Milk


Conversions:
1 US gal milk= 3.8974 kilogram(kg)
1 kg milk = 2.206 US pounds(lb)
1.136 liters= 1 quart
(Working rules)
1 liter=1kg=2.2 US lb=1 US quart(qt)
liters or kg x 2 + 10% = US lbs.

More than 5% of the world's milk comes from water buffaloes. In 1992 production reached 45.3 million tons from the 1982 figure of 30.7 million tons, accounting an annual average increase rate of 3.8% for the last decade. Over 95% of the world buffalo milk is produced in Asia. India, being the world largest buffalo milk producer recorded 20.0 and 29.3 million tons in 1982 and 1992, respectively, with a growth rate of 3.3% per year. (62a) Buffalo milk is used in much the same way as cow's milk. It is high in fat and total solids, which gives it a rich flavor. Many people prefer it to cow's milk and are willing to pay more for it. In Egypt, for example, the severe mortality rate among buffalo calves is due in part to the sale of buffalo milk, which is in high demand, thus depriving calves of proper nourishment. This also occurs in India, where in the Bombay area alone an estimated 10,000 newborn calves starve to death each year through lack of milk. The demand for buffalo milk in India (about 60% of the milk consumed; over 80% in some states) is reflected in the prices paid for a liter of milk; about 40% more than for cow's milk.
Twelve of the 18 major breeds of water buffalo are kept primarily for milk production (although males may be used for traction and all animals are eventually used for meat). The main milk breeds of India and Pakistan are the Murrah, Nili/Ravi, Surti, Mehsana, Nagpuri, and Jafarabadi. The buffaloes of Egypt, Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia and the FSU) and Italy are used for milk production and there are also herds used principally for this purpose in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey.

Composition


Buffalo milk contains less water, more total solids, more fat, slightly more lactose, and more protein than cow's milk. It seems thicker than cow's milk because it generally contains more than 16% total solids compared with 12-14% for cow's milk. In addition, it's fat content is usually 50-60% higher(or more) than cow's milk. The butterfat content is usually 6-8%. An analysis of 7,770 records of Nili/Ravi buffaloes in herds at the Pakistan research Institute showed that the average butterfat content was 6.40 (a mean based on 10 tests over 10 months). Of all the samples tested, 77% ranged between 5% and 8% butterfat and 12% were below the 5% butterfat63a. It can go much higher in the milk of some well fed dairy buffaloes and in the milk of Swamp buffaloes (which are not normally used for milking). Cow's milk butterfat content is usually between 3% and 5%.
Because of it's high butterfat content, buffalo milk has considerably higher energy value than cow's milk. Phospholipids are lower but cholesterol and saturated fatty acids are higher in buffalo milk. Studies have shown that the digestibility is not adversely affected by this. Because of the high fat content, the buffalo's total fat yield per lactation compares favorably with that of improved breeds of dairy cattle; it is much higher than that of indigenous cows.
Normally the protein in buffalo's milk contains more casein and slightly more albumin and globulin than cow's milk. Several researchers have claimed that the biological value of buffalo milk protein is higher than that of cow's milk, but this has not been proved conclusively. The mineral content of buffalo milk is nearly the same as that of cow's milk except for phosphorus, which occurs in roughly twice the amount in buffalo milk. Buffalo milk tends to be lower in salt.
Buffalo milk lacks the yellow pigment carotene, precursor for vitamin A, and it's whiteness is frequently used to differentiate it from cow's milk in the market. Despite the absence of carotene, the vitamin A content in buffalo milk is almost as high as that of cow's milk. Apparently the buffalo converts the carotene in it's diet directly to vitamin A. The two milks are similar in B complex vitamins and vitamin C, but buffalo milk tends to be lower in riboflavin.

