Dairy goats fed sunflower hay intercropped with chickpea in small-scale systems. Part II: Cheese yield and composition, sensory analysis and economic performance

25 Background: Goat production worldwide has grown as a way to improve the quality of rural 26 life and reduce the environmental footprint, but there is a need to increase productivity 27 through improved feeding strategies. The growing demand of consumers for healthier 28 products but with organoleptic characteristics similar to traditional ones has made it 29 necessary to develop strategies to satisfy this need, so it is necessary to evaluate the effect of 30 new forages in diets on their acceptance by consumers. Goat milk chemical and organoleptic 31 composition vary according to diet, which in turn affects the characteristics of goat milk 32 cheese. Among the most important sensory attributes for consumers, there are texture, taste 33 and smell. Objective: To evaluate the effect of substituting corn straw with sunflower hay 34 associated with chickpea in the feeding of dairy goats in terms of yield, chemical composition 35 and sensory acceptability of cheese, as well as economic performance. Methods: Twenty- 36 eight Saanen dairy goats were randomly assigned to two treatments in a 30-day experiment 37 on a small-scale farm. The daily ration per goat in the MZST treatment (control treatment) 38 consisted of alfalfa hay (200 g/goat/day) and concentrate (400 g/goat/day) plus 600 39 g/goat/day (50% of the ration) of corn straw and the SFCP treatment (treatment substituted 40 the sunflower-chickpea ground hay) had the same alfalfa and concentrate content, but with 41 600 g/goat/day of sunflower-chickpea hay. The yield, composition and sensory evaluation of 42 fresh cheeses made with milk from each treatment were recorded, and the feeding costs and 43 returns evaluated. Variables for the chemical composition of cheeses were analyzed 44 following a completely randomized design. Results: There were significant differences in 45 cheese yield and for all the chemical composition variables. Sensory evaluation showed that 46 SFCP cheese had significantly higher scores for texture and odor but significantly lower for 47 taste and overall acceptability compared to MZST. In economic terms, SFCP increased feed 48 costs by 5% but resulted in higher margins over feed costs of 12 and 24% for milk and cheese, 49 respectively, compared to MZST. Conclusion: In spite of favorable performance and 50 economic returns by the MZST treatment alimentación en un 5%, pero resultó en márgenes más altos sobre los costos de alimentación 83 de 12 y 24% para la leche y el queso, respectivamente, en comparación con MZST. 84 Conclusión: A pesar del desempeño favorable y los beneficios económicos del tratamiento 85 MZST (tratamiento control), los cambios en las características organolépticas del queso 86 redujeron su aceptación general. 87 alimentação e retornos avaliados. As variáveis de composição química dos queijos foram 113 analisadas seguindo um delineamento inteiramente casualizado. Resultados: Houve 114 diferenças significativas no rendimento do queijo e para todas as variáveis de composição 115 química. textura significativamente geral comparação com o MZST. termos econômicos, custos alimentação 5%, resultou margens mais altas os custos com alimentação de 12 e 24% para leite e queijo, respectivamente, em comparação com o MZST . Conclusão: Apesar do desempenho favorável e do retorno econômico com o tratamento MZST (tratamento controle), mudanças nas características organolépticas do queijo reduziram sua aceitação geral.