Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Dairy farming systems'

This study explores issues arising from the adoption of the term 'clean and green' for marketing New Zealand dairy products. Three dimensions of environmental quality were investigated: that of sustainable dairying and best practice for the benefit of farmers and the industry; resource management legislation and being a 'good neighbour'; and export marketing opportunities and issues. The study was undertaken during a time of major structural upheaval in the dairy industry, including yearly company amalgamations in the study area, rapid conversion of farmland to dairying, as well as factory expansion to process the increasing supply of product. The focus of the study was on the individual farmer, how perceptions and preferences are formed, and how in turn, these influence farm practice. World views drawn from Cultural Theory were adopted as the basis for analysis. Farmers were classified according to particular world views and the symbolic and reflexive use of concepts such as 'clean and green' was analysed. A model of overlapping ecological, agricultural and social systems was used to develop a wider understanding of preference formation. Through a mixed methodology, focusing on a case study approach, farmer and stakeholder world views were compared on key themes, including the 'clean green' pastoral myth, 'cues for care' and environmental issues. Media discourse as well as consumer views were used to expand understanding of the context. The study found that both farmers (within their groups) and stakeholders held different objectives and opinions on environmental issues and options for change, based on their various world views and preferences. There was general agreement both among farmers and stakeholders on the New Zealand 'clean green' image and 'cues for care', or signs that indicate good farm management. The reason for this was demonstrated to be the way in which these two aspects are communicated; through symbolic images that each individual perceived in terms of their respective world view. A symbolic form of action, an environmental management system, was trialled with farmers. Analysis indicated that national aspirations created by the 'clean green' pastoral myth required farmers to respond to environmental expectations, but that an image that symbolized environment as care and quality, rather than as place was needed to provide a less ambiguous goal. The findings of the trial were integrated with theory to interpret context and develop policy, strategy and action proposals for a system for environmental quality for the industry. The study has implications for non-regulatory mechanisms relevant to sustainable dairy farming, communication within the rural community, and branding.

The goal of this research was to explore the use of machine learning to assist in the development of knowledge-based systems (KBS) in dairy farming. A framework was first developed which described the various types of management and control activities in dairy farming and the types of information flows among these activities. This framework provided a basis for the creation of computerized information systems and helped to identify the analysis of group-average lactation curves as a promising area of application. A case-acquisition and decision-support system was developed to assist a domain specialist in generating example cases for machine learning. The specialist classified data from 33 herds enrolled with the Quebec dairy herd analysis service, resulting in 1428 lactations and 7684 tests of individual cows, classified as outlier or non-outlier, and 99 interpretations of group-average lactation curves. To enable the performance analysis of classifiers, generated with machine learning from these small data sets, a method was established involving cross-validation runs, relative operating characteristic curves, and analysis of variance. In experiments to filter lactations and tests, classification performance was significantly affected by preprocessing of examples, creation of additional attributes, choice of machine-learning algorithm, and algorithm configuration. For the filtering of individual tests, naive-Bayes classification showed significantly better performance than decision-tree induction. However, the specialist considered the decision trees as more transparent than the knowledge generated with naive Bayes. The creation of a series of three classifiers with increased sensitivity at the expense of reduced specificity per classification task, allows users of a final KBS to choose the desired tendency of classifying new cases as abnormal. For the main interpretation tasks, satisfactory performance was achieved. For the filtering tasks, performance was fai

