Technical assistance and seasonality in the diet and production of dairy herds in household agriculture of Western Paraná

The objective of the present study was to characterize the food sources, as well as the composition and quality of milk obtained from household farms of western Paraná State (Brazil) with and without technical assistance during the different seasons. For such, 24 properties were selected, 12 of which only received assistance and technical support. Four milk samples were taken (summer, autumn, winter and spring) to assess the physicochemical composition, somatic cell count and total bacterial count and feed supplied to the animals to assess the chemical composition (crude protein, ash, dry mat...