-The objective of this study was to observe the effect of supplementation with vegetable oils (VO) on the fatty acid profiles and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content of milk fat. Twelve dairy cows in mid lactation fed on pasture were blocked by body weight, milk production and days in lactation and randomly allocated from blocks to 3 treatments repeated in a Latin square design with periods of 28 day duration. The treatments were as follows: cows on pasture supplemented with 5 kg concentrate per head per day (C), supplemented with 4.5 kg concentrate + 0.5 kg sunflower oil per head per day (SFO) and supplemented with 4.5 kg concentrate + 0.5 kg soybean oil per head per day (SBO). The animals were grazed as a group and were stocked at 2.5 heads per hectare. The treatments had no effect on milk yield or protein yield and content, but decreased milk fat yield and content (P < 0.05). Milk fat from the cows supplemented with VO had a lower concentration of short and medium chain fatty acids (P < 0.05) and a higher concentration of long chain fatty acids (P < 0.05). The addition of VO to the diet also resulted in a reduction in saturated and an increase in unsaturated fatty acids of milk fat (P < 0.05). The hypercholesterolemic fatty acids in milk fat (i.e. C12:0, C14:0 and C16:0) decreased while the concentration of oleic and linoleic acids increased with VO (P < 0.05). There was no effect on linolenic acid. Finally, the inclusion of VO in the diet increased (P < 0.05) the contents in milk fat of the various cis/trans isomers of oleic acid (including trans-vacenic, TVA) and of CLA which increased by 61%. dairy cow / conjugated linoleic acid / fatty acids / pasture / vegetable oils Résumé -Effet de la supplémentation du régime avec de l'huile de tournesol ou de soja sur la composition en acides gras du lait chez la vache laitière au pâturage. L'objectif de cette étude était d'observer l'effet de la supplémentation du régime en huiles végétales sur le profil des acides gras et la teneur en acide linoléique conjugué (CLA) dans les matières grasses du lait. Douze vaches laitières, en milieu de lactation et au pâturage, ont été mises en lot selon le poids vif, la production * Corresponding author: orego@angra.uac.pt laitière et le stade de lactation. Elles ont été réparties au hasard en lots, et trois traitements ont été testés selon un dispositif en carré latin 3 × 3 sur des périodes de 28 jours. Les traitements ont été les suivants : vaches au pâturage supplémentées avec 5 kg de concentré par bovin par jour (C), supplémentées avec 4,5 kg de concentré + 0,5 kg d'huile de tournesol (SFO) et supplémentées avec 4,5 kg de concentré + 0,5 kg d'huile de soja (SBO). Les animaux ont été conduits en groupe avec un chargement de 2,5 bovins à l'hectare. La supplémentation n'a eu aucun effet sur la production de lait, de protéines et le taux protéique du lait. En revanche, elle a significativement diminué la production de matières grasses et le taux butyreux du lait (P < 0,05). L'addition d'huiles végétales a eu pour cons...

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BACKGROUND: Season of the year associated with dietary changes has been recognized as a factor implicated in milk fat fatty acid (FA) profile in dairy cows. However, a lack of information exists concerning cows grazing all year round as is practiced in the Azores, where cows are supplemented in winter with maize silage plus concentrates, while in spring the higher grass allowance only requires supplementation with concentrate. The main objective of this study was to detect any seasonal variation of FA profile of milk fat from milk sampled in bulk tanks of 12 Azorean dairy herds.

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-Twelve dairy cows 130 days in milk were sorted by milk production and body weight and assigned to three feeding regimens in a 3 × 3 Latin-square design, in order to study the effects of diet on milk fatty acid (FA) composition. The cows were fed a total mixed ration (TMR) consisting of corn silage (60%) and concentrate (40%) on dry matter basis, or grazed pasture, without (P) or with 5 kg·d -1 concentrate as a supplement (SP). Supplemented grazing dairy cows produced significantly more milk than the cows on the TMR and P diets (P < 0.05). The supplementation of grazing dairy cows with a low fat concentrate did not significantly affect the milk fat FA profile. The pasture diet, with a supplement or not, decreased the concentration of saturated FA (P < 0.05) and increased the concentration of unsaturated FA (P < 0.05), of milk fat as compared to the TMR diet. The reduction in medium-chain FA was offset in large part by increases in long-chain FA (mainly oleic acid). The concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) (P < 0.05) and trans-vaccenic acid were higher (P < 0.05) in the milk fat from the grazing cows. The results showed substantial variation among individual cows within treatments on milk fat content of CLA. Significant correlations were found for individual cow's milk fat CLA content across diets. Overall, this study indicates that the concentration of CLA in milk fat is enhanced by the dietary intake of pasture and that moderate low fat concentrate supplementation of grazing dairy cows increases performance without compromising the FA profile of milk fat. conjugated linoleic acid / dairy cow / fatty acid / milk fat / pasture / total mixed ration Résumé -Effet du régime alimentaire sur la composition en acides gras de la matière grasse du lait chez la vache. Douze vaches laitières, en lactation depuis 130 jours, ont été réparties en trois lots sur la base de la production laitière et du poids vif. Elles ont reçu trois régimes alimentaires, selon un carré latin 3 × 3, afin d'étudier leurs effets sur la composition en acides gras (AG) du lait. Les trois régimes étaient une ration complète (TMR) composée d'ensilage de maïs et de concentré (respectivement 60 % et 40 % sur la base de la matière sèche), de l'herbe pâturée sans complémentation (P), ou de l'herbe pâturée complémentée avec 5 kg par jour de concentré (SP). Les vaches laitières complémentées au pâturage (SP) ont produit significativement plus de lait que celles qui ne disposaient que du pâturage ou qui recevaient la ration complète. Le pâturage, complémenté ou non, a diminué la concentration de la somme des AG saturés et a augmenté celle des AG insaturés (P < 0,05) dans les lipides du lait. La réduction de la concentration des AG à chaîne moyenne a principalement été compensée par une augmentation de celle des AG à chaîne longue (acide oléique surtout). La concentration de l'acide linoléique conjugué (CLA) dans les lipides du lait, et celle de l'acide trans-vaccénique ont été plus élevées (P < 0,05) quand les vaches étaient au pâturage...