Milk Products


Buffalo milk, like cow's milk, can provide a wide variety of products: butter, butter oil (clarified butter or ghee), soft and hard cheeses, condensed or evaporated milks, ice cream, yogurt, and buttermilk. It is of great economic importance in India in preparing "toned" milk....a mixture of buffalo milk and milk made by reconstituting skim milk powder. The richness of buffalo milk makes it highly suitable for processing. To produce 1 kg of cheese, a cheese maker requires 8 kg of cow's milk but only 5 kg of buffalo milk. To produce 1 kg of butter requires 14 kg of cow's milk but only 10 kg of buffalo milk. Because of these high yields, processors appreciate the value of buffalo milk. Buffalo cheese is pure white. In many countries it is among the most desirable cheeses (mozzarella and ricoyyain Italy, gemir in Iraq, the salty cheeses of Egypt and pecorino in Bulgaria, for example). Real Italian mozzarella cheese is always made of water buffalo milk and has a interesting history. A similar product , properly called fiordilatte is made from cow's milk. For import into the U.S. the two products are treated differently and can be distinguished by testing. In Venezuela all the cheese produced from the small La Guanota milking herd in the Apure River basin (about 100 kg a day) is bought by the Hilton Hotel and sells for 15 bolivars per kg compared with 8 bolivars per kg for cheese made with cow's milk. Although much in demand for making soft cheese, buffalo milk is less desirable for making hard cheeses such as cheddar or gouda. During cheese making it produces acid more slowly than cows milk, retains more water in the curd, and loses more fat in the whey. Cheeses are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. Demand is rising at a rate that is among the highest for any food product. Cheese offers particular benefits to areas where refrigeration is not widely available, where transporting high protein foods to remote areas is difficult, and where seasonal fluctuations affect milk supplies. Buffalo milk may make cheese making profitable on an even smaller scale than conventional dairying; it is more concentrated than cow's milk and requires relatively less energy to transport and process ( an increasingly important factor where fuels are limited).
The science and art of cheese making is very closely tied to the profitable and successful raising of water buffalo. Good basic information on cheese making techniques is available here and here. In the US real mozzarella cheese is very rare ...it is now evidently only being produced by one raiser/breeder, Ghee is obtained by heating the milk to evaporate water and removing the curd. Liquid butter oil with 93% fat content and a much smaller volume results . It is easy to store and resists spoilage even at tropical temperatures. The ghee from buffalo milk is white and that from cow milk yellow.
Dahi or curd (similar to yogurt) is another popular product. If not refrigerated it must be consumed within 24 hours.
Khoa or mana is a popular sweet. It is prepared by condensing the milk to about 20% fat. Sugar and some spices are added in order to obtain desirable flavors. It is a high value product however it also has a relatively short shelf life.

