Small ruminants in a High Nature

Cultural Value agroforestry

system. Case studies in sheep

research

P. Gaspar*, A. Elghannam** M. Escribano* and FJ. Mesías***

* Department of Animal Production and Food science, University of Extremadura. Badajoz (Spain)

** Department of Agricultural Economics, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Elbeheira (Egypt)

*** Department of Economics, University of Extremadura, Badajoz (Spain)

Vitoria-Gasteiz, 3rd October 2017

Table of contents

I – Small ruminant systems in south west of Spain.

II – Participatory research: Problems identified by

stakeholders in Dehesa agroforestry systems

III –Case studies in sheep systems research

1. The case of PDO cheese “Torta del Casar”

2. Cooperativism in sheep for meat

I. Small ruminant systems in south west of

Spain.

• Based primarily on an extensive farm system

• Located frequently in agroforestry systems known as "Dehesas“

• Associated with beef cattle and pigs

I. Small ruminant systems in south west of

Spain

What is a DEHESA???

Pasture combined with Quercus spp trees

Soil acid, shallow sandy loams of low fertility

The climate: continental Mediterranean

• Temperature: 16-17°C

• Rainfall: 300 and 800 mm

Area:

• Spain reaches a total of approximately 5.8 million hectares

• 0.5 million hectares are located in southern Portugal

I. Small ruminant systems in south west of

Spain.

• Throughout the

southwest of the

Iberian Peninsula

there is a large

territory occupied

by these

agroforestry

systems

I. Small ruminant systems in south west of

Spain.

• In Spain, major census of sheep, are

concentrated in the autonomous communities of

Extremadura, Castilla-Leon, Castilla-La

Mancha, Andalusia and Aragon, representing

78.7% of the national total altogether

Sheep farming in semi-arid conditions:

Merino breed

• The base of the sheep-farming systems in

dehesa agroforestry is the Merino.

• Predominant breed due to its hardiness and

adaptation capacity

• It resists extremes of temperature and

deficiencies of quantity and quality pasture

• It recovers body condition rapidly when

climate turn favourable

• Breeding selection to retain

its hardiness and the use of

crosses with selected

breeds to improve yields

have been the common

practice in the dehesas

Sheep for meat in dehesas

• Sheep farms in dehesa systems

are basically devoted to meat

production, but there are

examples where other sheep

products are also targeted.

• Meat production is lamb fattened on the

farm, and slaughtered at 3 months and

23-25 kg live weight, depending on

resource availability and market

demand.

Dairy sheep in dehesas

• In general, the Merino sheep lactation period is divided into two phases;

a, 60-day, which corresponds to the period of breeding of the Lamb,

and, another, 50 - 70 days, milking-oriented.

• The milk obtained by the Merina sheep milking is intended for the

manufacture of cheese. In this sense, it has acquired great fame for its

high quality.

• Nowadays, milking is spreading to a large

number of herds, sometimes in large farms,

although they maintain certain family

orientation.

• In recent years has transformed into continued,

industrial production, milking animals throughout

the year and applying mechanical milking.

Importance of sheep systems for the area

• These production models stand out for their high environmental

and socio-economic value. Sheep farming plays a very

important role in their maintenance.

• However, currently, the stability of the system is conditioned by

the low profitability of the extensive sheep productions

• Which are the main problems that affect those systems?

• Can we find solutions thanks to research and innovation?

II. Participatory research: Problems identified by

stakeholders in Dehesa agroforestry systems

• European project called AGFORWARD (www.agforward.eu)

• Participatory research process in which a first identified problems

which had rangeland and animal systems that settle in it.

• 169 individual stakeholders were involved:

• farmers

• breeders

• foresters

• landowners

• agricultural services companies

• extension services

• nature-related NGOs

• local action groups and policy makers

II. Participatory research: Problems identified by

stakeholders in Dehesa agroforestry systems

Demand on innovation new research on

animal production

GENETICS and BREEDING MANAGEMENT

1. Breeds better adapted to pasture

seasonality, docility, browsing behaviour

2. Livestock diversification to optimize

resources use and market opportunities

3. Increase the fertility ratios. Semen quality

evaluation and breeding males’ illnesses.

4. Livestock health with special focus on the

tuberculosis re-infestation by wild animal

in drinking water points and areas of

supplementary fodder provision.

Demand on innovation new research on

animal production

PASTURE MANAGEMENT:

1. Matching stocking rates to forage resources availability and not to

subsidies rules..

2. Grazing under the Holistic Management rules (managed fast rotational

grazing)

3. New Herding schemes

4. Precision grazing by designing calendars for location of facilities

5. GPS herding to assist precision grazing, protection of tree regeneration,

control of livestock re-infestation by wild animals, monitoring livestock

health. While the implementation of GPS to follow and analyse animal’s

activity is technically solved, the application of negative/positive stimuli

to drive animal behaviour is still a big challenge.

