Avaliação da produção e qualidade do leite de vacas holandesas criadas na região agreste de Pernambuco, Brasil

Abstract

The importance of the generation of dairy products to the Brazilian population with quality has been widely discussed by all links in the production chain, since Brazil has heterogeneity in the creation of dairy herds in its different regions. Most dairy production in Brazil comes from small and medium-sized farms with characteristics of family farming that depend exclusively on the activity. Several rational management, feeding, sanitation, and especially breeding programs for dairy breeds contributed to increase herd production and productivity in all regions of Brazil, although in the North and Northeast regions, the observed gains are less significant. The milk and dairy production chain has a significant participation in the rural economy of Pernambuco, and more than 60 municipalities in the Agreste region of Pernambuco have been contributing to the State as the second largest producer in the Northeast, deserving the attention of research institutions.In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the milk production and quality of commercial Dutch cows raised in the Agreste region of Pernambuco, Brazil, aiming to identify environmental effects that cause variations in the quantity and quality of milk produced by the animals as well as to identify characteristics that may be included in the process of selection of the Dutch dairy cattle, in the conditions of Agreste Pernambuco. Thus, since 2007, 4,586 dairy controls were obtained from Dutch cows belonging to the Milk Control Program of the Pernambuco Breeders Association and are part of the database of the Northeastern Dairy Herd Management Program (PROGENE) of UFRPE, Recife PE. After statistical analysis, different somatic cell scores were obtained, which influenced the chemical composition and milk quality, as well as other environmental factors such as calving year, calving season and breeding site influencing these variables. The results obtained in this study will contribute to the elaboration of measures aimed at the genetic improvement of the dairy herd, considering the production and milk quality of the Agreste of Pernambuco.