Milk production and quality of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows on the Maleshevo farm of North Macedonia

The study aimed milk production and quality of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows on the Maleshevo farm in North Macedonia. In 2023, 30 lactating cows with an average body weight of 552.3 kg were monitored on the AD Maleshevo dairy farm in Berovo, which has a capacity of 200 cows. The nutrition was compound with ration from corn silage, lucerne hay, meadow hay, (dry) brewery by-product, (dry) sugar beet by-product, and concentrate like a mixture. Milk production over the 305 days lactation period averaged 8,997.5 kg with a mean daily yield of 29.50 kg. The average chemical composition of milk was 3.99% fat, 3.11% protein; 4.04% lactose, 8.39% nonfat dry matter and 12.38% total dry matter. The total somatic cells count was 185.000 cells/ml, while the total number of microorganisms was 236.000/ml. As a general conclusion, we can highlight the fact that the cow’s milk obtained in the Maleshevo farm in terms of the two investigated parameters (chemical composition and total number of somatic cells) fulfills the stipulated criteria for extra class and is of excellent quality, while in terms of the total number of microorganisms belongs to the first class of quality and it is necessary to take a set of hygiene measures in order to improve its microbiological composition.