STUDY ON BUFFALO BREEDING FOR MILK PRODUCTION IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF ROMANIA

Abstract

Raising buffaloes for milk production is a tradition in many areas of the world, but also in Romania. Buffalo milk has great nutritional value, lends itself very well to processing into specific products. From a hygienic point of view, the number of somatic cells is lower than in taurines. Although the world population of buffalo showed a general upward trend, in Romania it decreased significantly in number during the same period. On December 1, 2021, there were 18,328 buffaloes, of which 14,060 females for reproduction, and 4,268 youth, 97% of the herd being in the center and northwest of Transylvania.. In the center of the country, 5,388 heads are raised, in 592 farms of different sizes, which represents 29.40% of the total workforce. In small farms, the focus should be on increasing individual milk production and increasing marketable production. In medium-sized farms, the specific recommended measures are to increase the herd of buffaloes, respectively from medium to large farms. For farms specialized in raising buffaloes cows, it is recommended to increase the individual milk production through selective reform and the retention of plus variants from the own pen, the application of optimized rations, artificial insemination, the use of MSC from bulls with superior breeding value for milk production, monitoring reproductive activity and increasing udder skills for mechanical milking.