Cenchrus clandestinus Hoschst ex Chiov, Holcus lanatus and Trifolium repens, plus commercial concentrate. A total of 24 Holstein animals (six per productive system) from three births onwards were used, from which blood samples were obtained to determine: non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose, total protein (PT), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). The results showed that milk production during P1 is influenced by CC and body weight (Kg) by +0.04 liters of milk per unit of change in this variable. In P2, the positive incidence variables were PT, BUN, glucose, NEFA, BHB, triglycerides, and cholesterol, and in P3, the increase in CMS made it possible to show that as lactation progresses in more than 180 days, the animals substantially improve their body condition; likewise the NEFA and BHB indicators are related to a better reproductive response.

Exploring potential of goat based dairy farming in India and way forward

The aim of this review is to highlight the significance of goat milk along with potential and prospects of dairy goat development in the country. India occupies the first position in goat milk production in the world. In the last few years, commercial dairy goat production in India gained momentum due to spread of knowledge about therapeutic, nutraceutical and medicinal benefits of goat milk and its product, and their export potential. India possesses vast caprine resources with 37 goat breeds distributed in different bio-climates with varied nutritive value, however, some goat breeds native to north and north-western region namely Beetal, Jamunapari, Jakhrana, Surti and Zalawadi are considered as Indian dairy breed with 150 to 500 litre milk yields. The reported milk yield of Indian dairy goat is far below their potential, since they are primarily raised for mutton and also due to energy-deficient diet. Attempts so far made were scarce and limited for milk improvement of dairy goats and in creating infrastructure for goat milk processing and marketing. Use of potential sire/semen and infrastructural support for a secured market for goat milk and products is necessary to enhance dairy goat productivity and profitability. To cater the demand for goat milk in southern, eastern and hilly regions, suitable dairy breeds need to be developed along with increasing the genetic potential of existing breeds. Development of the goat dairy sector will require focused efforts to encourage entrepreneurship to set as many as possible commercial dairy farms by involving private sector through appropriate policy support and incentives.

The association of gene polymorphisms with milk production and mastitis resistance phenotypic traits in dairy cattle

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between gene polymorphisms (SNPs) and mastitis indicators and their relationship with milk production profitability in dairy herd. A functional analysis was also performed of five genes containing the studied SNPs and those located close by. DNA was isolated from the hair bulb of 320 dairy cows kept in three herds and SNP-microarray analysis was performed. The data on 299 cows was subjected to final statistical analysis using AI-REML method with one-trait repeatability test-day animal model and pedigree information using the DMU4 package. Five from 35 SNPs significantly associated with mastitis indicators or production traits and located within a gene or no more than 500,000 nucleotides from the gene were selected for the functional and economic analysis. A questionnaire was also developed to collect associated economic data of 219 cows from three herds, such as the value of milk production and direct costs incurred over three years; this allowed the gross margin, direct profitability index and direct costs incurred to produce one liter of milk to be determined, among others. None of the five studied SNPs were related to protein content. The rs110785912(T/A), found near CXCR4, and rs136813430(T/C), located in the TLR4 gene exon, were associated with lnSCC, while rs110455063(C/G), located near IGF-I, was associated with milk yield, fat and total solid contents. rs109421300(T/C), associated with fat/protein content ratio, as well as fat and total solid content, is located in the DGAT1 gene intron. rs41587003(A/C), located in the DLG2 gene intron, was associated with lactose content. The economic analysis revealed differences between the variants of the three tested SNPs. The T/C variant of the rs136813430(T/C) SNP was characterized by the highest gross margin, the highest direct profitability index and the lowest costs incurred to produce 1 liter of milk. The T/A variant of rs110785912(T/A) was related to low lnSC and was characterized by the highest direct profitability index. In turn, the C/C variant of the rs41587003(A/C) was related to the lowest level of lactose and the highest costs of milk production. It appears that rs136813430(T/C) may be the most promising of the tested SNPs for increasing the profitability of milk production. To our knowledge, it is the first effort to assess directly a correlation between the DNA polymorphism and economic output of a dairy enterprise.