Ce travail de thèse explore les aspects organisationnels de l’accompagnement local de la transition agroécologique. Cet accompagnement nécessite d’articuler différents processus individuels et collectifs de transformation des activités de la production et du développement agricole. En construisant un dispositif de recherche-action au sein d’un projet de transition agroécologique porté par une association d’éleveurs et conseillers dans le rayon de Roquefort, nous mettons en oeuvre avec eux une forme d’expérimentation sociale qui nous permet de comprendre le problème de l’accompagnement de la transition à la fois sur le plan théorique et pratique. Dans notre cas, l’articulation des transformations individuelles et collectives a été permise par un travail de co-conception entre éleveurs et conseillers des outils de l’accompagnement des changements dans les fermes. Ce processus a permis de débattre de la diversité des modèles agricoles et des représentations des acteurs de la transition agroécologique au sein du groupe, ainsi que d’engager conjointement éleveurs et conseillers dans la transformation de leurs pratiques. Ces transformations ont été d'autant plus facilitées que la coconception a été envisagée comme un processus dialogique entre conception et expérimentation dans différentes situations réelles d’usage dans les fermes. A l’issue de ce travail, nous proposons une approche pragmatiste pour accompagner localement la transition agroécologique
We explore in this research the organizational dimensions of agroecological transition and the ways to support it locally. The support of agroecological transition requires connecting differentprocesses of individual and collective transformations of agricultural development and production activities. We design a device for action reseach within an agroecological transition project, carriedby a farmers and advisers association in the Roquefort area. We implement with them a social experiment to explore this problem both from theoretical and practical point of view. In our casethe connection between individual and collective transformation of participant activities required farmers and advisers to design together tools to accompany the agroecological transition on farms. This process allowed the debate about the diversity of agricultural models and representations that actors have regarding agroecological transition. It as well allows engaging advisers and farmers jointly in the agroecological transition. These transformations have been enhanced by the fact that the co-design process was organized as a dialogical process between design and experimentation of the tools in diverse real situations of use on farms. At the end of this journey, we propose to develop a pragmatist approach to accompany locally the agroecological transition

Cette thèse porte sur l’évolution des systèmes de production du lait et des systèmes agraires néo-zélandais. Elle vise à expliquer et caractériser l’orientation particulière prise par le développement de la production laitière en Nouvelle-Zélande, laquelle a longtemps reposé sur des systèmes herbagers avant de s’en détourner à partir des années 1990. Il s’agit également de comprendre les mécanismes sous-jacents à l’émergence de structures de production du lait financiarisées. Enfin elle évalue les conséquences socio-économiques de la perte d’autonomie des systèmes de production et de la financiarisation. Cette recherche a mobilisé le cadre théorique de l’Agriculture comparée et s’est également appuyée sur le courant anglo-saxon des « Agrarian studies ». Elle a reposé sur l’analyse-diagnostic de la situation agraire de deux petites régions agricoles (Haute-vallée de Thames et Région de Selwyn). Nos travaux montrent l’importance du contexte économique et politique pour expliquer l’orientation de la production laitière néo-zélandaise vers des systèmes herbagers. Ils mettent également en évidence le rôle central de la libéralisation de l’économie pour expliquer la tendance à la perte d’autonomie observée depuis 1990. L’analyse économique