Effect of Farm Categories on Quality and Quantity of Milk Produced by Different Crosses of Holstein-Friesian Cows
Background: Farmers are not satisfied by the production performance of different crossbred Holstein-Friesian (HF) cows in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Therefore, the study was taken to find out the effect of farm categories on milk yield and milk constituents of different HF crossbred at Chattogram, Bangladesh. Methods: This study was conducted from July 2014 to June 2015 in Chattogram Metropolitan Area (CMA), Potia, Mirsharai and Fatikchari upazilla (sub-district) of Chittagong, Bangladesh. For this study fourteen (14) commercial dairy farms in three different categories as A (50 greater than milking cows), B (31 greater than 50 milking cows) ,C (11 greater than 30 milking cows) with 98 cows for each of the 3 crosses named as 50%HF×50% Local (L), 75%HF×25%L and 50%HF×50% Sahiwal (SH) at their third parity were selected. Farms under the same category were selected based on similarities in feeding and other management practices. Quality of raw milk was obtained by analyzing the milk samples collected from an individual animal of the selected farm at an interval of seven days by using a milk scanner (Lactostar, Model no. 3510, Funke Gerber, Germany) in the Laboratory of Dairy Science of Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU). Result: A significant difference (P less than 0.05) in milk yield and constituents except lactose and minerals was observed among the same and different crossbreds of HF under different farm categories. The highest daily average milk yield and quality were observed in different crosses of farms belong category A, but their performances decreased gradually with poor management systems in farms belong to categories B and C. So, farm category has a significant effect on milk quality and quantity in different crosses of Holstein. This study would help the commercial dairy farmers in choosing suitable crosses of Holstein-Friesian for farms belong to different categories.