Technological properties of milk from the cows of black-motley and alatau breeds in various seasons of lactation

Abstract

The productivity of a dairy herd and the quality of milk largely depend on the biological and managerial factors used at dairy farms. Milk producers are not only interested in getting more milk, but also in ensuring its high quality and basic indices of the composition, particularly fat and protein percentage, which determines the consumption of raw materials and output of the finished products, their quality, and nutritional value. It is well known that the breed, the age, the nutrition and the health status of lactating animals determine the milk yield and milk composition. However, various breeds of cattle have different productivities and the content of the main components. The study was aimed at obtaining the information about, and assessing the influence of the breed and season-related changes on the physicochemical characteristics of milk, and at predicting the effect of these changes on the composition and the quality of such milk products. For assessing the differences in milk from various breeds, and assessing the effect of the season on the quality, the physicochemical parameters, including the content of fatty acids, of the milk from black-motley and Alatau cows of Kazakhstan were studied. To assess the health status of lactating animals, the content of somatic cells in the milk was assessed. The results show that the season and the breed significantly influence the physicochemical characteristics of milk and the content of fatty acids in lipids.