montre que les systèmes herbagers demeurent toutefois performants en termes de création de valeur ajoutée et de revenu agricole par hectare. De son côté, si la financiarisation de la production laitière a permis d’accélérer son développement sur l’île Sud, elle n’a pas conduit à la mise en œuvre de systèmes de production plus performants en termes de création de valeur ajoutée. En revanche, elle amène à ce qu’une part importante de cette valeur ajoutée soit captée par des investisseurs ne prenant pas part au procesus productif. Au final, la question se pose de la pertinence du développement agricole à l’œuvre en Nouvelle-Zélande depuis les années 1990 du point de vue du développement durable
This thesis looks at the evolution of dairy farming and agrarian systems in New Zealand. It explains and characterizes the original path followed by dairy production in this country, which relied on low-input grazing systems until the 90s before moving away from it. It aims also at describing mechanisms underlying the emergence of financialised dairy production structures. Finally, we assess the socio-economic implications of both the shift toward higher-input dairy systems and the financialization of dairy production. This research uses the theoretical framework of Comparative agriculture supplemented by the Anglo-Saxon branch of Agrarian studies. It relied on the analysis-diagnosis the agrarian situation of two small rural areas (the Upper Thames Valley and the Selwyn district). Our work shows how fundamental has been the economic context to explain the focus on low-input grazing systems which characterised dairy farming in the New Zealand until the 90s. It argues that the economic liberalization has been a huge incentive for farmers to shift towards higher-input systems during the 90s. The economic analysis show that low-input systems are nevertheless more efficient in terms of added value and farm income generated per hectare. For its part, financialization permitted to accelerate the development of dairy production, but did not lead to more efficient production systems in terms of added value generated. However, it allows investors who do not take parts into the productive process to capture a significant part of this added value. Finally, the question arises whether or not the agricultural development observed in New Zealand since the 90s is relevant in terms of sustainable development

Die Wasserproduktivität in der Tierhaltung ist von vielen Faktoren abhängig. Die Futterproduktion hat den größten Anteil am Wasserbedarf von tierischen Produkten. Weitere Einflussfaktoren sind die Leistung, die Reproduktion und der Gesundheitsstatus der Tiere, das Management und die Haltungsbedingungen. In dieser Arbeit sollte untersucht werden, wie sich diese Faktoren auf die Wasserproduktivität von Milch und Geflügelfleisch in Nord-Ost-Deutschland auswirken. Zehn unterschiedliche Futtermittel wurden hinsichtlich ihres Wasserbedarfes untersucht. Aus diesen Futtermitteln wurden die Rationen für die Tiere erstellt. Die Milchleistung der Kühe wurde zwischen 4.000 und 12.000 kg Milch pro Kuh und Jahr in 2.000 kg Schritten variiert. Für jedes Leistungsniveau wurden zwölf verschiedene Fütterungsstrategien untersucht, welche auf der Erhöhung einzelner Bestandteile der Ration basieren. Der Wasserbedarf von Leitungswasser im Stall wurde mit 38 Wasserzählern ermittelt. Für die Wasserproduktivität des Geflügelfleisches wurden vier verschieden intensive Mastverfahren untersucht. Die Wasserproduktivität steigt mit steigender Milchleistung der Kühe. Das Maximum wird bei 10.000 kg Milch pro Kuh und Jahr und Rationen mit einem hohem Gras- bzw. Maissilageanteil erreicht. Die Kühe, die im automatischen Melksystem gemolken wurden, nahmen mehr Tränkwasser zu sich, als die Kühe im Fischgrätenmelkstand. Dies ist durch die höhere Milchleistung bedingt. Im automatischen Melksystem wurden im Mittel 28,6 Liter Reinigungswasser pro Kuh und Tag benötigt. Für die Reinigung des Fischgrätenmelkstandes wurden 33,8 Liter pro Kuh und Tag genutzt. Die untersuchten Broilermastverfahren zeigten keine Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Wasserproduktivität. Die intensivere Aufzucht und bessere Futterverwertung wurde durch eine niedrigere Wasserproduktivität des Futters kompensiert. Der Anteil des technischen Wassers macht in der Milchkuh- und Broilerhaltung nur einen kleinen Teil am Gesamtwasserbedarf aus.
