Nutritional Management Analysis of the Transhumant Sheep and Goat Farms in the Region of Sterea Ellada-Greece

Abstract

The main reason of practice of transhumant farming system is the need for a more efficient exploitation of vegetation to meet the nutritional needs of the reared animals. The aim of this paper is to investigate nutritional management practices of transhumant herds in the region of Sterea Ellada. In the analysis, emphasis is given in the calculation of the coverage of nutritional needs of the reared animals by supplementary feed, translated as Metabolized energy (ME), Digestible Crude Protein (DGP) and Dry Matter (DM). Nutritional management is studied in four basic productive stages of ewes and dams. All necessary data were collected from a sample of 140 transhumant herders, via an exhaustive questionnaire that covered all aspects of the production of the farms and managerial practices. Data were subsequently analyzed with descriptive statistic methods. Analysis reveals that grazing tends to be the main nutritional source as approximately 30-50% of the needs of the reared animals on lowlands and more than 90% on uplands is considered to be covered by grazing.

Keywords

• farming system
• greece
• management
• nutrition and transhumance