Analyses Of Management Factors Influencing Fat And Solids-Not-Fat Content Of Cow’s Milk In Namakkal District
Loading...
Date
2008
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
TANUVAS, Chennai
Abstract
Analyses of management factors influencing fat and solids-not-fat content of cow’s
milk in Namakkal district were carried out to study the feasibility of improving the milk fat
and SNF content. A survey among the dairy farmers revealed that average number of cows
available per farmer was 3.01. Maximum number of farmers reared Jersey crossbreds either
singly (71.33 per cent) or combined with Holstein Friesian crossbred cows (18 per cent).
Majority of the farmers followed individual concentrate feeding (99.33 per cent) and
fed the concentrate before milking (86.67 per cent) whereas, green (94.67 per cent) and dry
fodder (99.33 per cent) were fed after milking. Zero grazing was followed by 28 per cent of
farmers in Sendamangalam block followed by 16 per cent in Namakkal block and none from
Mohanur block. Average grazing duration per day ranged from 3.8 to 5.2 hours in the
selected blocks. Irrespective of the blocks 59.33 per cent of farmers soaked the concentrate
feed in water and fed to the animals. Maximum number of farmers had green fodder
availability only during rainy or post-monsoon season. Majority of the farmers fed sorghum
fodder alone (37 per cent) or in combination with field grass (30 per cent) or Co-3 grass (18
per cent).
The overall mean dry matter intake (DMI) received through concentrate, green and
dry fodder were 3.04 kg, 2.37 kg and 3.29 kg for milch cow. Farmers had fair knowledge on
milk fat and SNF and their awareness to improve fat and SNF was poor. Only 6.67 per cent
farmers attempted to improve the milk composition with either mineral mixture or calcite.
The milk fat and SNF trend analyses showed that the mean milk fat and SNF per cent
had highly significant difference between blocks, months and seasons. The overall mean
morning and evening milk fat and SNF per cent were 4.342 ± 0.003 and 4.436 ± 0.003; 8.170
± 0.001 and 8.207 ± 0.001, respectively. Maximum fat per cent was recorded during October
(4.518 ± 0.009) and November (4.541 ± 0.009) months and the lower values were recorded
during March (4.330 ± 0.007) and April (4.332 ± 0.009). The highest SNF per cent was
registered during August (8.244 ± 0.003) and September (8.240 ± 0.003) and the lowest
values observed during March (8.181 ± 0.002), April (8.176 ± 0.003) and May (8.182 ±
0.003).
North-east monsoon recorded the highest fat per cent (4.517 ± 0.005) and both southwest
(8.229 ± 0.002) and north-east monsoon (8.228 ± 0.002) recorded maximum SNF per
cent. The lowest milk fat per cent (4.343 ± 0.005) and SNF per cent (8.180 ± 0.002) were
recorded during summer.
The suggestive measures trial revealed that the mean dry matter intake did not differ
significantly between the treatment groups as well as between the treatment periods. During
the treatment period the milk yield was significantly higher (8.46 ± 0.08 litres) in spray
cooled cows (T1) followed by sodium bicarbonate (8.24 ± 0.05 litres) and least in yeast (7.65
litres) supplemented cows (T3).
Both milk fat and SNF per cent in the spray cooled cows (4.23 ± 0.05 and 8.23
±0.02) and sodium bicarbonate supplemented cows showed significantly higher values during
the treatment period. Among the treatment groups, the spray cooled cows had the highest
positive response in milk yield both in the morning (5.03 ± 0.05 litres) and evening (3.42 ±
0.04 litres) followed by sodium bicarbonate (4.96 ± 0.03 and 3.28 ± 0.03 litres) supplemented
cows. The yeast supplemented cows had the least positive response (4.58 ± 0.07 and 3.07 ±
0.04 litres).
The spray cooled cows recorded the maximum fat per cent both in the morning (4.16
± 0.05) and evening (4.30 ± 0.06) during the treatment period. The mean SNF per cent was
also higher in the spray cooled cows (8.23 ± 0.02) followed by mineral mixture (8.22 ± 0.02)
and yeast (8.21 ± 0.01) supplemented cows.
Description
Keywords
Veterinary Science, Livestock Production and Management