Livestock production is the main user of water resources in agricultural production. Water is used in animal production for producing feed, watering the animals, and cleaning and disinfecting barns and equipment. The objective of this dissertation was to quantify the effects of management strategies, such as feeding, intensity of production and the replacement process on the water productivity of milk and poultry meat in Germany. Water productivity in milk and broiler production systems was calculated based on the methodology of Prochnow et al. (2012). Own measurements of the drinking and cleaning water demand in milk production were conducted in a dairy cow barn. The study was based on site conditions of North-East Germany with common variations in farm operations. The feed production is the main contributor to water input in dairy and poultry production. The water productivity of milk increased with an increasing milk yield. The most beneficial conditions related to water productivity in dairy farming were found to be with a milk yield of approximately 10,000 kg fat corrected milk and a grass silage and maize silage based feeding. The total technical water use in the barn makes only a minor contribution to water use. Former regression functions of the drinking water intake of the cows were reviewed and a new regression function based on the ambient temperature and the milk yield was developed. In broiler production the intensification of the fattening systems did not increase water productivity. An increase of water productivity in animal production can be achieved with various management strategies with their specific influence on the production process. The feed management should be a focus of the strategies.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior
We aimed to evaluate the systems of production and milk quality of dairy goats in Milk Production Units (MPUs) family based in the states of Rio Grande do Norte and CearÃ, to promote the sustainable development of dairy goat in semi-arid northeastern Brazil. Information related to socio-economic profile of producers and production systems used were obtained through personal interviews using a questionnaire applied to 19 properties in Rio Grande do Norte and Cearà 10 properties. The quality of milk was determined by Total Bacterial Count (TBC) in samples collected after the morning milking for a period of three days before and three days after the adoption of good practices recommended by the project milking âKit Manual for Embrapa Milking Goats dairy â. In both states, the production systems in MPUs characterized by being so extensive and low technological application, limited water and forage resources in semi-arid. It was found that there are difficulties related to nutritional managements, reproductive health and milking procedures adopted, and the need to sensitize producers with information to promote goat rearing as well as ensure that the final product is inserted in the market with quality. In evaluating the quality of milk, the average TBC found were 5.2 x 105 UFC / mL and 4, 1 x 105 UFC / mL before and after the use of technological kit respectively, since the quality of milk produced after use kit technology within the parameters of hygiene and quality established by the legislation. It is concluded that the exploitation of dairy goats in northeastern states as a technical activity economically viable, provided that use appropriate technologies and to prioritize, especially food and health management.
Objetivou-se avaliar os sistemas de produÃÃo e a qualidade do leite de rebanhos caprinos de Unidades Produtoras de Leite (UPLs) de base familiar dos Estados do Rio Grande do Norte e do CearÃ, visando avaliar a promoÃÃo do desenvolvimento sustentÃvel da caprinocultura leiteira na regiÃo semi-Ãrida do Nordeste brasileiro. As informaÃÃes relacionadas ao perfil sÃcio-econÃmico dos produtores e aos sistemas de produÃÃo utilizados foram obtidas atravÃs de entrevistas individuais e presenciais utilizando-se questionÃrio aplicado em 19 propriedades no Rio Grande do Norte e 10 propriedades no CearÃ. A qualidade do leite foi determinada pela Contagem Total de BactÃrias (CBT) em amostras coletadas apÃs a ordenha matinal por um perÃodo de trÃs dias antes e trÃs dias depois da adoÃÃo de boas prÃticas da ordenha recomendadas pelo projeto âKit Embrapa de Ordenha Manual para Caprinos Leiteirosâ. Em ambos os Estados, os sistemas de produÃÃo nas UPLs foram caracterizados como extensivo e com baixa aplicaÃÃo de tecnologia, limitados pelos recursos forrageiros e hÃdricos do semi-Ãrido. Verificou-se que hà dificuldades relacionadas aos manejos nutricional, reprodutivo, sanitÃrio e nos procedimentos de ordenha adotados, alÃm da necessidade de sensibilizar os caprinocultores com informaÃÃes que promovam a criaÃÃo de cabras, bem como garantir que o produto final seja inserido com qualidade no mercado. Na avaliaÃÃo da qualidade do leite, as mÃdias de CTB encontradas foram de 5,2 x 105 UFC/mL e 4, 1 x 105 UFC/mL para antes e apÃs o uso do kit tecnolÃgico respectivamente, sendo possÃvel afirmar que o kit ordenha apresenta 21,15% de eficiÃncia, tornando a qualidade do leite produzido dentro dos parÃmetros de higiene e qualidade estabelecidos pela legislaÃÃo. Conclui-se que a exploraÃÃo de caprinos leiteiros nestes Estados caracteriza-se como uma atividade tÃcnica economicamente viÃvel, desde que utilizadas tecnologias adequadas e que priorizem, principalmente, o manejo alimentar e sanitÃrio.

