A topic on the table: the processing of milk has begun to inform the producer of the milk of the analysis of aflatoxins, which has been posting, and probably, at some point, will have an impact on the price of the raw material.
There is a great diversity of fungi that grow both in the field and on the sites of storage of grains, by-products and food. Mycotoxins are a diverse set of more than 300 chemical groups, generated by these fungi and are harmful to the health of animals and humans.
The availability of information on this topic is limited because there is little research conducted with dairy cows and the experiments are usually made with the addition of a single mycotoxin to a diet “clean” when in the field is expected, the interaction of hundreds of mycotoxins. The negative effects are less severe than in monogastric, as the rumen acts as a filter to degrade the fungal toxins. The most important are the toxins produced by molds of the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium. Aflatoxins are produced by the mold Aspergillus and ruminants support eating in your daily diet between 300 and 400 parts per billion (ppb). To overcome these limits of tolerance will begin are the symptoms. Foods such as wheat middlings, and the seed of cotton are very likely to develop analysis above of mycotoxins.
The presence of fungal toxins in milk is mostly associated with Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the diet of the cows, which then pass through the rumen is manifest in milk with its metabolite Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1). The rate of transfer of the ingested by the cow to the milk is low, with a range from 0.3 to 2.2%. The limits of the Food Code to the presence of AFM1 milk is 0.5 micrograms/liter fluent and 5 micrograms/liter of milk powder.
The signals to be expected of a rodeo dairy consuming mycotoxins at a level higher than normal are the following:
- Reduction in the palatability and consumption of food
- Decline in the production of milk
- Depression in the % of milk fat (For example from 3.70 to download to 3,30% GB)
- Depression immune system, significantly increasing somatic cell counts and lower responses to veterinary treatment.
- Minor weight gains in breeding
- Loss of body condition
- Disorders estrogenic (abortions, prolapses)
- Increased metabolic disorder, variability in the consistency of stools.
Unfortunately, these symptoms are not exclusive of mycotoxins for which it is recommended to leave for the ultimate suspicion of mycotoxins when you encounter these problems.
Among the strategies to minimize the impact of fungal toxins on the rodeo dairy, we can mention:
- Remove the parts with mold/fungi visible in the grains, by-products or ensilados.
- To reduce the supply of food suspected and to avoid giving in rodeos labor and breastfeeding early, groups in which there is the greatest impact.
- Consider adding to the diet of an adsorbent biological in the mixture of concentrated, which at current prices represent to 0.10 US$/Cow/Day. Several of the works cited glucomananos esterified of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a highly effective AFB1. There are probably situations that require a mixture of adsorbents and sequestering due to the specificity against different toxins.
If an inn has high analysis of AFM1 in your milk and immediately removes the contaminated food in the diet of the cows, it can take 3-4 days for the analysis to normalize.
NOTES ON THE FEEDING OF DAIRY COWS
M. Snyder
