Long-term effects of electrochemically activated drinking water on milk yield, milk composition and somatic cell counts in dairy cows: a field study

Figures & data

Figure 1. Monthly variations in milk somatic cell counts from cows (Farm 1) fed with or without electrochemically activated water (ECW). Error bars denote standard error of the mean. The SCC is based on data from 27 cows per treatment.

Table 1. Milk production, milk composition and somatic cell counts from (Farm 1) cows fed with (n = 27) or without (n = 27) electrochemically activated water (ECW) during 6 months.

	Treatment			P-value
Parameter	No ECW	ECW	SEM	Treatment (T)	Months (M)	T × M
Milk yield, kg of ECM^a	32.7	31.7	0.59	0.144	<0.001	0.584
Fat, g/100g	4.63	4.58	0.07	0.178	0.002	0.475
Protein, g/100g	3.83	3.94	0.05	0.064	0.467	0.937
SCC, ×10^3/mL	354	154	41.2	<0.001	0.043	0.290

Note: SEM = Standard error of the mean.

^a Energy corrected milk (ECM) yield is determined according to the Nordic feed evaluation system (NorFor; Volden 2011). Significance was declared at P < 0.05.

Table 2. Milk production, milk composition and somatic cell counts from (Farm 2) cows (n = 140) fed with electrochemically activated water (ECW).

	Months
Parameter	1	2	3	4	5	SEM	P-Value
Milk yield, kg of ECM^a	35.5^a	35.4^a	34.9^a	34.1^b	32.6^c	1.04	0.013
Fat, g/100g	3.85	3.94	3.91	3.94	3.94	0.08	0.117
Protein, g/100g	3.52^a	3.54^a	3.58^a	3.49^b	3.49^b	0.04	<0.001
SCC, × 10^3/mL	466	183	243	181	276	112	0.089

Note: SEM = Standard error of the mean.

^a Energy corrected milk (ECM) yield is determined according to the Nordic feed evaluation system (NorFor; Volden 2011).

^a–c Means with the same letter are not significantly different at P < 0.05.

Figure 2. Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) from different sites from the water supplies from farms: (a) Farm 1 and (b) Farm 2.

Table 3. Bacteriological conditions from drinking troughs with or without electrochemically activated water (ECW) from the farms used in this study.

	Farm	Bacteriological conditions	ECW	No ECW
Onset of the study	Farm 1	Coliform bacteria at 37° (MPN/100 mL)	>200	>200
(Month 1)		Escherichia coli (MPN/100 mL)	120	120
		Bacterial count at 22°C (CFU/mL)	>3000	>3000
		Bacterial count at 37°C (CFU/mL)	1100	1100
End of the study		Coliform bacteria at 37° (MPN/100 mL)	<1	>200
(Month 6)		Escherichia coli (MPN/100 mL)	<1	24
		Bacterial count at 22°C (CFU/mL)	160	>3000
		Bacterial count at 37°C (CFU/mL)	150	2400
Onset of the study	Farm 2	Coliform bacteria at 37° (MPN/100 mL)	>200	-
(Month 1)		Escherichia coli (MPN/100 mL)	>200	-
		Bacterial count at 22°C (CFU/mL)	>3000	-
		Bacterial count at 37°C (CFU/mL)	>3000	-
End of the study		Coliform bacteria at 37° (MPN/100 mL)	<1	-
(Month 5)		Escherichia coli (MPN/100 mL)	<1	-
		Bacterial count at 22°C (CFU/mL)	>3000	-
		Bacterial count at 37°C (CFU/mL)	1700	-

Volden H. 2011. Norfor—the nordic feed evaluation system. EAAP scientific series. Wageningen, the Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers.

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