Examples of innovation:

Tradition vs tecnology

CASE STUDIES

III. Case studies in sheep systems

research

• The case of PDO

cheese “Torta del

Casar”

• Cooperativism in

sheep for meat

The case of PDO cheese “Torta del Casar”

• The Torta del Casar is a cheese

made with raw milk from merino

purebred and crossbred ewes.

• The geographical area of

production and

manufacturing is located in

the province of Cáceres,

occupying approximately

400.000 ha.

Data related to PDO

Total sales (kg) 2012 2013 2014 2015

National Market (total) 298.582 279.279 297.447 281.627

Extremadura 141.214 121.406 124.578 106.697

Madrid 74.257 65.000 72.759 76.567

Cataluña y Comunidad Valenciana 45.293 46.055 49.452 49.649

Andalucía 15.440 13.711 14.741 17.503

País Vasco y Galicia 11.748 14.453 15.572 16.131

Other AA.CC 10.630 18.654 20.346 15.080

International Market 20.228 18.257 13.782 9.564

Total Market 318.810 297.536 311.229 291.191

Total national and international sales and their progress in recent years (2012-2015).

The duties of Regulatory Board of the

PDO "Torta del Casar"

• Defense of the trademark “Torta del Casar”, registered in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office

• Control of livestock, milk, dairies and cheeses covered by the parameters specified in the Regulations and in the Quality Manual performed according to the provisions of Quality Standard EN-45011

• The promotion and dissemination of the "Torta del Casar” which is designed and carried out trhough different actions of communication, publicity and public relations

PDO available data

Farm data 2012 2013 2014 2015

Number of holdings 23 22 21 27

Number of sheep heads 18.800 16.600 15.900 17.100

Milk production (l) 2.860.092 2.506.939 2.302.268 2.514.914

Milk treated for cheese making (l) 2.126.651 2.051.636 2.055.296 2.109.915

Evolution of number of farms, production heads and industry under the PDO scheme years 2012-2015

Industry data 2012 2013 2014 2015

Number of registered industries 11 11 8 8

Number of certified industries 9 8 6 6

Processed / Total Milk Produced 74,36% 81,84% 89,27% 83,90%

Total kg. Processed cheese 364.331 315.800 364.270 377.854

Total kg. Certified Cheese 318.810 297.536 311.229 291.191

% certificate / total produced 87,51% 94,22% 85,44% 77,06%

Total certified cheeses (kg) 318.810 297.536 311.229 291.191

Evolution / previous year -6,67% 4,60% -6,44%

Total certified cheeses (units) 480.595 472.934 534.666 518.081

Evolution / previous year -1,59% 13,05% -3,10%

Research carried out

Research splitted in two parts

1. Analysis of the productive structure of holdings

of the PDO "Torta de Casar"

2. Assessing the relationship of holdings with the

PDO and its future prospects.

Methodological process

• The data were obtained directly through a survey of

farm managers during 2016 and correspond to a total

of 15 of the 16 farms that are covered by the PDO

"Torta del Casar".

• Technical and economic data were collected through a

survey on site

• Farmers were also asked to rate various aspects of their

relationship with the PDO, for which they had to take

into account the general benefits provided to them, the

advice and assistance to the management that provided

them.

• The questions were scored by breeders on a Likert scale

of 1-5 where the value 1 corresponds to "strongly

disagree“ and the value 5 to "strongly agree"

Results: structure of holdings

Indicator Units Mean ESM1 Max. Min.

Total farm land ha 115,6 32,48 400 8

Productive dairy ewes Nº 543,47 129,57 2200 72

Lambs born Nº 721,87 229,76 3800 70

Rambs Nº 19,87 4,62 80 5

Age at first matting months 9,6 0,65 15 5

Twin lambing rate % 57,73 7,02 90 0,9

Non-pregnant ewes per

year % 8,03 2,97 45 0,04

Number of sponges

aplication per year Nº 490 135,66 2200 50

Liters of milk per

lactation liters 309,33 24,31 410 130

Lactation period Days 225,67 26,04 365 100

Distance from farm to

industry km 22,83 3,33 50 0,5

Results: relationship with the PDO

Benefits provided by the PDO

Results: relationship with the PDO

Economic aspects in relation to PDO

Results: relationship with the PDO

Technical advice provided by PDO

Cooperativism in sheep for meat

• Sheep meat sector is undergoing a transformation, both in the management of their production systems and marketing, to achieve stability of prices throughout the year and the development of new presentations or product formats making it more attractive to the consumer.

• The aim is that the producers can obtain higher economic returns by improving the management of their holdings and the commercialization of their products.

• Both levels can be addressed from the integration of farms in a cooperative system that can cope with the current situation and improve their competitiveness, assuming that this integration is one of the key aspects for maintenance and viability of the extensive systems

Data related to 2nd dergree Coop

• OVISO group is a second-degree ' cooperative what constitutes the largest cooperative group of sheep for meat at European level.

• OVISO encompasses 17 cooperatives whose members manage a total of 1.3 million sheep

• Today the coop has achieved improvements in the value chain thanks to the training of farmers, investment in productive infrastructure and the creation of fattening facilities for lambs.