Les systèmes d’élevages laitiers herbagers montagnards sont d’autant plus sensibles aux changements de contraintes de production (types de fourrages et niveaux d’aliments concentrés autorisés dans les cahiers des charges AOP par exemple) et aux aléas climatiques que le milieu est contraignant et que le système fourrager repose sur l’utilisation exclusive de prairies permanentes. Une meilleure adéquation entre les dynamiques de besoins des animaux et d’offre herbagère permettrait à ces systèmes d’atteindre un meilleur degré d’autonomie fourragère et alimentaire, et d’être ainsi plus robustes face aux changements. Pour explorer des stratégies contrastées de conduite et comprendre les compromis qu’il est possible d’atteindre entre niveau de production, autonomie fourragère et utilisation durable des prairies, un modèle de simulation déterministe à l’échelle de l’exploitation a été construit, nommé Dynamilk. Ce modèle simule les interrelations entre le troupeau laitier, les ressources alimentaires et herbagères et la conduite du système. Dynamilk est composé de deux sous-modèles biotechniques avec, d’une part, le parcellaire comportant un module de croissance de l’herbe prenant en compte la diversité botanique des prairies, et d’autre part, le troupeau laitier. Un modèle de structure démographique du troupeau simule les différentes catégories d’animaux selon leur âge et leur stade physiologique, et, un modèle dynamique simule l’ingestion et la production pour chaque catégorie d’animaux. La production laitière résulte des besoins énergétiques, de l’énergie offerte par la ration et de la capacité des animaux à mobiliser ou reconstituer leurs réserves corporelles. Le modèle de conduite est composé des éléments stratégiques définissant les objectifs de production et les règles de pilotage des principales pratiques (constitution et gestion des fourrages, alimentation et pâturage du troupeau). Le modèle animal et le modèle global ont été validés sur des données expérimentales ou de référentiels de fonctionnement d’exploitations. Ces deux modèles présentent des résultats et un fonctionnement cohérent. Dynamilk a permis de tester deux systèmes contrastés selon leur dynamique annuelle de production (période des vêlages « groupés de septembre à février » (GA) vs « groupés de mars à mai » (GP)) à chargement (0,94 UGB/ha) et apports de concentrés (1 200 kg/VL/an) identiques. Dans un plan d’expérience virtuel, chaque système a été simulé sur deux séries climatiques, une sans aléa climatique (1993-1999) et l’autre avec (2005-2011), avec une augmentation du chargement et une diminution des apports de concentrés. Les résultats de simulation montrent qu’à faible chargement les deux systèmes sont autonomes pour les fourrages et sous-utilisent les ressources herbagères au pâturage. L’augmentation du chargement améliore l’utilisation de l’herbe pâturée sans pénaliser les performances laitières, mais réduit l’autonomie en fourrages récoltés. Diminuer les apports de concentrés améliore également l’utilisation de l’herbe, mais réduit la production laitière. La production laitière du système GA est plus sensible que celle du système GP à la qualité des fourrages récoltés qui varie selon les années climatiques. Ainsi le système GP, grâce à plus d’utilisation de l’herbe pâturée, serait moins sensible aux aléas. Dynamilk permet d’analyser la réponse de systèmes laitiers herbagers sur des séries climatiques longues et de tester pas à pas des modifications de structure et de pilotage du système dans une démarche de conception de systèmes ex ante
Dairy systems based on grasslands are sensitive towards environmental variations (climatic events) and production constraints changes. A better match between dynamic of dairy cattle needs and herbage supply could enable the farming system to lean towards a better forage self-sufficiency at farm-scale and to be more resilient to changes. Modeling approach is used to study, over many years, several scenarios with contrasted strategies of biotechnical subsystems management in order to test different calving distributions, cattle and grasslands characteristics, or practices on pastures and meadows. Such a dynamic model, called Dynamilk, has been created and implemented. Dynamilk is focused on relationships among dairy cattle, management and resources. This model is based on a bio-technical approach focused on grassland use by animals. Grassland sub model which consists in biodiversity characteristics