Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
with forage : concentrate ratios of 50 : 50, 60 : 40, and
80 : 20 under intensive Indian conditions (Sundaresan,
1978). Under high-concentrate feeding conditions, goats
appear to be similar to cows in milk production effi ciency.
It was also evident that goats were more effi cient feed
converters when fed mainly coarse forage with low nutri-
ent content.
competitions, lactation milk production, and milk compo-
sition. Milk records are also computed and published by
the National Dairy Improvement Laboratory of the USDA
for genetic sire evaluations. Table 14.2 shows the astonish-
ing high records that have been achieved for U.S. dairy
goats under individual attention to genetic selection and
superior feeding and health management. This also indi-
cates the improvement potentials that exist in other dairy
goat breeds and countries (Tables 14.2 and 14.6).
MILK RECORDS
The offi cial milk-recording schemes of dairy goats are
basically the same as the traditional procedures for dairy
cows, consisting of monthly recordings by an offi cial
person of the quantity of milk produced during a 24-hour
period; fat and protein tests in a composite proportional
sample drawn at each milking; and calculation of lactation
(305 day) yield or of the yield during the operational year.
Fat and protein content of goat milk are determined with
the Milk-Tester instrument, or the Milk-O-Scan, or Infra-
Red Absorption Analyzer using the amido black method,
which is simpler but equally accurate as the Kjeldahl
method for protein or the Gerber method for fat. However,
specifi c calibrations are required for either cow or goat
milk. Because goat milk contains high levels of nonprotein
nitrogen, direct measurements of true protein are prefera-
ble to total nitrogen (Grappin and Jeunet, 1979).
Milk yield and composition recording in goats have
been limited and disadvantaged in many countries, because
the cost of milk recording for goats with traditional
methods is higher than for cows. This is attributable to the
fact that goat herds are often small and widely dispersed,
thus transportation costs are high, and the fi nancial burden
on the amount of milk produced is a limit, while recording
expenses are the same for goats or cows. In addition, goat
farmers receive little benefi t from milk recording unless
they have registered animals and are interested in selling
breeding stock. Goat milk composition is required for
payment from the milk processor, whose laboratory does
the testing.
Keeping records, offi cial or private, of milk production
and reproduction performance of dairy goats is an absolute
necessity for economic profi t and for the personal satisfac-
tion of achievements in the business of selling superior
breeding animals to improve other herds both nationally
and internationally. To aid in such efforts, purebred
registry organizations, such as the American Dairy Goat
Association (ADGA), the American Goat Society (AGS),
or others in different countries, have been organized to
collect offi cial and trustworthy records that meet estab-
lished standards under supervision. Records include
pedigrees, type classifi cations, championships in show
DAIRY HERD IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
For the purpose of facilitating record keeping of milk pro-
duction and milk composition, each U.S. state under the
guidance of the state Agricultural Extension Service has
organized voluntary associations of dairy cattle and dairy
goat farmers/breeders with the purpose of helping dairy
herd improvement associations (DHIA). Two types of
records are obtained: (1) offi cial records with the assis-
tance and supervision of a DHIA employee for unbiased
collection of data and milk samples, and (2) unoffi cial
records and milk samples collected by the farmer/breeder.
Milk production data for each participating dairy goat from
entire herds are transmitted to the National USDA com-
puter data base monthly with an offi cial or unoffi cial label
and published in regional trade magazines for public infor-
mation. Milk samples are also sent monthly for each par-
ticipating dairy goat and entire herd to the regional
laboratories for analyses of fat and protein contents. The
results are also forwarded to the National USDA computer
database monthly and are published together with the milk
records in regional dairy trade magazines for public inspec-
tion. Rules for DHIA participation and certifi cation of
records are set forth by ADGA or AGS in the U.S. (ADGA,
2008). Similar procedures are followed in most European
countries with a signifi cant dairy goat industry, especially
England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands,
and Norway (Haenlein, 2006).
ECONOMICS OF IMPROVED
GOAT MILK PRODUCTION
Goat milk production can be improved by genetic selection
and superior management practices. The low productivity
of goats in many regions of the world is mostly due to
underfeeding in energy and protein sources, which can be
corrected by supplementary feeding in addition to the pas-
turing. Supplementary feeding is profi table contrary to
widespread popular opinion. See Table 14.7 .
The economics of goat milk production is greatly infl u-
enced by the price of feeds, which generally comprise 50%
