Milking performance and plant specialized metabolites in the milk of goats fed silage from willow (Salix acmophylla) irrigated with saline water

•Silage was made from willow trees irrigated with saline (EC 4) water.•Feeding willow silage at 200 g/kg DM did not affect goat milk yield or composition.•Milk from willow-fed goats contained more phenolic acids than controls.•Milk from both groups contained salicylic acid and saligenin but no flavonoids.•Milk from willow-fed goats contained more sulfated derivatives of phenolics. Willow trees irrigated with recycled water yields fodder of good nutritional value that can be ensiled to provide feed year-round for dairy goats. We investigated the nutritional value of silage from willow irrigated with saline water (Electrical Conductivity 4.0) in a cross-over experiment (twenty eight goats, two periods). We compared total dry matter intake (TDMI), milking performance and milk composition, with a focus on plant phenolic compounds, of Damascus goats fed oats and vetch hays as the sole source of roughage (all-hay) or oats hay with willow silage, with 470 g/kg DM concentrates. Willow silage represented 175 and 205 g/kg of TDMI in the last five days of periods 1 and 2, respectively. Individual TDMI tended (P