The objective of this research was to study the variation of total solids in bulk tank milk samples in 32,590 herds of Paraná, Santa Catarina and São Paulo states, in Brazil. A total of 257,540 bulk tank samples collected between January 1999 and November 2001 were analyzed at the Central Laboratory of the Programa de Análise dos Rebanhos Leiteiros do Paraná (PARLPR) of the Holstein Association of the state of Paraná. Least Square Means Method procedures were used to study the effects of herd, region, month and year of test, age of the sample and somatic cell score on total solids of bulk tank milk. The adjusted means of total solids by region ranged from 11.78 to 12.83%; the greatest means were in May 2001 and the smallest in January 2000; total solids did not show variation until the fifth day of analysis; the effect of cell score was contradictory, when compared with other authors. All factors included in the linear model had highly significant effect on the trait analyzed. The correlation coefficient between total solids and their components were 0.875 for fat, 0.653 for protein, 0.237 for lactose, and 0.643 for solids not fat. Correlation of total solids with somatic cell count was 0.012, and 0.023 with somatic cell score.
dairy herd; milk composition; milk quality; somatic cell
