Affo-goat-o: How Spent

Coffee Grounds Impact

Small Ruminant Health and
Dairy Production
By: Rachel Halpern
Graduation Year: 2027
Team A
 Byproduct Feeds

● Byproduct Feed
○ Byproducts of human food
○ Brewer’s Grain
● Need for Feed
○ Digestible (Westendorf, 2011)

○ Cost effective
○ Sustainable
○ Health
○ Palatability (“Goat Nutrition,” n.d.)
● Dairy Animals
○ Energy requirements
○ Important subjects
Page, J. (n.d.). Goats, Grains, and Beer. Retrieved from
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/goats-grains-and-
beer-how-microbreweries-are-setting-roots-in-quebecs-
small-towns/.
 Spent Coffee Grounds (SCGs)

6,000,000 tons of SCGs generated

annually
● release greenhouse gases
○ Methane (Franca, A. S. and Oliveira, L. S., 2022).
○ CO2
● While ruminants emit gas, SCGs
can potentially reduce their
methane emissions
● In-vitro study on bovine ruminal fluid
○ IVDMD tested, both raw and ensiled
SCGs (Batbekh, B et al., 2023)
Boyles, M. (2024). Photo credit: pixabay.
15 Uses for Coffee and Coffee Grounds.
Retrieved from
https://www.almanac.com/coffee.
 Small Ruminant Gastrointestinal System

(“Digestive system,” n.d.)

Digestive Tract of the Goat.

(2019). Goat Nutrition GI Tract.
Retrieved 2024, from
https://goats.extension.org/goat-
nutrition-gi-tract/.

Rumen Fermentation→ production of VFAs

Passes heavier, fermented food particles to the omasum; has a honeycomb

Reticulum
structure along its walls

Omasum Dehydrates food particles, absorbs volatile fatty acids (VFAs)

Abomasum “True stomach.” Food is broken down by hydrochloric acid.

Small intestine Nutrients are absorbed

Large and small intestines meet, remaining water is absorbed, waste is

Cecum/Large Intestine
excreted
(Moran, 2005)
 Italian Study on Saanen Goats

Experimental Design
● 24 goats, 3 groups
● 0, 50 g, 100 g SCG inclusion
● 5 weeks
● Blood, milk samples

Results
● Positive impact on blood
antioxidant status
○ reduced likelihood of oxidative
stress
● Dairy Production stays the Peterson, A. (2022). Goats eat on a farm at the Blakesville
Creamery in Port Washington. A glance at Blakesville
same Creamery, where goats and cheese go together. Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel.
● Lower doses→ better

(Carta et al., 2022)

 Production Measures

Milk Analysis
● Antioxidants weeks 1, 2, and 5
○ 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)
(ABTS)
○ Malondialdehyde (MDA)
○ Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)
● Milk components
○ Lactose
○ Fat
○ Production amount
○ Somatic cell count (SCC)
○ Urea^
○ Sodium chloride^
Miller, T. (2022). Goat Surrounded by Dairy Products. The
Benefits and Disadvantages of Goat Milk. Backyard Goats.
Retrieved from https://backyardgoats.iamcountryside.com/home-
dairy/benefits-disadvantages-of-goat-milk/.

^=results needing further investigation

(Carta et al., 2022)
 Health Measures

Blood Analysis
● Glucose
● Blood cell components (WBCs,* RBCs, etc)
● Liver, kidney function
● Antioxidants (FRAP*, MDA,* etc)

Drawing Blood From a Goat. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.ironoakfarm.net/how-to-draw-blood-from-a-goat/.

*significant results (Carta et al., 2022)

 Eosinophil Data

Adapted from Carta et al., 2022

 Antioxidant Capacity Data

FRAP (+ antioxidant) MDA (oxidative Stress)

Adapted from Carta et al., 2022

 Impact on Health and Production

Health Results Production Results

● Palatable
● Increased blood
oxidation capacity
● Eosinophil percentage
quadratically decreased
● No alteration of enzymatic
activity in liver or kidney
● Increased FRAP,
decreased MDA
● No impact on milk
protein, fat, lactose,
antioxidants
● Low dose SCG decreased
SCC, high dose did not
change it (quadratically)
● Urea yield decreased
linearly (caffeine)
(Jordá et al., 1989)
● NaCl increased linearly

● Further Investigation Needed

○ Optimal dosing
○ Longer period of use
○ Certain results on the edge of normal
(Carta et al., 2022)
 Study on Latxa Ewes in Spain

Experimental Design
● 48 sheep, 4 groups
● 0 g, 30g, 50 g, 100 g/kg SCG inclusion
● 51 days long
○ Body condition
○ Ruminal samples
○ Milk yield, composition

About Latxa Sheep. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.livestockoftheworld.com/sheep/Breeds.asp? (de Otálora et al., 2020)
BreedLookupID=1443&SpeciesID=10.
 Results
● No impact on feeding behavior
● SCG increased milk yield
○ linear increase: milk protein and fat
○ fat and protein corrected milk: linear increase
● Increased Branched Chain VFAs
○ With 100g inclusion
○ Ruminal metabolism, energy conversion
○ Makes sense, as SCGs have high valine, leucine, isovaline
○ No significant change in SCFA
● Low inclusion suggested

Sowards, J. (2022). Goat Being Milked. How to Milk a Goat. Roots and Refuge. Retrieved from
(de Otálora et al., 2020)
https://rootsandrefuge.com/how-to-milk-a-goat/.
 Takeaways

● Dosing is key!
○ Decreased palatability at higher doses
○ Lower dose inclusion is key!
● Further research needed on ruminal health
○ BCVFAs and SCFAs
○ Is this really a causal relationship?
● Milk Production
○ Positive impact!
○ Fat
○ Protein

(de Otálora et al., 2020)

 Thanks for Listening!

