Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T20:12:28.665Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of full-time v. part-time grazing on seasonal changes in milk coagulation properties and fatty acid composition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2021

Franziska S. Akert
Affiliation:
ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Universitaetstrasse 2, 8092Zurich, Switzerland HAFL Zollikofen, University of Applied Sciences Bern BFH, Länggasse 85, 3052Zollikofen, Switzerland
Michael Kreuzer
Affiliation:
ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Universitaetstrasse 2, 8092Zurich, Switzerland
Carmen Kunz
Affiliation:
ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Universitaetstrasse 2, 8092Zurich, Switzerland
Beat Reidy
Affiliation:
HAFL Zollikofen, University of Applied Sciences Bern BFH, Länggasse 85, 3052Zollikofen, Switzerland
Joel Berard*
Affiliation:
Agroscope, Animal Production Systems, Rte de la Tioleyre 4, 1725Posieux, Switzerland
*
Author for correspondence: Joel Berard, Email: [email protected]

Abstract

For this research communication our objective was to investigate to what extent milk coagulation properties and milk fatty acid (FA) composition were affected by different feeding systems, season and their interaction. Eighteen cows in total were subjected to one of three different feeding system treatments: full-time grazing or part-time grazing combined with indoor feeding of fresh grass with low or high concentrate supplementation. Milk was sampled in spring, summer and autumn. Milk coagulation time was 15.0, 19.0 and 17.7 min, coagulation dynamics 1.67, 3.41 and 1.79 min, and curd firmness 52.7, 32.4 and 47.0 mm in spring, summer and autumn, respectively. Thus, milk coagulation properties of the milk were lower during summer. There were strong seasonal effects on milk FA proportions, but there were not always changes with progressing season, or changes were different with respect to the impact of the feeding systems (system × season interaction). The milk fat was favourably rich in oleic acid, conjugated linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid and had a low n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio in all systems. Factors like seasonal variations in grass composition and the energy balance of the cows were considered relevant for the milk FA composition. Overall, seasonal variations in milk quality were less pronounced with part-time grazing with fresh grass indoors as compared to full-time grazing without concentrate.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Hannah Dairy Research Foundation

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akert, FS, Kreuzer, M, Hofstetter, P, Berard, J and Reidy, B (2020) Nitrogen use efficiency, reticulo-ruminal pH, and behaviour of lactating cows grazing either in a full-time system or in a part-time system with indoor feeding of fresh herbage and concentrate. The Journal of Agricultural Science. 158, 527538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auldist, MJ, Walsh, BJ and Thomson, MA (1998) Seasonal and lactational influences on bovine milk composition in New Zealand. Journal of Dairy Research 65, 401411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bär, C, Sutter, M, Kopp, C, Neuhaus, P, Portmann, R, Egger, L, Reidy, B and Bisig, W (2020) Impact of herbage proportion, animal breed, lactation stage and season of the fatty acid and protein composition of milk. International Dairy Journal 109, 104785.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernabucci, U, Basiricò, L, Morera, P, Dipasquale, D, Piccioli Cappelli, F and Calamari, L (2015) Effect of summer season on milk protein fractions in Holstein cows. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 18151827.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berry, NR, Büeler, T, Jewell, PL, Sutter, F and Kreuzer, M (2001) The effect of supplementary feeding on composition and renneting properties of milk from cows rotationally grazed at high altitude. Milchwissenschaft 56, 123126.Google Scholar
Collomb, M, Bütikofer, U, Sieber, R, Jeangros, B and Bosset, JO (2002) Correlation between fatty acids in cows’ milk fat produced in the lowlands, mountains and highlands of Switzerland and botanical composition of the fodder. International Dairy Journal 12, 661666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Couvreur, S, Hurtaud, C, Lopez, C, Delaby, L and Peyraud, JL (2006) The linear relationship between the proportion of fresh grass in the cow diet, milk fatty acid composition and butter properties. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 19591969.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dhiman, TR, Anand, GR, Satter, LD and Pariza, MW (1999) Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk from cows fed different diets. Journal of Dairy Science 82, 21462156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elgersma, A (2015) Grazing increases the unsaturated fatty acid concentration of milk from grass-fed cows. A review of the contributing factors, challenges and future perspectives. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology 117, 13451369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glasser, F, Ferlay, A, Doreau, M, Schmidely, P, Sauvant, D and Chilliard, Y (2008) Long-chain fatty acid metabolism in dairy cows: a meta-analysis of milk fatty acid yield in relation to duodenal flows and de novo synthesis. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 27712785.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gross, J, van Dorland, HA, Bruckmaier, RM and Schwarz, FJ (2011) Milk fatty acid profile related to energy balance in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Research 78, 479488.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leiber, F, Kreuzer, M, Nigg, D, Wettstein, H-R and Scheeder, MRL (2005 a) A study on the causes for the elevated n-3 fatty acids in cows’ milk of alpine origin. Lipids 40, 191202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leiber, F, Nigg, D, Kunz, C, Scheeder, MRL, Wettstein, H-R and Kreuzer, M (2005 b) Protein composition, plasmin activity and cheesemaking properties of cows’ milk produced at two altitudes from hay of lowland and high-alpine origins. Journal of Dairy Research 72, 6574.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayer, HK, Ortner, M, Tschager, E and Ginzinger, W (1997) Composite milk protein phenotypes in relation to composition and cheesemaking properties of milk. International Dairy Journal 7, 305310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Callaghan, TF, Hennessy, D, McAuliffe, S, Kilcawley, KN, O'Donovan, M, Dillon, P, Ross, RP and Stanton, C (2016) Effect of pasture vs. Indoor feeding systems on raw milk composition and quality over an entire lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 99, 94249440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rugoho, I, Liu, Y and Dewhurst, RJ (2014) Analysis of major fatty acids in milk produced from high-quality grazed pasture. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 57, 165179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Dorland, HA, Kreuzer, M, Leuenberger, H and Wettstein, HR (2008) Comparative potential of white and red clover to modify the milk fatty acid profile of cows fed ryegrass-based diets from zero-grazing and silage systems. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 88, 7785.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Akert et al. supplementary material

Akert et al. supplementary material

Download Akert et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 264.4 KB