QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNITY AND INDIVIDUAL TANK MILK IN THE SEMIARID POTIGUAR
cattle, milk production, quality, mastitis.
The objective of this research was to evaluate and quantify the impact of the producer on ccs and to determine if there are differences between producers with high and low ccs. Twenty-one cattle cooling tanks were selected and the producers responsible for their supply were interviewed. With questionnaires applied in the month of April and followed up until September 2016, the data were submitted to a descriptive analysis. The results obtained showed that 66% of the milk processed by the cooperative comes from individual tanks, which are characterized by medium and large producers. Collective tanks account for 25% of the total volume captured by the cooperative and the others come from storage on the platform. The presence of mastitis in the herd is frequent and even with this coexistence of losses no preventive measure is taken by the lack of technical assistance. The average age of producers is over 50 years with only elementary education incomplete. Producers with larger herds have little efficiency in their production due to the small amount of non-lactating animals, thus diminishing the productive potential in the farm and the region. The cooperative processes daily about 18 thousand liters of milk, still below that which can be produced by the producers of the region. It is concluded that it will be necessary the technical follow-up of the producers of the cooperative, improvements in the management of the milking and consequently increase the productivity and quality of the final product.