Milk By-products, Skim Milk, Buttermilk, Whey

Description: 

Milk contains almost all nutrients required by animals. Although milk products are excellent feeds, their cost prohibits extensive use for all but young animals; also, fresh milk products are bulky to handle and deteriorate rapidly in transport. Milk is deficient in iron and copper. If young animals are allowed to suckle for too long a period of time, they may suffer from anemia, which accounts for the colorless meat of so-called . white veal. , or calves fed entirely on milk.

SKIM MILK (SEPARATED MILK). 

This is milk from which most of the fat has been removed but in which all the protein remains. The protein has a high biological value and is very digestible. Skim milk is a good source of Water Soluble Vitamins, whereas the Fat Soluble Vitamins (A and D) are removed with the fat. 

BUTTERMILK  

This liquid product that is remaining after whole milk is churned and normally it contains more fat than skim milk. It is more acidic and can have more of a laxative action.

WHEY 

Whey is a liquid by-product that is remaining after cheese production. Its dry matter content is low around 7 %. Most of the fat and casein has been removed during the cheese making process, but it is high in lactose and minerals. In addition to providing nutrients whey can also be used as a source of water. There are two types of whey fresh and acidified. Fresh whey is fed prior to being allowed to ferment and produce acid. While acid whey is allowed to ferment and produce acids. Fresh whey is quite unstable and needs to be consumed within a short time after it has been produced. Acid whey is more stable, because the acid that has been produced when it has been allowed to ferment will lower the pH and stabilize it. Acid whey is less palatable than fresh whey. Adding various acids, such as, formic acid, hydrochloric acid, etc can also stabilize liquid whey. Dehydrating the whey and drying it can also make whey powder.

MILK PERMEATE  

Membrane filtration technology allows milk components used in making cheese to be concentrated (casein, butterfat) while producing a by-product referred to as milk permeate which contains the lactose, and some of the soluble proteins / minerals. This technology reduces the amount of water and lactose that is shipped to a cheese processing plant and reduces their effluent waste stream. Milk permeate is high in lactose, soluble proteins and minerals and can be used as a source of dietary energy, protein and mineral in livestock feeding programs.

Caution: 

Adequate heat treatment (pasteurization) should be applied to assure that all pathogenic organisms have been destroyed. Source: By-product of milk and cheese processing.

Feeding Experiments:

SKIM MILK 

Various viable options are available for using skim milk in feeding systems for calves (bucket, cooling, formic acid treatment, etc.)(6) (CAB X214766) (Fischer, 1984) and swine. Skim milk is an excellent feed for swine and would be a viable feed ingredient when the price is competitive or when there is an excess supply (2) (CAB 800463489) (Buhner, 1979). Gains in growing swine were increased when skim milk was fed (3)(CAB 820481833)(Mitchell, 1982); (8) (CAB 941411566) (Rave, 1993); (9) (CAB 19991415705) (Dunshea, 1999). Normally it is more economical to feed liquid skim milk than dried skim milk and the normal bacterial acidification was found to be the cheapest method of stabilization (5) (CAB D996518) (Fischer, 1985).Liquid skim milk that had been stabilized with formic acid was found to be more palatable in swine feeding applications as compared to hydrochloric acid stabilized skim milk (4) (CAB 830485043) (Schultz, 1983). Formaldehyde stabilization of skim milk fed to calves has been evaluated and shown to increase gains (7) (CAB D432860) (Berzinya, 1988).

BUTTERMILK 

Applications of buttermilk in animal feeding systems have been described (6) (CAB 790449162) (Jensen, 1978). Buttermilk was found to be an excellent supplemental protein source for growing swine (8) (CAB 811423979) (Rodriguez, 1981). Average daily gain was improved in young growing swine when buttermilk replaced soybean meal (9) (CAB 821440444) (Christison, 1982). Gain was increased in pigs when buttermilk was added to their diet (1) (CAB 770437193) (Weckowicz, 1977). Sour buttermilk was found to be suitable to be used in feeding swine (12) (CAB 990400864) (Lettner, 1998). Dried buttermilk was incorporated into starter (0, 3, 6, 9 %) and finisher (0, 1, 2, 3 %) broiler diets replacing either fish meal, soybean meal or sunflower meal and the best performance was at the 3 % in the starter and 1 % in the finisher incorporation rates (2) (CAB 770432001) (Petkova, 1976). Use of buttermilk in dairy calf feeding system have been extensively reviewed (10) (CAB D380606) (Durrani, 1987). When buttermilk replace skim milk in the diets of calves no difference in performance was observed (11) (CAB 931459397) (Lettner, 1991). Performance in young lambs was increased when buttermilk was used to replace plant protein sources (7) (CAB 810470760) (Karvonen, 1980).

