The dairy sector in the Azores Islands: possibilities and main constraints towards increased added value

Abstract

The Azores archipelago is the most suitable region for dairy production in Portugal, representing 30% of the overall Portuguese dairy production. It has a production system characterized by an average milk yield of 6216 kg/cow/year, and the predominance of pasture-based feeding and cows that have longer productive lives and lower incidence of metabolic/production diseases, such as acidosis or mastitis. The biggest problem with the Azores Islands dairy sector is the cost of transport, as the main markets are located in continental Portugal, over 1500 km away, and local dairy products have to compete with dairy products produced in mainland Portugal and in the rest of the European Union. Herein, the evolution of the dairy sector in the Azores Islands from 2007 to 2017 is presented. A SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis was performed to find potential solutions to increase the value of the Azorean dairy sector. The most relevant solution considered was the valorization of the dairy production through three major aspects: higher milk quality, namely, better organoleptic properties; lower carbon footprint (not considering transport costs); and higher levels of animal welfare. Three examples are shown of such valorization: protected denomination of origin (PDO) cheeses, the "happy cows" program, and the production of an organic milk, from the Terceira Island. Some of these programs are relatively recent, so, it will be interesting to see how their sales and acceptance by consumers evolve, particularly under the current economic framework.

Dietary Patterns in Portuguese Children and Adolescent Population: The UPPER Project

“…However, this expected inverse association, which was seen in children and adolescents from other High Human Development countries [41], was not confirmed in our multinomial logistic analysis, after adjustment for other socio-demographic variables and BMI. Subjects living in Azores presented higher odds of following "Dairy" DP compared to the North, which was expected since dairy consumption in this region is the highest observed in Portugal [4] and the dairy sector has a major importance to the production and economy of that archipelago [42]. On the other hand, living in Lisbon Metropolitan Area was positively associated with the "Unhealthy" DP, which converges with some unfavourable health characteristics observed for this region, such as lower prevalence of physical activity and lower adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern, and higher consumption of red meat and time spent on sedentary behaviours [4].…”

Production and Health Management from Grazing to Confinement Systems of Largest Dairy Bovine Farms in Azores: A Farmers’ Perspective

“…Body condition scoring was more commonly implemented in FMP farms (60.9%; 53/87; p < 0.05; Table 2). (2) 94.3% (82/87) 88.9% (16/18) 0.41 Grass silage (n = 100) (3) 8.3% (7/84) 6.3% (1/16) 0.78 Baled grass silage (n = 103) (4) 98.8% (83/84) 100% (17/17) 0.66 Hay rolls (n = 101) (5) 23.5% (20/85) 25.0% (4/16) 0.90 Straw (n = 103) (6) 32.6% ( , b, c Different letters for the same column: p < 0.01. (1) (n/N): number of affirmative responses/number of total respondents.…”

“…(4) Baled grass silage is used by 12.5% (3/24) of the farms during the whole year. (5) Hay rolls are used by 22.9% (8/35) of the farms during the whole year. (6) Only 1.4% (1/73) of farmers also fed animals alfalfa.…”

“…Areas with a mild temperature and sufficient humidity and rainfall, make pasture-based dairy production possible for bovine farms [ 5 ]. Thus, several regions worldwide, such as São Miguel Island (Azores) and New Zealand have adopted a “traditional” dairy milk production system, based on pastures with cows grazing during most of the year.…”

“…Traditionally, MMS are the most often used milking systems in the Azores [ 5 ], based on 100% grazing time and dairy cattle transhumance between grasslands. In recent decades, together with general management and production system changes, these milking systems have been progressively replaced by FMP.…”