Organic versus conventional dairy farming – studies from the Öjebyn Project

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. A study (the Öjebyn Project) was conducted to determine differences between organic and conventional dairy farming systems. Comparisons of feed intake, milk production, live weight (LW), feed efficiency and animal health were conducted, based on records from 145 dairy cows (238 parities). A lower daily metabolisable energy (ME) intake, lower milk yield and a higher protein content were recorded in the organic herd during the first ten weeks of lactation. No differences were recorded between the systems in either average total DM intake or efficiency of feed conversion, calculated as MJ of feed/kg of energy-corrected milk (ECM). There were a trend to lower LW change and better health in the organic herd. Most differences between the systems were recorded during the early lactation period

PhytoMilk: Effects of botanical composition and harvest system of legume/grass silage on fatty acid, α-tocopherol and β-carotene concentration in organic forage and milk

Red clover and high proportion of forage in dairy cow diet increases the concentration of bioactive substances in milk, e.g. unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. In the present experiment twenty-four Swedish Red dairy cows were fed three silages in a Latin Square design to study the effect of silage botanical composition and harvest time on milk fatty acid, α-tocopherol and β-carotene concentration. The silages were red clover/grass silage (mixture of first and second cut), red clover/grass silage (mixture of first, second and third cut) and birdsfoot trefoil/grass silage (mixture of first and second cut). Botanical composition and harvest system affected silage vitamin and fatty acid concentration with higher concentrations of α-linolenic acid, α-tocopherol and β-carotene in red clover/grass silage (mixture of three harvests). Milk linoleic and α-linolenic acid concentration was higher with the two red clover diets but α-tocopherol, β-carotene and retinol concentration was not affected

Fytoöstrogener i foder och mjölk – vad påverkar halterna?

Fytoöstrogener är ett samlingsnamn för östrogenliknande ämnen som finns i växter, t ex i baljväxter som klöver och lusern. Inom djurproduktionen beror intresset för fytoöstrogener på de effekter som de kan ha på t ex fertiliteten hos får. Det finns även en stor marknad för humana preparat, ofta baserade på rödklöver, som används som behandling under klimakteriet istället för syntetiska östrogentillskott. Fytoöstrogener delas in i olika grupper baserat på kemisk struktur. De största grupperna är isoflavoner, som finns i vallbaljväxter som rödklöver, och lignaner, som finns i både baljväxter och spannmål. Daidzein och formononetin är exempel på isoflavoner i vallväxter och de kan med hjälp av vommikrober metaboliseras till equol. Secoisolariciresinol och matairesinol är exempel på lignaner som på liknande sätt kan omvandlas till enterodiol och enterolakton i vommen

PhytoMilk: Effect of silage botanical composition and harvest system on organic milk composition

The effect of silage botanical composition and harvest system on organic milk composition was studied in a feeding trial. Twenty-four Swedish Red dairy cows in mid lactation were allocated randomly to three treatments in a 3×3 Latin square design with each period of three weeks. The treatments were birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.)/grass silage in two-cut system (B, 16 % birdsfoot trefoil), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.)/grass silage in two-cut system (R2, 42 % red clover) and red clover/grass silage in three-cut system (R3, 38 % red clover). Milk samples from the last week in each period were analyzed for fat and protein concentration. Milk yield was 28.7 ±1.0, 30.3 ±3.2 and 28.6 ±1.4 kg ECM day-1 (mean and SD) for treatment B, R2 and R3 respectively. Milk fat concentration was 5.00 ±0.38, 4.75 ±0.01 and 4.98 ±0.25 g 100 g-1 milk and milk protein concentration was 3.62 ±0.19, 3.54 ±0.08 and 3.57 ±0.09 g 100 g-1 milk for B, R2 and R3 respectively. Harvest system and botanical composition of silage does not seem to affect milk yield or composition

The Effect of N-Fertilization Rate or Inclusion of Red Clover to Timothy Leys on Fatty Acid Composition in Dairy Cow Milk

There is growing awareness among consumers of the link between diet and health. Further, the public often associates dairy products with coronary heart disease, since most of the fatty acids (FA) in milk are saturated. Therefore, it would be desirable to improve the FA profile of milk, which might be achieved by using appropriate feeding regimes. N-fertilization has been shown to influence both total fatty acid (TFA) content and the FA composition in a wide variety of species (Arvidsson 2009). The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of grass silages subjected to different N fertilisation regimes fed to dairy cows on the FA composition of their milk, and to compare the grass silages in this respect to red clover-dominated silage, under typical Swedish production conditions