System comparison milk production Hohenrain: milk quality and seasonal milk production

In the years 2008 to 2010, in the project «System comparison milk production Hohenrain», two different milk production systems were compared: a pasture based system versus an indoor feeding system with a mix ration of grass and maize silage. In the present paper the results of milk quality and seasonal milk production were investigated. The fat and protein contents varied during the year much more in the milk of the pasture based herd than in the milk of the indoor herd. In milk processing, this can cause serious problems. The milk of the indoor herd showed higher total somatic cell counts than the milk of the pasture based herd. The investigations of the butyric acid bacteria spores showed that, for the production of hard cheese, a strict separation of the animals fed with or without silage is important. The milk production system and the feeding influenced the fatty acid composition of the milk. The milk of grazing cows had less saturated and more unsaturated fatty acids than the milk of cows fed with conserved forage. Especially higher contents of CLA and omega-3 fatty acids were analysed in the milk of grazing cows. In the pasture based system, the milk production varied strongly during the year. The highest quantities were delivered in April and May. In the indoor feeding system, the milk production was more balanced during the whole year