Yield


In countries like India and Egypt, the milk yield of buffaloes is generally higher (680-800 kg) than for local cattle (360-500 kg). however, since selection for exceptional milk production is not conducted systematically, large variations in yield occur between individual animals, and milk production of dairy buffaloes falls short of it's potential. Nonetheless, some outstanding yields have been recorded. On Indian government farms, average yields for milking buffaloes range from 4 to 7 kg per day in lactations averaging 285 days. Daily yields of 12 kg have been reported for some Bulgarian buffalo cows and a daily production of over 20 kg has been reported for some remarkable animals in India. A peak milk yield of 31.5 kg in a day has been recorded from a champion Murrah buffalo in the All India Yield Competition conducted by the government of India
At Caserta, Italy, a herd of 1,600 machine milked, pedigreed dairy buffaloes has produced average yields of 1,500 kg during lactations of 270 days. In Pakistan an analysis of over 6,000 lactations of Nili/Ravi buffalo cows showed average yield of 1,925 kg during lactations averaging 282 days64 (average adjusted for year and season and calving).In India the average milk yield of Murrah buffaloes in established herds is also reported to be about 1,800 kg65. Another source quotes the average lactation period of the Indian buffalo at 280-300 days, the dry period at 140-160 days. The average milk yield is estimated at 1500 to 2300 liters per lactation . This, once again is data derived from the large dairy and government farms. In the case of a small scale buffalo operation; lactation period will be about 200 days and milk yield 1000-1500 (1030-1545 kg)liters. In cases where the buffalo cows are also used as work animals, the lactation period is further reduced to 150-180 days with milk yield between 500 and 750 liters (515-723 kg). In 1982, per capita milk availability in India amounted to 44.7 kg/yr, of which 19.4 kg came from cows and 25.3 kg. from buffaloes. This was an increase of 4 kg since 1974 65a.
Unfortunately, because of the seasonal breeding and food supply ..over 80% of buffalo cows calf between June and September, thus in summer there is a surplus of milk, whereas in winter there is a shortage.
As with cattle the percentage of fat, protein, and total solids decreases as the milk yield increases.
The Swamp buffaloes of Southeast Asia are usually considered poor milk producers. They are used mainly as draft animals, but it may be that their milk potential has been underestimated. In the Philippines, Swamp buffalo cows with nursing calves have produced 300-800 kg of milk during lactation periods of 180-300 days65. In Thailand Swamp buffaloes selected and reared for milk production have yielded 3-5 kg per day during 305 day lactations66.
The Nanning Livestock Research Institute and farm in Kwangsi province, which is representative of many others in South China, is upgrading the native Swamp buffaloes (or Shui Niu) by selective breeding for size and weight and by crossbreeding with dairy breeds such as the Murrah and Nili/Ravi.The crossbreeds that are milked yield 4-5 kg daily67.
An interesting comparison to put these water buffalo production figures into perspective is to look at historic production levels of cattle on the US. The Dairy Producer Highlights published by the National Milk Producers Federation lists:
Milk Production:
1940- 109,412 million pounds, 4,622 lbs per cow or 2101 liters/kg(US avg.)
1995- 155,644 million pounds, 16,451 lbs per cow or 7477 liters/kg
The International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) is an international non governmental organization. The purpose of ICAR is to facilitate the extension and standardization of methods of recording animals. They have recently developed a proposal to standardize milk recording in water buffalo.

Dairy Management


The characteristics of the dairy buffalo so closely approximate those of the dairy cow that the successful methods of breeding, husbandry, and feeding for milk production for the cow can be applied equally to the dairy buffalo. Buffaloes, however, have not been bred for uniform udders and it is more difficult to milk them by machine. Some thousands of buffaloes are machine milked in Bulgaria and Italy. At Ain Shams University in Egypt, buffaloes have adapted well to machine milking. The calves are separated from their dams immediately after birth and no problems of milk letdown have been observed68. Stlll, some buffaloes have much more problem with milk letdown than dairy cows (although not as much of a problem as some native breeds in the tropics). Frequently, a calf is kept with the cow and is tied to her foreleg at milking time and it is common to milk only 3 quarters and allow the calf to suckle the forth. In India, Burma and other countries a dummy calf may be provided. Playing music also seems to help.
In regard to dairy management in most developing areas of the world, there are two criteria that notably distinguish buffalo from cattle.

Meat


The water buffalo offers a major source of meat, and the production of buffaloes solely for meat is expanding. Because buffaloes have been used as draft animals for centuries, they have evolved with exceptional muscular development; some weigh 1,000 kg or more. Until recently, however, little thought was given to using them exclusively for meat production. Most buffalo meat was, and still is, derived from old animals slaughtered at the end of their productive life as work or milk animals. As a result, much of the buffalo meat sold is of poor quality. But when buffaloes are properly reared and fed, their meat is tender and palatable.
The Asian buffalo meat production accounting 91-92% of the world total output in recent years, recorded 4.15 of an annual increase during the last decade. India was the largest buffalo meat producer ...1182 thousand tons in 1992 ...followed by Pakistan (465) China (253 Nepal (96) and Thailand (63). In both India and Nepal, more meat is produced from buffaloes than from cattle in spite of the fact that buffalo population is outnumbered by cattle by 1 to 3 in India and 1 to 1.5 in Nepal, due to Hindi religious belief and sentiments toward cattle. Water buffaloes are exported for slaughter from India and Pakistan to the Middle East and from Thailand and Australia to Hong Kong. Demand for meat is so great that Thailand's buffalo population has dropped from 7 million to 5.7 million head in the last 20 years, a period in which the human population has more than doubled.

