A study on the causes for the elevated n-3 fatty acids in cows' milk of alpine origin.

The influence of grass-only diets either from rye-grass-dominated lowland pastures (400 m above sea level) or botanically diverse alpine pastures (2000 m) on the FA profile of milk was investigated using three groups of six Brown Swiss cows each. Two groups were fed grass-only on pasture (P) or freshly harvested in barn (B), both for two experimental periods in the lowlands and, consecutively, two periods on the alp. Group C served as the control, receiving a silage-concentrate diet and permanently staying in the lowlands.