Data related to 2nd dergree Coop

Tools used for the 2nd degree coop

• Collaborations and agreements with other cooperatives in the

sector to reach new markets. One example is Ovispain, which is a

consortium for export, comprising Oviso, Pastores y Cordesur

group.

• Cooperative farmers have access to the services of the

cooperative of second degree in the same conditions. Although

technical advice at farm level is similar, technical personnel giving

assistance depends on the cooperative's first grade.

• Breeds mostly exploited, they are fundamentally Merina racial

base females crossed mainly with Ile de France and Berrichon du

Cher males.

Methodological process

• The data used in this study correspond to the analysis of 101 sheep farms of 3 of the most significant cooperative OVISO group (named in this presentation Coop1, Coop 2 and Coop 3).

• From the primary information provided by cooperatives, a refined database was created and complemented with secondary sources of information and field work.

• Information provided by Oviso which mainly limited to technical data of the holdings of the year 2012, being necessary to directly contact each associated cooperative to obtain more specific information from the activity of farmers.

• It has been found that the availability and use of the information stored by first grade cooperatives is limited, requiring intense collaboration by the technicians for the final preparation of the data base.

• Treatment and analysis of the information contained in the final database was carried out with the statistical package SPSS, v.22

Results

• Characteristics of the studied farms

Coop 1 Coop 2 Coop 3 Total

Number of farms surveyed 33 26 48 101

Total farm land (ha) 360.39 326.56 420.83 379.28

Owned land (ha) 73.09 274.39 219.16 187.53

Agricultural land (ha) 52.45 63.93 112.13 82.01

Number of ewes 779.76 1077.33 858.10 887.3

Number of rams 25.24 43.27 30.44 31.95

Sheep breed in the farm (%) Merino 50 57.7 6.3 31

Cross breed 38.5 38.5 91.6 64

Meat breed 11.5 3.8 2.1 5

Results

Analysis of technical parameters of cooperatives

Technical and economic indicators Coop 1 Coop 2 Coop 3 Total SE1 Sig.

Stocking rate (LU/ha) 0.48ab 0.49a 0.39b 0.47 0.02 **

Sheep replacement rate (% ) 15.44ab 19.63a 14.42b 16.02 0.75 *

Cull ewes (% ) 7.71a 10.99b 9.55ab 9.27 0.47 *

Lambs born per ewe per year 1.07 1.22 1.09 1.12 0.03 NS

Ratio ewes per ram 33.62a 26.33b 29.77ab 30.12 0.83 **

Results

Analysis of the productive indicators

Technical and economic indicators Coop 1 Coop 2 Coop 3 Total SE1 Sig.

Commercial productivity (lamb sold

per ewe) 0.87 0.94 0.88 0.89 0.02 NS

Average lamb price (€/lamb sold) 66.58ab 65.56a 67.16b 66.59 0.2 *

Average lamb price per kilogram (€/kg) 3.24 3.24 3.19 3.22 0.01 NS

Average price per cull ewe (€/ewe) 24.88a 25.74a 29.90b 26.87 0.75 *

Wool sold per sheep (kg/ewe) 2.88a 2.27b 4.80c 3.53 0.13 **

Average wool price (€/kg) 1.37a 1.37a 0.77b 1.1 0.03 **

Results

Technical and economic indicators Coop 1 Coop 2 Coop 3 Total SE1 Sig.

Labour expenses per ewe (€/ewe) 5.99a 19.35b 14.20b 12.92 1.01 **

Veterinary expenses per ewe (€/ewe) 2.71a 4.30b 3.37ab 3.39 0.21 *

Total expenses per ewe (€/ewe) 59.92 59.7 56.55 58.35 2.27 NS

Agricultural subcontracting expenses /total

expenses 0.34a 0.04b 0.28a 0.24 0.02 **

Animal feedstuffs expenses/ total expenses 0.53ab 0.61a 0.47b 0.52 0.01 *

Labour expenses / Total expenses 0.13a 0.34b 0.29b 0.25 0.02 **

Subsidies perceived per ewe (€/ewe) 38.53 49.04 48.35 45.38 2.13 NS

Total income per ewe (€/ewe) 102.68 117.21 110.11 109.54 2.98 NS

Goss margin per ewe (€/ewe) 42.76a 57.50b 53.56ab 51.19 2.96 *

Figure 9. Average consumption of concentrate per

fattening lamb

Figure 8. Average yearly consumption

of concentrate per sheep

Analysis of expenses and income of farms

To conclude…

• Farmers association is a key strategy to gain

added value of sheep products: milk and meat

• Cooperatives favor training of farmers:

benchmarking to learn and improve

• The solutions have to adapt to each environment

taking advantage of the opportunities that it

provides

• Public policies have to favor this associations

through support for marketing and research

Thank you very much for your attention

pgaspar@unex.es

Sources of information used in this presentation:

• http://tortadelcasar.eu/

• http://www.oviso.org/

Do you want a nice video to finish?

• https://vimeo.com/195189765