Carcass Characteristicts


All buffalo breeds ..... even milking ones ... produce heavy animals whose carcass characteristics are similar to those of cattle. Despite heavier hide and head, the amount of useful meat (dressing percentage) from buffaloes is almost the same as cattle. Mediterranean type buffalo and Zebu cattle steers in Brazil yielded dressing percentages of 55.5% and 56.6% respectively69. Swamp buffaloes dressing percentages have been measured in Australia at 53%70.Cattle in Australia average 53-56%. Generally buffalo have about 3% lower dressing percentages than cattle. Buffaloes are lean animals. Although a layer of subcutaneous fat covers the carcass, it is usually thinner than that on comparably fed cattle. Even animals that appear to be fat prove to be largely muscle. Australian research on Swamp buffaloes reveals that buffaloes with more than 25% fat are difficult to produce, whereas average choice grade beef carcasses may contain about 35% fat71. Other buffalo breeds may differ. Yugoslavian researchers have found no difference between Mediterranean buffaloes and cattle (Buska breed) in carcass leanness and physical properties72. This lower level of fat is sometimes seen even under feedlot conditions, although animals liberally fed concentrated rations will eventually fatten. Castrated males have a reasonably even layer of subcutaneous fat; it is often difficult to differentiate their carcasses from those of cattle steers of equivalent quality73. In general, the buffalo carcass has rounder ribs, a higher proportion of muscle, and a lower proportion of bone and fat than beef has. Buffalo hide is so thick that it can be sliced into 2 or 3 layers before tanning into leather.

Meat Quality


Buffalo meat and beef are basically similar. The muscle pH (5.4), shrinkage on chilling (2%), moisture (76.6%), protein (19%) and ash (1%) are all about the same in buffalo meat and beef. Buffalo fat, however is always white and buffalo meat is darker in color than beef because of more pigmentation or less intramuscular fat (2-3% "marbling" compared with the 3-4% in beef).

Eating Quality


Taste panel tests and tenderness measurements conducted by research teams in a number of countries have shown that the meat of the water buffalo is as acceptable as that of cattle. Buffalo steaks have been rated higher than beef steaks in some taste tests in Australia, Malaysia, Venezuela and Trinidad. In taste panel studies in Trinidad, cooked joints from 3 carcasses ... a Trinidad buffalo, a crossbred steer (Jamaica-Red/Sahiwal), and an imported carcass of a top grade European beef steer ....were served. The 28 diners all had experience in beef production, butchery, or catering and were not told the source of the various joints. All carcasses were held in cold storage for 1 week before cooking. The buffalo meat was rated highest by 14 judges; 7 chose the European beef; 5 thought the crossbred beef the best; and 2 said that the buffalo and crossbred were equal to or better than the European beef. The buffalo meat received the most points for color (both meat and fat); taste, and general acceptability. there was little difference noted in texture74. Buffalo veal is considered a delicacy. Calves are usually slaughtered for veal between 3 and 4 weeks of age; dressed weight is 59-66% of live weight. There is some evidence that buffaloes may retain meat tenderness to a more advanced age than cattle because the connective tissue hardens at a later age or because the diameter of muscle fibers in the buffalo increases more slowly than in cattle75. In one test the tenderness (measured by shearing force) of muscle fibers from carcasses of buffalo steers 16-30 months old was the same as that from feedlot Angus, Hereford, and Friesian steers 12-18 months old76. This gives the farmer more flexibility in meeting fluctuating markets while still providing tender meat.

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david j. ligda
djligda@netnitco.net
Last Updated:Monday, February 16, 1998 8:35:35 PM