WHEY 

Several reviews of whey feeding have been completed (7) (CAB 800460286) (Dingstad, 1980); (8) (CAB 800460533) (Modler, 1980); (17) (AGRIS 91-015173) (Economides, 1990). Liquid whey feeding has been shown to reduce feeding costs (15) (CAB D898087) (Hacker, 1983). Advantages and disadvantages of liquid vs dry whey has been reviewed (1) (CAB 750417314) (Turnbull, 1974). Distant for source and transport cost is the primary factor influencing the economic feasibility of feeding whey (16) (CAB D899903) (Metzler, 1983). Allowing an adaptation time is critical when feeding whey to cattle, as is feeding enough hay to prevent diaherra (24) (CAB 930463566) (Steinwender, 1993). Whey can be used to partially replace oilseed meals in ewe feeding programs (14) (CAB D940776) (Nesterenko, 1981). Liquid whey feeding to dairy cattle has been shown to provide a viable and economical source of nutrients (13) (CAB D985532) (Petrovskaya, 1983). Feeding of whey to lactating dairy cattle was shown to increase butterfat and protein percentages in the milk (11) (CAB 830483137) (Buchberger, 1982); (24) (CAB 930463566) (Steinwender, 1993). Whey feeding to lactating dairy cattle was shown to decreased butterfat percentage in the milk (2) (CAB 731412774) (Schingoethe, 1973). Milk production and live weight gains were increased when liquid whey was fed (17) (AGRIS 91-015173) (Economides, 1990); (19) (CAB N323940); (20) (CAB N261490) (Herold, 1990). Feeding of whey resulted in similar performance in growing bulls and caused a saving of concentrate and silage (23) (CAB 931465494) (Lehmann, 1993). Cattle can be fed a maximum of 25 to 30 % of their daily DM intake as whey, if adequate amounts of hay is also being fed (22) (CAB 940403516) (Lehmann, 1993); (24) (CAB 930463566) (Steinwender, 1993). Feeding of whey to growing bulls was found to increase % propionic acid and decrease acetic in rumen (4) (AGRIS 86-003273) (Kolat, 1983). Dry whey can replace up to 1/3 of the dried milk in a calf feeding program without decreasing gains and reducing feed conversion (25) (CAB N417880) (Capper, 1992). Feeding of cottage cheese whey to calves increased gains in calves (4) (CAB 750422122) (Hendrix, 1975). Dried whey was incorporated into starter (0, 3, 6, 9 %) and finisher (0, 2, 4, 6 %) broiler diets replacing either fish meal, soybean meal or sunflower meal and the best performance was at the 3 % in the starter and 2 % in the finisher incorporation rates (3) (CAB 770432002) (Petkova, 1976). Whey was shown to be able to replace a commercial supplement without causing differences in performance (18) (CAB D306724) (Vieites, 1987). Whey needs to be limited in feeding applications for swine, because of its low DM content and hense low energy content, low protein content with an imbalanced amino acid profile, mineral imbalance and high lactose content (6) (CAB 800465809) (Fevrier, 1979). Ad libitum feeding of liquid whey to young swine was shown not to cause any problems (10) (CAB 79040792) (Brocksoppp, 1979). Lactose utilization and dietary level needs to be considered when feeding whey to swine (5) (CAB 800461085) (Benevenga, 1979). Concentrated whey was shown to be a good feed for young growing swine (12) (CAB 810471012) (Dogurevich, 1981). Feeding of whey can result in intestinal hemorrhage syndrome, caused by rapid fermentation of lactose and high levels of gas production (3) (CAB 772281549) (Todd, 1977); (21) (CAB 942201965) (Hani, 1993). Whey feeding was shown to reduce ascarid egg count in the feces of swine (9) (CAB 800462260) (Alfredsen, 1980).

MILK PERMEATE 

Milk butterfat percentage was increased when milk permeate was fed to dairy cattle (1) (AGRIS 96-019508) (Cowan, 1990). Cheese permeate that had the lactose converted to glucose and galactose could be used to provide up to 40 % of dietary energy in growing swine diets, as compared to only 20 % for non-converted permeate (1) (AGRIS 88-097494) (Oksbjerg, 1988). The high lactose content of milk permeate can cause problems when fed to swine (1) (AGRIS 88-097494) (Oksbjerg, 1988). Improved gain and feed conversion in calves only received milk replace, when dried whey replaced dried skim milk (2) (CAB 731412774) (Schingoethe, 1973). Variation in intake was observed in dairy cattle when milk permeate was fed and it was found that up to 1.7 kg of grain could be replaced by the milk permeate (1) (AGRIS 96-019508) (Cowan, 1990).

Feeding and Handling Characteristics:  

Pasteurization is recommended for these products to prevent the transfer of disease organisms. 

Nutrient Characteristics: