Effect of cattle management practices on raw milk quality on farms operating in a two-stage dairy chain

In many developing countries, milk production varies greatly according to farm size, cattle breed, and milking practices. However, production systems often are dominated by smallholder farms. Therefore, relatively small volumes of milk are delivered daily from numerous farms to intermediate cooperat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Tropical animal health and production Vol. 41; no. 2; pp. 259 - 272
Main Authors:	Sraïri, M. T, Benhouda, H, Kuper, M, Le Gal, P. Y
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 01-02-2009 Springer Netherlands Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Agricultural practices Animal Husbandry - methods Animals Biomedical and Life Sciences Cattle Cell Count - veterinary Chemical quality Colony Count, Microbial - veterinary Consumer Product Safety Dairying - methods Developing countries Dietary Fats - analysis Feed concentrates Female Humans Hygiene Hygienic quality Incentives LDCs Life Sciences Management practices Mastitis, Bovine - epidemiology Milk - chemistry Milk - cytology Milk - microbiology Milk - standards Milk production Milk Proteins - analysis Milking practices Morocco Original Paper Small farms Smallholders' dairy systems Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science Zoology Morocco Chemical quality Incentives Milking practices Morocco Smallholders’ dairy systems Hygienic quality Management practices
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Summary:	In many developing countries, milk production varies greatly according to farm size, cattle breed, and milking practices. However, production systems often are dominated by smallholder farms. Therefore, relatively small volumes of milk are delivered daily from numerous farms to intermediate cooperatives which supply industrial units. This paper argues that in such two-stage dairy chains, milk quality could be improved by focusing on farming practices rather than on the testing of individual deliveries. Indeed, it is difficult to analyze their quality due to technical, economic, and logistic limitations. The objective of this study is to link on-farm practices with milk chemical quality parameters (fat and protein) and hygienic quality criteria (Aerobic Plate Count, APC and Coliforms). Cattle management practices were monitored monthly over one year on 23 farms located on an irrigation scheme in Morocco. 276 milk samples were analyzed. The monthly variability of milk quality parameters was then characterized. Results show that average cow milk chemical parameters vary within a normal range. They remain primarily linked to the genetic type of cows, the lactation stage, and the conversion of feed concentrates' net energy into milk. Overall milk hygienic quality was poor (APC and Coliforms counts were 100 fold international norms), due essentially to a lack of hygiene and inadequate milking conditions (hands, udder, and teat washing, type of bucket used, dirtiness of cows...). It is suggested that a close monitoring of herd management practices may allow the indirect control of milk quality parameters, thereby avoiding costly analyses of numerous smallholder milk deliveries.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11250-008-9183-9 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0049-4747 1573-7438
DOI:	10.1007/s11250-008-9183-9