A Study on Socio-Economic Profile of the Dairy Farmers in Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India

If we look at the state's population growth patterns, milk and milk products must be used to ensure both food security and nutritional security. Another possibility is that the populace expresses various concerns like food insecurity, perceived insecurity, unemployment, etc., and the government responds by taking quick and effective action to address these concerns. The current study examines various facets of dairy farming and the current state of milk production, consumption, and sales. The city of Aurangabad was deliberately chosen for the investigation. Two tehsils were randomly chosen from the zone, and two blocks were randomly chosen from each tehsil. Each block has two villages drawn at random. 10% of dairy producers were chosen proportionately and randomly from among all the households in each community. Dairying was the primary occupation of 13.86% of the respondents, whereas the major occupations of 9.32%, 7.50%, and 6.36% of the respondents were labour, business, and services, respectively. In contrast, the majority of respondents (67.50%) chose dairying as their secondary occupation, followed by agriculture (21.59%) with 20.00% of the respondents. The respondents stipulated that at the time of the inquiry, dairy farmers had to have at least one lactating dairy animal. the majority of respondents (43.18%) sold 4 to 7 liters of milk per day, followed by 34.55% and 22.27 % of respondents who sold less than 4 liters and more than 7 liters of milk, respectively. In the study region, agriculture was the main industry and dairying was the secondary one. As increased milk production was the farmers' primary goal, respondents had more crossbred cattle and buffalo than native livestock. Farmers often sell their milk in cooperative societies, while some also sell in independent shops.

The volume and monetary value of human milk produced by the world's breastfeeding mothers: Results from a new tool.

The Mothers' Milk Tool was developed to make more visible the economic value contributed to society by women's unpaid care work through breastfeeding infants and young children. This manuscript describes the development and display key features of the tool, and reports results for selected countries. For the development, we used five steps: (1) defining the tool by reviewing existing tools and scholarly literature to identify uses, approaches, design features, and required data characteristics for a suitable product; (2) specifying the best open-access data available for measurement and easy updating; (3) analyzing development options; (4) testing predictive models to fill identified breastfeeding data gaps; and (5) validating the tool with prospective users and against previous research. We developed an Excel-based tool that allows working offline, displaying preloaded data, imputing data, and inputting users' data. It calculates annual quantities of milk produced by breastfeeding women for children aged 0-35.9 months, and the quantities lost compared to a defined biologically feasible level. It supports calculations for an individual mother, for countries, and global level. Breastfeeding women globally produce around 35.6 billion liters of milk annually, but 38.2% is currently "lost" due to cultural barriers and structural impediments to breastfeeding. The tool can also attribute a monetary value to the production. In conclusion, the Mothers' Milk Tool shows what is at risk economically if women's important capacity for breastfeeding is not protected, promoted, and supported by effective national policies, programs, and investments. The tool is of value to food and health policymakers, public officials, advocates, researchers, national accountants and statisticians, and individual mother/baby dyads, and will assist consideration of breastfeeding in food balance sheets and economic production statistics. The tool supports the 2015 Call to Action by the Global Breastfeeding Collective by facilitating the tracking of progress on breastfeeding targets.

Effect of Type of Milk and Storage Period on the Quality of Hard Cheese*

The objective of this study was to determine the effect ofstorage period on the chemical composition of hard cheese (“Roomi”),manufactured from cow and goat milks and their blends (1:1). A starterculture 1% of Streptococcus thermophills and Lactobacillus bulugaricusand rennet tablet (one tablet /50 litre milk) were used. The curd wascheddared, salted, moulded, pressed overnight, coated with paraffin waxand stored at 12±2ºC for ripening. The proximate analysis of cheesesreflected changes in total solids, total protein and fat contents towardsripening. Cheese prepared from goat milk recorded higher level of solidsand fat than cow and blend cheeses. Cow cheese showed significantly(P≤0.05) higher level of protein than goat and blend cheeses. The pH ofthe three types of cheeses significantly (P≤0.05) decreased inconcomitance with increase in their titratable acidity of all cheeses. Thesoluble nitrogen content increased significantly (P≤0.05) during ripeningof all cheeses. The ratio of soluble nitrogen to total nitrogen alsoincreased significantly (P≤0.05) during ripening of all cheeses.