Technical efficiency and viability of organic dairy sheep farming systems in a traditional area for sheep production in Spain

Toro-Mújica, Paula; García, Antón; Gómez-Castro, A.G.; Acero, R.; Perea, José; Rodríguez-Estévez, Vicente; Aguilar, Claudio; Vera, Raül

doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2011.06.008

Cited by 45 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Forestry, livestock production, and farm size criteria were used to select the farms with the aim of obtaining a representative sample of the various subsystems of Dehesa, following the methodology used by previous studies [19][20][21]. The number of farms surveyed was 30, which is in accordance with other research studies on the topic (24 farms [22]; 31 farms [23,24]). More detailed information on these criteria can be found in the previous study of Escribano [3].…”

Section: Farms Selectionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Beef Cattle Farms’ Conversion to the Organic System. Recommendations for Success in the Face of Future Changes in a Global Context

Escribano¹

2016

Sustainability

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Dehesa is a remarkable agroforestry system, which needs the implementation of sustainable production systems in order to reduce its deterioration. Moreover, its livestock farms need to adapt to a new global market context. As a response, the organic livestock sector has expanded not only globally but also in the region in search for increased overall sustainability. However, conversions to the organic system have been commonly carried out without analyzing farms' feasibility to do so. This analysis is necessary before implementing any new production system in order to reduce both the diversity of externalities that the variety of contexts leads to and the vulnerability of the DDehesa ecosystem to small management changes. Within this context and in the face of this gap in knowledge, the present paper analyzes the ease of such conversions and the farms' chances of success after conversion in the face of global changes (market and politics). Different aspects ("areas of action") were studied and integrated within the Global Conversion Index (GCI), and the legal requirement for European organic farming, organic principles, future challenges for ruminants' production systems, as well as the lines of action for the post-2013 CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and their impacts on the beef cattle sector were taken into account. Results revealed that farms must introduce significant changes before initiating the conversion process, since they had very low scores on the GCI (42.74%), especially with regard to health and agro-ecosystem management (principle of Ecology). Regarding rearing and animal welfare (principle of justice/fairness), farms were close to the organic system. From the social point of view, active participation in manufacturing and marketing of products should be increased.

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Section: Farms Selectionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Beef Cattle Farms’ Conversion to the Organic System. Recommendations for Success in the Face of Future Changes in a Global Context

Escribano¹

2016

Sustainability

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“…It is necessary to provide support to the advisor for evaluating ex-ante the potential consequences of innovation on the structure, functioning and performance of a farm [13]. The choice of innovations and their effects in the production constitute the key challenges that can favor the development of the livestock and the increase of competitiveness of smallholders [10,16,24].…”

Section: Agriculture Innovationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Questionnaire According to the mixed systems studies from [12,15,24,31,36], a questionnaire was designed to capture information from each farm regarding the identified innovations. The questionnaire was previously validated in six pilot farms (two questionnaires by each type of farm as described in Table 1) and subsequently improved.…”

Section: Step 2 Grouping Of Livestock Innovations In Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Methodological Approach to Evaluate Livestock Innovations on Small-Scale Farms in Developing Countries

et al. 2016

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Abstract:The aim of the study was deepening the knowledge of livestock innovations knowledge on small-scale farms in developing countries. First, we developed a methodology focused on identifying potential appropriate livestock innovations for smallholders and grouped them in innovation areas, defined as a set of well-organized practices with a business purpose. Finally, a process management program (PMP) was evaluated according to the livestock innovation level and viability of the small-scale farms. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the impact of PMP on the economic viability of the farm. Information from 1650 small-scale livestock farms in Mexico was collected and the innovations were grouped in five innovation areas: A1. Management, A2. Feeding, A3. Genetic, A4. Reproduction and A5. Animal Health. The resulting innovation level in the system was low at 45.7% and heterogeneous among areas. This study shows the usefulness of the methodology described and confirms that implementing a PMP allows improving the viability an additional 21%, due to a better integration of processes, resulting in more efficient management.

