EFEITO DE SAZONALIDADE SOB A PRODUÇÃO LEITEIRA

Abstract

The present study aimed to verify the effect of seasonality on dairy production, as well as to make a comparison between the production averages in spring and summer and autumn and winter. The experiment was conducted at the Cachoerinha farm, located in the municipality of Caldas Novas, in the southern region of Goiás, with geographic coordinates of latitude 17º44'43 ”south and longitude 48º37’31” west. Data from a herd of 30 Girolando cows were analyzed. To compare the water and drought periods, the data were divided considering the months of: January, February, March, April, November and December for the water season and months from: May, June, July, August, September and October for the dry season. Mechanical milking was performed only once a day, in the morning, using the calf system at the foot. Student's t-test was used to compare the two periods at the 5% probability level. The average production for the experimental period was 6,206.67 liters, while in the water period the average was 6,958.67 and in the drought period it was 5,454.67, which represented a drop of more than 21% in production. Thus, it can be concluded that seasonality affects milk production.