An overview of sheep farming features and management practices in the region of south western Peloponnese and how they reflect on milk microbial load

PDF (English)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/jhvms.16421
E. MANOLOPOULOU
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens
A. AKTYPIS
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens
C. MATARA
Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITER
P. TSIOMI
Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITER
E. KONSTANTINOU
Hellenic Agricultural Organization-DIMITER
K. MOUNTZOURIS
Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, Agricultural University of Athens
S. KLONARIS
Department of Agricultural Economics & Rural Development, Agricultural University of Athens
E. TSAKALIDOU
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens
Abstract

In this study the demographic features, various farm characteristics and milk quality parameters were investigated in sheep farms (n =128) from the North West Peloponnese region, using a prescreen questionnaire. The interviewed sheep farmers were under the control of the regional milk control laboratory of the Hellenic Milk Organization ELGO «Dimitra», which provided us with the corresponding milk quality data for the first quarter of 2014. Our findings regarding the demographic data demonstrated that 23% of farmers were 31-40 years old, 64% of them were high school graduates and 28% had received relevant farming general training; namely 17% of them has designated as “young farmers” in the frame of Third Axis of the Operational Program «Rural Development-Regeneration of the Countryside 2000-2006» and 11% have attended briefings by veterinarians and agriculturists. Ιn terms of farm characteristics, it has been revealed that the mean flock size was 148 sheep and regarding the farming system, the majority of the farms (89.15%) applied a mixed extensive / indoors system. Additionally, regarding building infrastructures and the way of milking, there was limited technological penetration, since the buildings were old-style (77%) and the milking procedure was performed by hands (83%). Concerning the milk composition, the measurements showed mean values of (%) content of fat, protein, lactose and non-fat dry matter (NFDM) at 6.54±0.88, 5.56±0.36, 4.59±0.23 and 10.95±0.42, respectively. Furthermore, the mean value of the total bacterial count (TBC) was found 5.38±0.55 log cfu/ml and the pH value at 6.71±0.11. In general, sheep farmers had a good perception of the integrated management and their prospect for sheep farming was optimistic. The impact of this study is that farmers increase their trust to the educational institutions and are prompted to become more receptive to new adaptive trends.

Article Details
  • Sezione
  • Research Articles
Creative Commons License

Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale 4.0 Internazionale.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

· Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

· Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

· Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Downloads
I dati di download non sono ancora disponibili.
Riferimenti bibliografici
Alexopoulos, A., Tzatzimakis, G., Bezirtzoglou, E., Plessas, S., Stavropoulou, E., Sinapis, E., & Abas, Z. (2011). Microbiological quality and related factors of sheep milk produced in farms of NE Greece. Anaerobe, 17(6):276-279.
Codex Alimentarius (2003), Vol. 2, Chapter IX, Article 80, Types of milk, p. 857.
D’Amico, D. J., & Donnelly, C. W. (2010). Microbiological quality of raw milk used for small-scale artisan cheese production in Vermont: effect of farm characteristics and practices. Journal of dairy science, 93(1):134-147.
Degen, A. A.(2007). Sheep and goat milk in pastoral societies. Small Ruminant Research 68(1):7-19.
Giannenas I. Leonidis G., Christofi a Rossios K. (2008). Overview of the situation of sheep production in the area of Eordea Kozani. Journal of the Hellenic Veterinary Medical 59(3): 247-260.
Kelly, P. T., O’Sullivan, K., Berry, D. P., More, S. J., Meaney, W. J., O’Callaghan, E. J., & O’Brien, B. (2009). Farm management factors associated with bulk tank total bacterial count in Irish dairy herds during 2006/07. Irish veterinary journal, 62(1):1.
Kitsopanidis, G. J. (2000). Economics of dairy farming in Greece. Medit, 11(4):49-55.
Kominakis, A., Volanis, M., & Rogdakis, E. (2001). Genetic modeling of test day records in dairy sheep using orthogonal Legendre polynomials. Small Ruminant Research, 39(3):209-217.
Kristensen, E., & Enevoldsen, C. (2008). A mixed methods inquiry: How dairy farmers perceive the value (s) of their involvement in an intensive dairy herd health management program. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica,50 (1):50.
Lioutas, E. D., Tzimitra-Kalogianni, I., & Charatsari, C. (2010). Small ruminant producers’ training needs and factors discouraging participation in agricultural education/training programs. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 22(7).
Martin, B., Verdier-Metz, I., Buchin, S., Hurtaud, C., & Coulon, J. B. (2005). How do the nature of forages and pasture diversity influence the sensory quality of dairy livestock products?. Animal Science, 81(02):205-212.
Morgan, F., J-P. Bodin, and P. Gaborit. “Link between goat milk lipolysis and sensorial quality of lactic goat cheeses made from raw or pasteurised milk.” Lait 81.6 (2001): 743-756.
Nudda, A., Battacone, G., Boaventura Neto, O., Cannas, A., Francesconi, A. H. D., Atzori, A. S., & Pulina, G. (2014). Feeding strategies to design the fatty acid profile of sheep milk and cheese. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia,43(8): 445-456.
Parpouna M., Psarrakis M., Fotias G., Theodorou S., Massouras Th.,Aktypis A., and Tsakalidou E. (2016). Dairy Sector in Greece: “Constraints and Opportunities for Existing Producers and Newcomers”. Study for Stavros Niarxos Foundation in the frame of project «Recharging Greek Youth to Revitalize the Agriculture and Food Sector of the Greek Economy» by Laboratory of Dairy Research, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece.
Pirisi, A., Lauret, A., & Dubeuf, J. P. (2007). Basic and incentive payments for goat and sheep milk in relation to quality. Small ruminant research, 68(1):167-178.
Zervas, G., Fegeros, K., & Papadopoulos, G. (1996). Feeding system of sheep in a mountainous area of Greece. Small Ruminant Research, 21(1), 11-17.
Zervas, G., & Tsiplakou, E. (2011). The effect of feeding systems on the characteristics of products from small ruminants. Small Ruminant Research, 101(1):140-149.
Zygoyiannis, D. (2006). Sheep production in the world and in Greece. Small Ruminant Research,62(1):143-147.
Web pages
Guideline for Sheep Farmers 2003.pdf
http://www.fawac.ie/media/fawac/content/publications/animalwelfare/AnimalWelfare
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1662/2006 of 6 November 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (Text with EEA relevance)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006R1662&from=EN
Commission regulation No 510/2006 of 20 March 2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffsf
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006R0510&from=en