Fiber availability is not always ensured in all year long grazing systems. In this context, low quality fiber feeds may be of relevance for bovine feeding. We propose, thus, to study the effect of adding 5% of urea (on a dry matter basis) on the chemical composition and nutritional value of Hedychium gardnerianum, Sheppard ex Ker-Gawl (ginger lily or Kahili ginger), a traditional fiber source used by Azorean farmers. Treatments were: green ginger lily as a control, addition of 5% urea on a DM basis to green ginger lily, with treatments lasting 0, 5, 10, 15 and 30 days and addition of 5% urea on a DM basis to previously dried ginger lily, at day 0. The treatment afforded a significant (P<0.05) increase in crude protein, while maintaining the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents, and a variation in the acid detergent lignin (ADL) content. No significant improvement in in vitro dry matter digestibility. The treatment with urea of the green forage does not have the same effect as in other low quality fiber feeds, namely straw, since ginger lily has much higher a Crude Protein value than those other fibrous feeds.

Using invasive plants as non-conventional forage in livestock production can contribute to meeting climate change targets and provide a competitive advantage in a global market. This study evaluated the nutritional potential of several non-conventional plants: Pennisetum setaceum, Ricinus communis, Arundo donax, Acacia melanoxylon, Opuntia ficus-indica, Agave americana, Pittosporum undulatum, and Hedychium gardnerianum. Chemical composition, in vitro digestibility, gas production, and energy estimates were determined. Opuntia showed the lowest DM value (6.65%), while the highest was found for Acacia (39.43%). Ricinus recorded the highest levels of CP (23.56% DM), RFV (273.86), and in vitro gas production at 24 h (43.49 mL/200 mg DM). The highest NDF (80.39% DM), HEM (39.03% DM), and CEL (36.81% DM) values were observed for Pennisetum. Agave produced the highest amount of gas from the start to the end of incubation (22.68 to 48.99 mL/200 mg DM), while Acacia produced the least (3.83 to 14.78 mL/200 mg DM). The highest ME (8.72 MJ/kg DM) and NEL (5.06 MJ/kg DM) estimates were obtained for Agave. Correlations between the chemical compositions and feed quality indices of the plants were observed, showing strong negative correlations between ADF and DMD, OMD, and DMI (r > 0.86, p < 0.01). We can conclude that all these non-conventional plants have potential as an alternative feed for ruminants when there are fodder shortages.

Reversing climate change requires broad, cohesive, and strategic plans for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from animal farming. The implementation and evaluation of such plans demand accurate and accessible methods for monitoring on-field CH4 concentration in eructating breath. Therefore, this paper describes a longitudinal study over six months, aiming to test a protocol using a laser methane detector (LMD) to monitor CH4 emissions in semi-extensive dairy farm systems. Over 10 time points, CH4 measurements were performed in dry (late gestation) and lactating cows at an Azorean dairy farm. Methane traits including CH4 concentration related to eructation (E_CH4) and respiration (R_CH4), and eructation events, were automatically computed from CH4 measured values using algorithms created for peak detection and analysis. Daily CH4 emission was estimated from each profile’s mean CH4 concentration (MEAN_CH4). Data were analyzed using a linear mixed model, including breed, lactation stage, and parity as fixed effects, and cow (subject) and time point as random effects. The results showed that Holsteins had higher E_CH4 than Jersey cows (p < 0.001). Although a breed-related trend was found in daily CH4 emission (p = 0.060), it was not significant when normalized to daily milk yield (p > 0.05). Methane emissions were lower in dry than in lactation cows (p < 0.05) and increased with the advancement of the lactation, even when normalizing it to daily milk yield (p < 0.05). Primiparous cows had lower daily CH4 emissions related to R_ CH4 compared to multiparous (p < 0.001). This allowed the identification of periods of higher CH4 emissions within the milk production cycle of dairy cows, and thus, the opportunity to tailor mitigation strategies accordingly.