Effect of the Use of Tomato Pomace on Feeding and Performance of Lactating Goats

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Inclusion of agro-industrial wastes reduces animal feed costs. However, it is very important to assess the effect this can have on the health and physiological condition of animals, as well as on the production and quality of milk. Therefore, this study was proposed with the objective of evaluating these aspects and verifying the optimal dose to maximize the farmers’ economic margin without affecting animals or their production. Inclusion of 40% tomato pomace does not influence the physiological characteristics of animals, and in turn improves both milk production and composition. Therefore, it can be concluded that formulation of the goats’ diet including 40% tomato pomace is the best option for animal diet. ABSTRACT: The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of including different levels of tomato pomace (TP) on performance, blood biochemical parameters, hormones, production and composition of milk, and economic analysis of Saanen goats reared in confinement. Sixteen multiparous goats (Saanen), 21 days in milk, were randomly distributed in two Latin square 4 × 4 (four periods and four treatments), according to the inclusion levels of dehydrated tomato pomace (0%, 20%, 40%, and 60%) in the diet. This inclusion resulted in differences in the intake of dry and organic matter, as well as ether extract, crude protein, water, neutral detergent fiber, and non-fibrous carbohydrates. The inclusion of 60% TP resulted in a significant decrease of body weight (−4.42 kg) in comparison with initial body weight, while the other three treatments did not affect or increase the animal body weight (between −0.05 and +3.07 kg). The addition of 20% and 40% of TP resulted in higher milk production (around 1.5 kg day(−1)) than in animals from a control (1.2 kg day(−1)) and 60% TP (1.04 kg day(−1)). This increase was approximately 28% in the animals with 40% of TP inclusion. Moreover, the addition of 20% or 40% TP also improved the milk quality, which presented a higher fat amount (4.37% and 4.63% in 20% TP and 40% TP animals, respectively) than in a control (3.7%) and animals feed with 60% TP (4.02%). The feed efficiency and feed conversion did not show differences between diets. Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) were also significantly affected by the inclusion of TP in the diet. The diet with the highest level of TP (60%) had the lowest cost per kilo among the diets evaluated. However, the use of 40% TP in animal diet presented the highest milk production and intermediate production cost.