and grass growth components has been developed by Jouven (2006). Dairy cattle sub model consists in 2 units: demographic structure unit and intake, milk production and body reserve use unit. This model considers calving period and distribution, dairy cattle characteristics (ability of animals to produce milk and use its body reserve) in order to test the match between animal needs and feed supply. Milk production according to herbage and feed supply is the main output of Dynamilk. Decisional sub-system describe the main practices to rule the production system which are forage system management with mowing practices, forage stores, winter diet, concentrate distribution and grazing management. Validation of dairy cattle sub model and whole model has been carried out by comparison against experimental data and case-study data of real farms. Two systems has been simulated with Dynamilk, the first one based on calving distribution from august to february, called GA, and the second one from march to june, called GP (stocking rate 0.94 LU.ha-1 and concentrate amount 1200 kg.cow-1.year-1). Simulation results have pointed out that both system achieved forage self-sufficiency and grass offer is underused. Several simulations has been accomplished to evaluate impacts of stocking rate increase and concentrate decrease on animal production, herbage utilisation and forage self-suficiency rate. The simulation have indicated that matching animal needs with feed and herbage supply to better cope with climatic events and constraints changes

L’amélioration du bien-être des vaches laitières est un réel enjeu face aux attentes sociétales. Cette thèse a pour objectifs d’identifier (i) les aspects les plus dégradés du bien-être des vaches, (ii)les indicateurs de risque et (iii) les facteurs associés à l’atteinte de la relation homme-animal. Ce projet repose sur une étude épidémiologique utilisant la méthode Welfare Quality R pour évaluer le bien-être des vaches. En général, les boiteries étaient peu fréquentes et les animaux avaient une bonne liberté de mouvement. L’absence de faim et de soif et l’expression des comportements étaient bien respectés mais variables entre élevages. Le confort de couchage, l’absence de blessures et de maladies, le comportement social, l’état émotionnel et la relation homme-animal étaient dégradés et variables. L’écornage était souvent réalisé sans antidouleurs. Les principaux indicateurs de risque pour le bien-être des vaches sont la localisation géographique (pour la soif), la race (faim,comportement social), le logement (confort de couchage, blessures), l’interaction logement-race (état émotionnel) et localisation géographique-système de traite (expression des comportements propres à l’espèce). La mise en place de plan d’actions doit donc tenir compte du type d’élevage. Aucune association entre le système d’élevage et la relation homme animal n’a été trouvée. Les conditions de vêlage, les représentations des éleveurs et le comportement social des vaches étaient par contre associés à ce critère. De plus, de fortes variations entre vaches ont été relevées, suggérant que le tempérament des animaux joue un rôle important
Improving dairy cows’ welfare is a major challenge in response to citizen concerns. The present thesis aimed to identify (i) major welfare problems, (ii) which farm characteristics are associated with the impairment of welfare and (iii) which factors are associated with the impairment of human-animal relationships. We conducted an epidemiological survey and used the Welfare Quality R protocol to assess dairy cows’ welfare. In general, prevalence of lameness was low and cows had opportunities to walk. The absence of hunger and thirst and the expression of species-specific behaviors were achieved but variable between farms. Resting comfort, skin injuries, health, social behavior, cows’ emotional state and human-animal relationships were affected and variable. Disbudding was often performed without pain relief. The main risk indicators of poor cow welfare were farm location (for thirst), breed (hunger, social behavior), housing (resting comfort and skin injuries), the interaction housing-breed (emotional state) and location-milking system (expression of species-specific behaviors). Action plans should be designed according to farm types. The quality of the human-animal relationship was not associated with farm main characteristics, but to calving conditions, farmers’ attitudes and cows’ social behavior. In addition, we observed large variations between-cows in their responses to humans, suggesting that individual behavioral traits of cows play a major role

