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The Relation of the Carotenoid and Vitamin A Content of Summer Milk to the Carotenoid Content of the Pasture Herbage

Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, Wooster

ABSTRACT

Fluctuations in the vitamin A and carotenoid content of summer milk produced by three groups of cows were related to the fluctuations in the carotenoid content of the pasture herbage consumed during three pasture seasons. The three groups included cows pastured on bluegrass, one group with and one without supplemental hay, and another on legume mixtures, without supplemental hay.

The data illustrate the following: (a) A closer relation exists between pasture carotenoids and milk carotenoids than between pasture carotenoids and milk vitamin A. (b) After the initial rise following the beginning of the pasture season, the fluctuations in milk carotenoids follow the changes in pasture carotenoids more closely when the pasture carotenoids level is below about 250 per g. than when it is higher, indicating a maximum response at this level, (c) Permanent bluegrass pasture, under weather and management conditions which favor rapid growth, often is equally as good a source of carotenoids as is a pasture consisting of legume mixtures. The superiority of legumes is evident during periods of drought.