Effects of flock, year and season on the quality of milk from an indigenous breed in the sub-Mediterranean area

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of flock, year and season on chemical composition, physical properties and microbiological characteristics of Dalmatian Pramenka, an indigenous sheep breed milk in sub-Mediterranean part of Croatia. The study was performed in six family farms with 150-300 sheep per farm using semi-extensive farming practices, over the period of three years. Bulk-tank milk samples were taken during whole milking period (from the end of March to the end of August) and were analyzed for total solids (TS), solids non fat (SNF), fat, lactose, protein, casein, non protein nitrogen (NPN), freezing point (FP), pH and titratable acidity (°SH), as well as somatic cell count (SCC) and bacteria count (BC). Flock had significant effect on all analyzed chemical components of milk (P < 0.05), as well as on SCC and BC (P < 0.01). Significant effect of the year was observed on lactose, casein, NPN (P < 0.01), protein (P < 0.05) and SCC and BC values (P < 0.05). In addition, season had significant effect on all analyzed milk parameters (P < 0.05) except the FP.