RAMOS, Marcela Oliveira. Caracterização do perfil produtivo e contagem total de bactérias de leite de cabra em unidades de base familiar nos estados do Ceará e do Rio Grande do Norte. 2012. 89 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará. Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Zootecnia, Fortaleza-CE, 2012
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Grande do Norte and Ceará, to promote the sustainable development of dairy goat in semi-arid northeastern Brazil. Information related to socio-economic profile of producers and production systems used were obtained through personal interviews using a questionnaire applied to 19 properties in Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará 10 properties. The quality of milk was determined by Total Bacterial Count (TBC) in samples collected after the morning milking for a period of three days before and three days after the adoption of good practices recommended by the project milking “Kit Manual for Embrapa Milking Goats dairy “. In both states, the production systems in MPUs characterized by being so extensive and low technological application, limited water and forage resources in semi-arid. It was found that there are difficulties related to nutritional managements, reproductive health and milking procedures adopted, and the need to sensitize producers with information to promote goat rearing as well as ensure that the final product is inserted in the market with quality. In evaluating the quality of milk, the average TBC found were 5.2 x 105 UFC / mL and 4, 1 x 105 UFC / mL before and after the use of technological kit respectively, since the quality of milk produced after use kit technology within the parameters of hygiene and quality established by the legislation. It is concluded that the exploitation of dairy goats in northeastern states as a technical activity economically viable, provided that use appropriate technologies and to prioritize, especially food and health management.
Objetivou-se avaliar os sistemas de produção e a qualidade do leite de rebanhos caprinos de Unidades Produtoras de Leite (UPLs) de base familiar dos Estados do Rio Grande do Norte e do Ceará, visando avaliar a promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável da caprinocultura leiteira na região semi-árida do Nordeste brasileiro. As informações relacionadas ao perfil sócio-econômico dos produtores e aos sistemas de produção utilizados foram obtidas através de entrevistas individuais e presenciais utilizando-se questionário aplicado em 19 propriedades no Rio Grande do Norte e 10 propriedades no Ceará. A qualidade do leite foi determinada pela Contagem Total de Bactérias (CBT) em amostras coletadas após a ordenha matinal por um período de três dias antes e três dias depois da adoção de boas práticas da ordenha recomendadas pelo projeto “Kit Embrapa de Ordenha Manual para Caprinos Leiteiros”. Em ambos os Estados, os sistemas de produção nas UPLs foram caracterizados como extensivo e com baixa aplicação de tecnologia, limitados pelos recursos forrageiros e hídricos do semi-árido. Verificou-se que há dificuldades relacionadas aos manejos nutricional, reprodutivo, sanitário e nos procedimentos de ordenha adotados, além da necessidade de sensibilizar os caprinocultores com informações que promovam a criação de cabras, bem como garantir que o produto final seja inserido com qualidade no mercado. Na avaliação da qualidade do leite, as médias de CTB encontradas foram de 5,2 x 105 UFC/mL e 4, 1 x 105 UFC/mL para antes e após o uso do kit tecnológico respectivamente, sendo possível afirmar que o kit ordenha apresenta 21,15% de eficiência, tornando a qualidade do leite produzido dentro dos parâmetros de higiene e qualidade estabelecidos pela legislação. Conclui-se que a exploração de caprinos leiteiros nestes Estados caracteriza-se como uma atividade técnica economicamente viável, desde que utilizadas tecnologias adequadas e que priorizem, principalmente, o manejo alimentar e sanitário.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--University of Louisville, 2006.
Title and description from thesis home page (viewed Jan. 11, 2007). Department of Industrial Engineering. Vita. "December 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 41-42).