The role of mammary metabolic activity in regulation of mammary blood flow was studied in dairy goats, Milk vein blood velocity (MBV) followed changes in milk yield closely during lactation and somatotropin (ST) treatment. During pregnancy and lactation, arteriovenous differences (AV) across each mammary gland for HCO3- were negatively correlated to MBV. Changes in MBV during ST treatment and during the day affected AV for pCO(2) and pH, rather than AV for HCO3-. Mammary CO2 production, but not O-2 uptake, is involved in local regulation of mammary blood flow, but the mechanisms involved during lactation and ST treatment may not be identical.