Parámetros técnicos de las instalaciones de ordeño de los rebaños de ovino lechero de Castilla y León y su correlación con la calidad de la leche de tanque

Abstract

During 2017, 330 milking facilities of dairy sheep flocks belonging to Consorcio de Promoción del Ovino (Spain), were tested, and milk quality of the bulk tank milk (somatic cell count: SCC, total bacterial count: TBC and cheese matter: CM) was recorded. The average age of milking facilities was 16.3 years, the mean characteristics being: milking units (mu)/milking machine: 13.5; capacity (places)/parlor: 35.5; ewes/mu: 2.8; pump flow at 50 kPa/mu: 107 L/min; pump flow at milking vacuum/mu: 159 L/min; sum of consumptions/mu 43.7 L/min; manual reserve/mu: 123.4 L/min; internal diameter/mu of air and milk pipes: 4.3 and 6.0 mm, respectively; milking vacuum: 36.1 kPa; pulsation rate: 161 ppm and pulsation ratio: 57.3%. The regression study among variables evidenced negative and significant correlations among bulk tank SCC and the pump flow at 50 kPa, the pump flow at milking vacuum and the manual reserve, while correlations were positive for the sum of consumptions. The TBC showed positive and significant correlations with the diameters and consumptions of air and milk pipes. Finally, the CM showed a negative significant correlation with the sum of consumptions of milking machine, probably as a result of lipolysis.