Alexandre Mossate Gabbi

Qualidade do leite e perfil das propriedades leiteiras no sul de Santa Catarina: abordagem multivariada

O objetivo do presente estudo foi caracterizar as propriedades leiteiras da regiao do Vale do Braco do Norte, sul de Santa Catarina, Brasil, quanto a qualidade do leite e ao perfil em infraestrutura, manejo e alimentacao dos animais. Foram coletadas informacoes de 50 propriedades leiteiras, obtidas por meio da aplicacao de um questionario estruturado, abrangendo questoes socioeconomicas dos produtores, manejo do rebanho, estrutura da propriedade, caracterizacao dos animais, alimentacao das vacas alem de manejo e higiene da ordenha. As amostras de leite foram submetidas a analises de composicao, contagem bacteriana total, contagem de celulas somaticas e estabilidade do leite ao teste do alcool. Os dados foram analisados pela analise fatorial, discriminante, canonica, e de agrupamento. As propriedades tem como principal caracteristica a agricultura familiar, com area media de 30 hectares; destes, 15,1 sao destinados a pecuaria leiteira, com media de 23,1 vacas ordenhadas. Na analise fatorial, o primeiro fator representa as relacoes entre as praticas de higiene na ordenha e de controle/prevencao de mastite, o segundo fator compreende a infraestrutura da fazenda com o nivel de producao e o terceiro fator demonstra a relacao entre a suplementacao concentrada, a producao e a estabilidade do leite ao teste do alcool. A analise de agrupamento formou tres grupos, sendo dois compostos por produtores com maior nivel tecnologico e outro constituido por pequenos produtores com menor infraestrutura e nivel de tecnologia. As propriedades que apresentam infraestrutura mais adequada para a producao, maior adocao das praticas recomendadas de manejo de ordenha e criterios de alimentacao mais adequados produzem leite com melhor qualidade.

Oregano Extract Added into the Diet of Dairy Heifers Changes Feeding Behavior and Concentrate Intake.

This experiment aimed to describe the effects of Oregano extract (OE) inclusion into the concentrate fed to dairy heifers on physiological parameters, feeding behavior, intake, and performance. Thirty-two Holstein heifers were randomly distributed into four treatments: C = control, without addition of OE; OE2.5 = 2.5 g; OE5.0 = 5.0 g and OE7.5 = 7.5 g of Oregano extract per heifer/day. Feeding behavior and concentrate intake were assessed individually every day and total dry matter intake (DMI) was determined on the last week of the trial. Compared to control group, OE7.5 reduced by 32% the latency time to approach the feed bunk but increased by 6% the time spent eating the concentrate. Each inclusion of 2.5 grams of OE into the concentrate increased the occurrence of postingestive licking the feed bunk with abundant saliva production 1.2 times (P < 0.01) and tended to increase the occurrence of sneeze events 1.2 times (P < 0.10). No statistical difference was detected between treatments for total DMI, but concentrate DMI was 9% lower for OE7.5 when compared to control and OE2.5. The inclusion of 7.5 grams/day of OE causes small but negative effects in feeding behavior and concentrate intake, without change on total dry matter intake.

Temporal Relationship Between Milk Production and Meteorological Variables in Southern Brazil

Much of the Brazilian territory is located in tropical regions, where year-long high temperatures are an obstacle to the best expression of milk potential of high performance dairy cows from Continental breeds. In southern Brazil, some areas have subtropical characteristics, with mild summers and cold winters where average temperatures are within the thermal comfort range for dairy cattle breeds of European origin. To assess the relationship between meteorological variables and milk production from Continental breeds in southern Brazil was the goal of this study.