The advantages on the nutritional composition and properties of milk and dairy products from grass-fed dairy systems will be a key topic at the ‘Grass-Fed Dairy Conference’.
The Teagasc-organised event gets underway today (Thursday, October 25) in Naas, Co. Kildare.
This conference is expected to highlight the scientific evidence to support conclusions that milk from grass-fed cows is superior, according to Teagasc.
This is in stark comparison to Ireland, where grass from grazing pasture land continues to be an important source of feed for dairy cows.
Speaking at the conference, Teagasc director Prof. Gerry Boyle said: “Teagasc has completed a comprehensive set of studies to compare the nutrient and processing characteristics of milk derived from cows fed diets based on grazed grass versus indoor total mixed ration.
“The results of this research support previous findings in that milk and dairy products produced from grass-fed cows have significantly greater concentrations of fat, protein and other beneficial nutrients.
Dr. Deirdre Hennessy, Teagasc animal and grassland researcher, also commented, adding: “It is estimated that 96% of the diet on a fresh matter basis and 82% on a dry matter basis of the typical Irish cow diet comes from forage; while 74 to 77% of the diet comes from grazed pasture on a fresh matter basis.”
Teagasc food researcher Dr. Tom O Callaghan further underlined that the composition of milk directly affects its processing characteristics, nutritive value, yield and overall quality.
“Changes in individual components of milk influence its functionality across a variety of products including cheese, yoghurt, milk powders, and nutritional beverages, such as infant milk formula, in which dairy ingredients are used.
End users of dairy ingredients require milk with predictable composition, for efficient processing, formulation and functionality, to produce consistently high-quality foods.
Teagasc has further expanded the scope of its research in this area to provide additional scientifically-validated compositional data to further differentiate dairy products coming from a grass-fed diet compared to a total mixed ration diet.