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“…In Chile, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death among adults and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors is similar to that of European and North American populations (Bunout and Escobar, 2000). In the last decade, consumers have become more concerned about the fat content of dairy products and this has led to the development of different nutritional strategies to improve the FA composition of dairy products such as cheese (Vera et al, 2009;Toro-Mujica et al, 2011). Producing cheese with an improved fatty acid (FA) composition could significantly increase economic returns to farmers (Vera et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative study of the fatty acid profiles in commercial sheep cheeses

Aguilar¹,

Toro-Mújica²,

Vargas‐Bello‐Pérez³

et al. 2014

Grasas y Aceites

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SUMMARY:The present study was carried out to characterize the FA profile of sheep cheese marketed in Chile. Fifty-eight cheeses were collected from supermarkets of 5 different Chilean cities including 34 sheep cheeses, 7 from goat's milk, 11 from cow's milk, 4 from a mixture of sheep, goat and cow's milk and 2 from a mixture of sheep and cow's milk. Compared to the cow and goat cheese (3.4 and 2.5 g·100g −1 ), the sheep cheese (3.8 g·100g −1 ) contained higher contents of C18:1t. The saturated and polyunsatured FA contents were greater in goat cheese than in sheep and cow cheese. The n6/n3 ratio was greater in goat (6.1) cheese than in sheep and cow cheese (3.8 and 5.2). The atherogenicity index was unaffected by cheese type, however, the thrombogenic index was lower in sheep cheese (2.8) than in goat and cow cheese (3.1 and 2.9). The n6/n3 ratio and thrombogenic index were lower in Chilean sheep cheese than in those imported from Europe. The fatty acid profile of cheese can be used to differentiate animal species from which the cheese is made and to some extent the geographical origin that may give some insight as to animal feed and production management. KEYWORDS:Cheese; Fatty acids; Milk; Sheep RESUMEN: Estudio comparativo del perfil de ácidos grasos de quesos de oveja comerciales. Este estudio fue llevado a cabo para caracterizar el perfil de AG de quesos de oveja que se comercializan en Chile. Cincuenta y ocho quesos fueron recogidos de supermercados de 5 ciudades de Chile de los cuales 34 fueron de oveja, 7 de cabra, 11 de vaca, 4 de mezcla de leche de oveja, cabra y vaca y 2 de mezcla de leche de oveja y vaca. Comparado con quesos de vaca y cabra (3.4 y 2.5 g·100g −1 ), los quesos de oveja (3.8 g·100g −1 ) presentaron mayor contenido de C18:1t. Los AG saturados y poliinsaturados tuvieron concentraciones más altas en los quesos de cabra que en los quesos de oveja y vaca. La relación n6/n3 fue más alta en quesos de cabra (6.1) que en quesos de oveja y vaca (3.8 y 5.2). El índice aterogénico no fue afectado por el tipo de queso, sin embargo, el índice trombogénico fue menor en quesos de oveja (2.8) que en quesos de cabra y vaca (3.8 y 5.2). La relación n6/n3 y el índice trombogénico fueron menores en quesos chilenos que en quesos importados de Europa. El perfil de AG de quesos puede ser usado para diferenciar entre especies animales de las cuales proviene el queso y hasta cierto grado, el origen geográfico, ofreciendo indicios sobre el tipo de alimento y sistema productivo animal del cual provienen los quesos. PALABRAS CLAVE: Ácidos grasos; Leche; Oveja; QuesoCitation/Cómo citar este artículo: Aguilar C, Toro-Mujica P, Vargas-Bello-Pérez E, Vera R, Ugalde C, Rodríguez S, Briones I. 2014. A comparative study of the fatty acid profiles in commercial sheep cheeses. Grasas Aceites 65 (4): e048.

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Technical efficiency and viability of organic dairy sheep farming systems in a traditional area for sheep production in Spain

Cited by 45 publications

References 17 publications

Beef Cattle Farms’ Conversion to the Organic System. Recommendations for Success in the Face of Future Changes in a Global Context

Beef Cattle Farms’ Conversion to the Organic System. Recommendations for Success in the Face of Future Changes in a Global Context

A Methodological Approach to Evaluate Livestock Innovations on Small-Scale Farms in Developing Countries

A comparative study of the fatty acid profiles in commercial sheep cheeses

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