We found out that the quality of milk is predictable

ByBenjamin Horn

Milk thickens in winterSo, although the quality of food depends greatly on the season and the weather, the research at the University of New Hampshire reveals that we can forecast the quality of milk from data on breastfeeding and weather newly.

UNH News: UNH Research: Lactation, Weather Found to Predict Milk Quality in Dairy Cows
http://www.unh.edu/news/releases/2016/02/lw15milk.cfm


Colostrum that is said to go out for a few days after parturition is a nutritious milk that mothers receive from newborn calves. Research on the University of New Hampshire and farm experiments found that the quality of such colostrum can be predicted from breast feeding performance of the cow and the weather. According to this study, the more cows we have fed lactating the more, the higher the quality of colostrum seems to be.

Colostrum is a concentrated nutrient source and plays a particularly large role among antibodies contained in fat, protein, and bloodImmunoglobulin(Ig) ", IgG, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and so on. This is an important measure to measure whether calves grow healthy without support. In previous studies, if the quality of colostrum has not reached a level sufficient for calves, it becomes a factor hampering the growth rate of the calf, the risk of disease and death increases, and the production of milk decreases than others , It was clear that it was.

However, from the results of this research it will be possible to predict the quality of colostrum in the future so that dairy farmers can predict which calves are less nutritious before "born" to some extent, It may be possible to efficient breeding.

ByGlobal Panorama

As of 2016, dairy farmers measure antibody levels in milk "Colostrometer"We measure the quality of colostrum using a refractometer. Although it is possible to estimate the IgG concentration effectively by the existing method, many dairy farmers are not able to take the time for these tools or the test can not be taken.United States Department of Agriculture, It seems that only 5.7% of the total dairy farms in the US use colostrometer to measure colostrum.

In addition, we have found that the most nutritious colostrum in the study is produced in the winter. The researcher said about this, "When the temperature is high, the blood vessels of the cow will swell, IgG will be supplied to the colostrum through more vessels, whereas in the cold winter the blood vessels contract and the quality of colostrum It will fall. " One of the researchers who participated in the study commented, "From the research results it is obvious that the environmental temperature and the length of the day will affect the quality of colostrum."

ByPeter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors

There are about 130 dairy farms in New Hampshire and 115 milking animals are raised on average per farm.Granite State Dairy PromotionAccording to the estimate, New Hampshire dairy farmers have an impact on the regional economy of more than 141 million dollars (about 160 billion yen), more than 3700 labor income and labor incomes of more than 19 million dollars (about 2.2 billion yen) It is said that it is producing. Such a dairy farm in New Hampshire is cooperating with the research, and this research result is derived from the huge number of data.

The details of the research are in academic journalsJournal of Dairy ScienceIt is scheduled to be announced at.