Improving milk yield and quality through feeding

In the last decades, Mediterranean small ruminant dairy production systems have undergone a dichotomous development. Some feeding systems, that we term global, are increasingly dependent on food purchased on the global market, whereas others, termed local, are still relying on the exploitation of local feed resources. In both situations, product healthiness and standard quality parameters such as true protein and fat are regarded as basic targets of feeding management. However, particularly in the local system, nutrition is also aimed at achieving milk quality beyond the classical dairy-factory regulatory standards. Diets that promote micro-components such as beneficial fatty acids, vitamins or their precursors, immuno-response enhancers, specific sensory attributes, are eagerly sought after. We review some of the most recent steps forward made by nutrition science, with special emphasis on trade-offs between quantity and quality, and their implications on small ruminant production systems based on global or local resources.