Chaudhury, N. (2017, July 13). A live goat is the star of this Austin coffee shop. Eater Austin. Retrieved

from https://austin.eater.com/2017/7/13/15964768/civil-goat-coffee-co-cafe-goat-mascot
 References
Batbekh, B., Ahmed, E., Hanada, M., Fukuma, N., & Nishida, T. (2023). Assessment of the Impact of Coffee Waste as an Alternative Feed
Supplementation on Rumen Fermentation and Methane Emissions in an In Vitro Study. Fermentation, 9(9), 858.
https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation9090858

Carta, S., Tsiplakou, E., Nicolussi, P., Pulina, G., & Nudda, A. (2022). Effects of spent coffee grounds on production traits, haematological
parameters, and antioxidant activity of blood and milk in dairy goats. Animal, 16(4), 100501.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2022.100501

de Otálora, X. D., Ruiz, R., Goiri, I., Rey, J., Atxaerandio, R., San Martin, D., Orive, M., Iñarra, B., Zufia, J., Urkiza, J., & García-Rodríguez,
A. et al. (2020). valorisation of spent coffee grounds as functional feed ingredient improves productive performance of Latxa dairy ewes.
Animal Feed Science and Technology, 264, 114461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2020.114461

Digestive system of goats. CALS. (n.d.). https://cals.cornell.edu/nys-4-h-animal-science-programs/livestock/goats/goat-fact-sheets/

digestive-system-goats

Franca, A. S., & Oliveira, L. S. (2022). Potential Uses of Spent Coffee Grounds in the Food Industry. Foods, 11(14), 2064.
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11142064

Goat Nutrition GI tract – Goats. (n.d.). Goats.extension.org. https://goats.extension.org/goat-nutrition-gi-tract/

Jordá, A., Portolés, M., Guasch, R., Bernal, D., & Saez, G. T. (1989). Effect of caffeine on urea biosynthesis and some related processes,
ketone bodies, ATP and liver amino acids. Biochemical Pharmacology, 38(16), 2727–2732. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-
2952(89)90560-1

Linn, A. J. (2021). The ruminant digestive system. Extension at the University of Minnesota.
https://extension.umn.edu/dairy-nutrition/ruminant-digestive-system

Moran, J. (2005). How the rumen works - CSIRO publishing. https://www.publish.csiro.au/ebook/chapter/SA0501041

Rashid, M. (2008). Introduction - province of Manitoba. https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/livestock/goat/pubs/goats-and-their-

nutrition.pdf

Westendorf, MI. (2011). The use of byproduct feedstuffs to optimize growth, performance, and economics in ruminants - rutgers, the
State University of New Jersey. https://portal.nifa.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/0164129-the-use-of-byproduct-feedstuffs-to-optimize-
growth-performance-and-economics-in-ruminants.html
 Image References

About Latxa Sheep. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.livestockoftheworld.com/sheep/Breeds.asp?

BreedLookupID=1443&SpeciesID=10.

Boyles, M. (2024). Photo credit: pixabay. 15 Uses for Coffee and Coffee Grounds. Retrieved from
https://www.almanac.com/coffee.

Chaudhury, N. (2017). A live goat is the star of this Austin coffee shop. Eater Austin. Retrieved from
https://austin.eater.com/2017/7/13/15964768/civil-goat-coffee-co-cafe-goat-mascot
Digestive Tract of the Goat. (2019). Goat Nutrition GI Tract. Retrieved 2024, from
https://goats.extension.org/goat-nutrition-gi-tract/.

Drawing Blood From a Goat. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ironoakfarm.net/how-to-draw-blood-from-a-

goat/.

Miller, T. (2022). Goat Surrounded by Dairy Products. The Benefits and Disadvantages of Goat Milk. Backyard
Goats. Retrieved from https://backyardgoats.iamcountryside.com/home-dairy/benefits-disadvantages-of-goat-
milk/.

Page, J. (n.d.). Goats, Grains, and Beer. Retrieved from https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/goats-

grains-and-beer-how-microbreweries-are-setting-roots-in-quebecs-small-towns/.

Peterson, A. (2022). Goats eat on a farm at the Blakesville Creamery in Port Washington. A glance at
Blakesville Creamery, where goats and cheese go together. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Sowards, J. (2022). Goat Being Milked. How to Milk a Goat. Roots and Refuge. Retrieved from
https://rootsandrefuge.com/how-to-milk-a-goat/.
 Any Questions?

Chaudhury, N. (2017, July 13). A live goat is the star of this Austin coffee shop. Eater Austin. Retrieved

from https://austin.eater.com/2017/7/13/15964768/civil-goat-coffee-co-cafe-goat-mascot