Influence of Animal Nutrition on Milk Quality With Special Reference to the Fatty Acid Composition of Milk Fat

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the composition of fatty acids (FA) present in raw milk. The variable factor that was used was the type of food that was fed to the cows from which milk was collected and time of year. Special attention was paid to the FA factor important in human nutrition. The animals from which the raw material was collected were kept in a traditional system. i.e. in an alcove-pasture system (farm A) and in an alcove system with the use of food delivered by a mixer feeder wagon (farm B). The study material consisted of collected milk, which was tested in 12 replications at each farm during the winter as summer season in 2019. The FA content showed variability for cows grazed on a pasture farm in the summer compared to little changes in the FA obtained from cows fed on the TMR feeding system. The FA content showed variability for cows grazed on a pasture farm in the summer compared to little changes in the FA obtained from cows fed on the TMR feeding system. In general, the study showed that the choice of feed and the season in which the animals are fed are important, as these factors affect milk fat (fatty acid) and, more specifically, have an impact on the overall quality of the milk.