# Assessment of Milk Quality in Skopelos Goats Under Low- and High-Input Farming Systems
## 3 Results
### Effect of Farming System, Year, and LS on Milk Physical Properties, SCC, and TBC  
Table 1 presents the physical properties, SCC, and TBC of goat milk under different farming systems (extensive vs. intensive), years (2022 vs. 2023), and LSs (first-fourth LS). The pH values remained stable across farming systems and years, with no significant differences observed (\(p>0.05\)). However, LS had a highly significant effect (\(p<0.001\)), with the highest pH recorded during the fourth LS (6.75), while the other stages exhibited consistent values (6.65-6.66).  
Regarding EC, the values ranged from 5.70 to 5.88 mS/cm, with no significant differences between farming systems or years (\(p>0.05\)). However, EC was significantly influenced by the LS (\(p<0.05\)), with the highest value recorded during the third LS (5.88 mS/cm) and the lowest in the second LS (5.70 mS/cm).  
Similar observations were found for the RI values, with no significant effects of farming system or year (\(p>0.05\)). RI decreased slightly but significantly (\(p<0.001\)) from the first (1.349) to the fourth LS (1.347). In contrast, the Brix values were influenced by both farming system (\(p<0.01\)) and LS (\(p<0.001\)). The extensive system had slightly higher Brix values (\(10.51^{\circ}\)Bx) compared with the intensive system (\(10.74^{\circ}\)Bx). Across LSs, the Brix values decreased progressively, with the highest value recorded in the first LS (\(10.11^{\circ}\)Bx) and the lowest in the fourth stage (\(9.86^{\circ}\)Bx).  
The results for SCC (Table 1) indicated significant differences between farming system, year, and LS. The extensive farming system (5.687 log10 SCC/mL) showed significantly higher SCC values compared with the intensive system (5.504 log10 SCC/mL) (\(p<0.001\)). The SCC values were also significantly influenced by year (\(p<0.05\)), with the 2023 data (5.705 log10 SCC/mL) being higher than the 2022 data (5.487 log10 SCC/mL). Across LSs, SCC progressively increased from the second stage (5.439 log10 SCC/mL) to the fourth stage (5.792 log10 SCC/mL), with the fourth stage showing the highest value (\(p<0.001\)). For TBC, significant differences were observed between farming systems and LSs (Table 1).  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Farming System**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Year**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Location Stage**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Significance**} \\ \hline
**Variable** & \(\mathbf{E^{1}}\) & \(\mathbf{I^{2}}\) & **\(\mathbf{E^{2}}\)** & **2023** & **2023** & **SSD\({}^{\mathbf{PY}}\)** & **\(\mathbf{1 st}\)** & **2 nd** & **3 rd** & **4 th** & **SED\({}^{\mathbf{PLS}}\)** & **FS** & **Y** & **LS** & **Y** \(\times\)**LS** \\ \hline pH  
The extensive farming system had a higher bacterial count (1.592 log10 cfu/mL) compared with the intensive system (1.285 log10 cfu/mL) (\(p<0.001\)). Across LSs, TBC was significantly affected (\(p<0.001\)), with the highest count recorded during the first stage (1.704 log10 cfu/mL) and the lowest in the second stage (1.238 log10 cfu/mL).