Buffalo milk : a case study of some parameters related to milk production = Il latte di bufala : studio di alcuni parametri produttivi

Introduction - Over the last few years increasing attention has been paid to buffalo breeding due to the increase in the demand for buffalo mozzarella cheese. In Italy, buffaloes are reared almost exclusively for milk production and selection has led to an officially recognized breed known as Mediterranean Italian Buffalo. Aim - To contribute to knowledge of buffalo milk, the effects of parity, stage of lactation, season and year of production were investigated. Materials and methods - Daily milk yield (kg), fat (%), protein (%) and somatic cell count (CCS * 1000/ml) of 402 Italian Mediterranean buffaloes from one individual farm were evaluated from 2007 to 2011. The following factors of variability were taken into account: order of birth, stage of lactation, year and season of production. Results and discussion - The daily milk yield for the primiparous cow buffalos was 8.47 kg a head lower (P≤0.01) (-12%) than the multiparous subjects, whereas milk from individuals that had had more than eight lactations had 255.90 CCS, higher values (P≤0.01) compared to the younger subjects (+16.23%). Older animals showed also a tendency to a lower production. Milk production increased until 60 days of lactation and decreased (P≤0.01) afterwards; the peak of lactation was between the 16th and the 60th day (11.35 kg of milk a head). On the other hand, fat increased (P≤0.01) steadily from the 61st day reaching the maximum value (8.64%) at the end of lactation, while proteins showed higher values (P≤0.01) at the beginning and the end of lactation (4.84 and 4.93 respectively). The CCS was higher (P≤0.01) during the peak and the last period of lactation (241.43 and 232.39 respectively). The annual milk yield was homogeneous, with the exception of a decrease (P≤0.01) in spring (-5.4%) due to the seasonal deliveries. During 2007-2011 both milk yield and CCS increased. Conclusions - All the variables considered had effects on buffalo milk quality and yield. An increase in milk yield was linked to lower percentages of fat and proteins. In addition, the lower milk yield and the higher CCS in the older buffalos should be considered when deciding whether to keep animals in production that have had more than eight lactations.