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LIVESTOCK MATTERS
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
Technology advances fatty acid
control in
Dairy Industry
The UK dairy industry must play its part in reducing saturated fats. ‘With 25% of saturated fat in
the diet derived from dairy products it is not surprising that our industry is attracting attention,’ said
National Milk Laboratories’ director Ben Bartlett. ‘We mustn’t rest on our laurels but, instead, work
together to gain a better understanding of the fatty acid profiles in milk and how we can influence
these through genetics, cow nutrition and management.’
Speaking at the British Cattle Breeders
Conference in Telford (January 25, 2012),
Mr Bartlett announced two four-year projects
about to start that will build up a database of
fatty acid profiles in milk and lead to the
development of tools to help the producers and
their advisers manage fatty acid production.
The Optimir project involves NMR and SAC
in the UK and 15 other organisations in four
EU countries who will pool fatty acid profile
data captured from the mid infra red (mIR)
analysis of milk samples alongside phenotypic
data. This will establish a common platform
across Europe and allow the development of
decision-making techniques relating to fertility,
health, feeding and the environment.
The second project, 'Monitoring and improving
the efficiency of healthy dairy products, farms
and supply chains', is UK based and co-funded
by the Technology Strategy Board. Again,
NML will use mIR analysis to provide fatty acid
profiles on both bulk milk and individual cow
samples. Working with project participants
SAC and Marks and Spencer, this data will
be used to establish links with genetic and
management factors.
‘Both these projects use mid infra red
technology - a technique that can establish
fatty acid profiles at a fraction of the cost of
gas chromatography and has made the large
scale testing of milk samples possible,’ said
Mr Bartlett.
For the past two years NML has been
routinely generating fatty acid profiles for
50,000 milk samples a month and identifying
the groups of fatty acids, such as saturated
fatty acids (SFA), in each sample.
‘Whilst the data is not yet published, it is clear
that there is a wide variation between herds. In
November 2011 the overall industry average
%SFA was approximately 69%, but at the
extremes some herds had an SFA% less than
57% whilst others had a %SFA of more than
80%. The reasons for the range in SFA
percentages are complex and varied, but the
two primary drivers are feeding and breeding.’
Data also shows a wide range in %SFA within
a herd too. Some cows can be seen to be
producing more than 5.5% fat with SFA results
below 60%, whilst others are showing much
lower fat results with SFA’s above 70%.
‘There is a need to understand relationships
such as cow health and productivity against
the fatty acid profile and groups of fatty
acids such as saturated fatty acids,’ added
Mr Bartlett.
Whilst fatty acid production is a complex
business - a cow will produce about 1.2kg
of 400 different dairy fatty acids from 600g
of 10 different dietary fatty acids - there is
evidence that cows that produce fat that is
good for the human diet are healthier
themselves. Certain UK feed companies are
already using fatty acid profiling as a tool to
assess the nutritional status of dairy herds.
‘And genetics plays a major role. With the
advent of genomics there is a real prospect
that significant advances can be made in the
genetic makeup of the UK dairy cow such
that she will respond well to feeding strategies
designed to change the fatty acid profile in
the milk that she produces.
‘Although the industry has a way to go, the
implications for our dairy industry are huge
with the prospect of feeding and breeding
programmes that will improve cow health and
also strengthen the nutritional value of milk
within the human diet.’
Scarsdale Vets had an unusual case recently
which utilised shared expertise between their
farm animal team and their small animal
referral hospital, Pride Veterinary Centre, to
perform a CT scan and reconstructive surgery
on a Ram (a real Ram at Pride Park!).
‘Parker’ the texel tup was found by his owner
one afternoon in a very distressed state. His
face was very swollen and covered in blood
and he was struggling to breathe. He also
had numerous gashes around his neck where
he'd got himself stuck in some barbed wire.
He was taken immediately to the Scarsdale
Veterinary Group Farm Unit at Markeaton
for emergency treatment by two of their farm
vets, Abi Jackson and Chris Parker. On
examination Parker was found to have
multiple dog bite wounds on his face and
nose and a big bloody hole over his right
eye. This was later found to have been due
to a canine tooth which had fractured his
skull. The dog had obviously had a good
hold of Parker’s nose and the force of its bite
had managed to detach the roof of Parker's
mouth from his gum, splitting it in half
exposing his nasal cavity. It was touch and
go as to whether Parker could survive and go
on to perform his intended job of covering
next year’s ewes. The vomeronasal organ is
extremely important in rams as it is involved in
sniffing out ewe pheromones when she is in
oestrus (yes humans have one too). The organ
is situated in the sinuses of the ram within the
nasal cavity. Without a CT scan it would be
impossible to know whether this important
structure was likely to have been damaged.
After some deliberation it was decided that to
give Parker the best outcome possible a CT
scan of his skull and following reconstructive
surgery would be necessary.
Parker had a general anaesthetic and CT
scan, overseen by Tim Trevail, imaging
specialist, at the Pride Veterinary Centre which
revealed fractures to his skull but no major
damage to his sinuses. Damian Chase, a
specialist soft tissue and orthopaedic surgeon
more used to operating on dogs and cats,
agreed to under take the complicated task of
the reconstruction of Parker's mouth. Luckily,
Damian is originally from New Zealand so is
more than used to dealing with sheep. Parker
still has a long way to go but he is recovering
well at present, helped with portions of Ready
Brek as he can't yet nibble at grass.
Ram has
CT Scan
at Pride Park