Dairy systems in mountainous areas: Farm animal biodiversity, milk production and destination, and land use

This paper aims to classify the dairy systems of an Alpine area (Trento Province, Italy) and compare them in terms of productivity, milk destination, maintenance of livestock biodiversity, land management, and landscape conservation. A sample of 610 dairy farms was surveyed, and data on their structural and management features were collected. Four different farming systems were identified through a non-hierarchical cluster approach: "Original Traditional" (lactating cows that are moved to highland pastures during summer), "Traditional without summer pastures", "Traditional with silages", and "Modern". "Modem" farms accounted for about one fifth of the total and were characterized by the presence of recent buildings with free animals and milking parlors, large herd sizes and high levels of milk production. The feeding strategy on modern farms consisted of total mixed rations based on silage, and Holstein Friesian was the main breed, whereas local and dual-purpose breeds were rare. "Original Traditional" farms were characterized by the presence of old buildings containing tied animals. These farms were small to medium and consisted of Brown Swiss and local breeds such as Rendena and Alpine Grey, which used mainly local forages and summer Alpine pastures. The GIS analyses of the utilized agricultural areas of each farm also showed that only traditional, low-input systems are able to maintain the steepest meadows and highland pastures. These systems guarantee a high sustainability in terms of livestock biodiversity, environmental impact (stocking and manure densities), and landscape protection (contrasting re-afforestation and managing Alpine pasture). The main concerns for economic and technical sustainability of traditional dairy farms are low productivity, land fragmentation and agricultural mechanization. The data analyzed also showed the strong link between these systems and the production of high value, Protected Designation of Origin cheeses is fundamental for reducing their economic handicap when compared with intensive farming systems.