Sustainability of Dairy Sheep Production in Pasture Lands: A Case Study Approach to Integrate Economic and Environmental Perspectives

Journal title RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA'
Author/s Alberto Stanislao Atzori, Roberto Furesi, Fabio A. Madau, Pietro Pulina, Pier Giacomo Rassu
Publishing Year 2015 Issue 2015/1
Language English Pages 18 P. 117-134 File size 242 KB
DOI 10.3280/RISS2015-001008
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Sheep farming plays a large role in some specific economies, maintains strong links with natural resources, and produces multiple functions in rural areas. Its sustainability has to deal with different purposes. This study aims to assess economic and environmental sustainability of extensive dairy sheep farming in Sardinia. A case study approach was adopted in order to directly collect farm data and to integrate assessments on more dimensions of sustainability. We found that farm is not profitable without support of public financial aids. Furthermore, production of nitrogen is under the normative limit and greenhouses gas emission intensity, allocated with economic criteria, was equal to 2,3 and 16,1 kg of CO2eq emitted per kg of produced milk and meat, respectively. Empirical evidences suggest the need to better take into account environmental externalities and into the farmer’s choices. A public financial support system expressively based on minimizing environmental externalities might force farmers to incentive eco-sustainable production and guarantee them profitability.

Keywords: Sheep farming, balance sheet analysis, Life Cycle Assessment, local natural resources, multifunctionality, agricultural policies

  1. Atzori A.S., Pulina G., Cannas A. (2014). Small ruminant greenhouse gas emissions, with broaden focus on Italian sheep and goats. Small ruminant greenhouse gas emissions with broaden focus on Italian sheep and goats. Large Animal Review, 4 (1): 2-5.
  2. Atzori A.S., Rassu P.G., Cannas A., Pulina G. (2013). Partial carbon footprint of dairy sheep farms: simulated results from 4 different scenarios. Proc. of XX ASPA Congress, Bologna (Italy), June 11-13.
  3. Daugbjerg C., Swinbank A. (2011). Explaining the ‘health check’ of the common agricultural policy: budgetary politics, globalisation and paradigm change revised. Policy Study, 32: 127-141, DOI: 10.1080/01442872.2010.541768
  4. Decandia M., Atzori A.S., Acciaro M., Cabiddu A., Cannas A., Carro M.D., Giovanetti V., Molina Alcaide E., Molle G., Ranilla M.J. (2011). Nutritional and animal factors affecting nitrogen excretion in sheep and goats. Cihema Option Mediteérannes.
  5. Erjavec K., Erjavec E. (2015). Greening the CAP’ – Just a fashionable justification? A discourse analysis of the 2014-2020 CAP reform documents. Food Policy, 51: 53-62, DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.12.006
  6. FAO (2013). FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://faostat3.fao.org/home/index.html.
  7. Gerber P.J., Steinfeld H., Henderson B., Mottet A., Opio C., Dijkman J., Falcucci A., Tempio G. (2013). Tackling climate change through livestock – A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities. FAO, Rome.
  8. Inea (2014), Italian Agricultural. INEA, Rome.
  9. Idda L., Furesi R., Pulina P. (2010). Economia dell’allevamento ovino da latte: produzione, trasformazione, mercato. FrancoAngeli, Milano.
  10. IPCC (2006). Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Volume 4: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use. 11.1-11.54.
  11. Kitzes J., Wackernagel M., Loh J., Peller A., Goldfinger S., Cheng D., Tea K. (2008). Shrink and share: Humanity’s present and future ecological footprint.
  12. Madau F.A., Furesi R., Pulina P. (2014). An Analysis of Sustainability Policies in European Agriculture in the Long Term: Methods and Materials using the FEEM Indicators. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 38 (4): 485-501, DOI: 10.1080/21683565.2013.841608
  13. Pollott G., Wilson R.T. (2009). Sheep and Goats for Diverse Products and Profits, Diversification Booklet Number 9, Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division. FAO, Rome.
  14. Pulina G, Nudda A. (2004). Milk production. In: Pulina G., Bencini R. (eds.), Sheep Nutrition. CABI Publishing CAB International Wallingford, UK,
  15. de Rancourt M., Fois N., Lavín M.P., Tchakérian E., Vallerand F. (2006). Mediterranean sheep and goats production: An uncertain future. Small Ruminant Research. 62 (3): 167-179, DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2005.08.012
  16. Rees M., Wackernagel M. (1996b). Urban ecological footprints: why cities cannot be sustainable- and why they are a key to sustainability. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 16: 223-248, DOI: 10.1016/S0195-9255(96)00022-4.Ripoll-BoschR.,deBoerI.J.M.,BernuésA.,VellingaT.V.(2012).Accountingformulti-functionalityofsheepfarminginthecarbonfootprintoflamb:AcomparisonofthreecontrastingMediterraneansystems.AgriculturalSystems,116(2013):60-68
  17. Serpieri A. (1929), Guida a ricerche di Economia Agraria, Ripressed in 1960. Edagricole, Bologna.
  18. Serpieri A.(1950), Istituzioni di Economia Agraria, ristampa. Edagricole, Bologna.
  19. Serra G. (2014). Carbonfootprint of Dairy cattle farms in southern Italy. PhD dissertation UNISS; supervisor: A.S. Atzori.
  20. Sintori A., Rozakis S., Tsiboukas K. (2009). Multiple goals in farmers’ decision making: The case of sheep farming in western Greece, paper presented for the 83rd Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Society, Dublin, 30 March-1 April, 2009
  21. Vagnoni E., Franca A., Breedveld L., Porqueddu C., Ferrara R., Duce P. (2015). Environmental performances of Sardinian dairy sheep production systems at different input levels. Science of the Total Environment, 502: 354-361, DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.09.020
  22. Wendorff W.L. (2005). Sheep Milk and Milk Production: Processing and Marketing.
  23. In: Pond W.G., Bell A.W. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Animal Science. Marcel Dekker, New York.
  24. Zygoyannis D. (2006). Sheep production in the word and in Greece. Small Ruminant
  25. Research, 62 (1-2), pp. 143-147, DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2005.07.04

  • Review of environmental performance of sheep farming using life cycle assessment Akul Bhatt, Bassim Abbassi, in Journal of Cleaner Production 126192/2021 pp.126192
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126192
  • The sustainability of small‐scale sheep and goat farming in a semi‐arid Mediterranean environment Giuseppe Timpanaro, Vera Teresa Foti, in Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment e12111/2024
    DOI: 10.1002/sae2.12111
  • Economic performance of agritourism: an analysis of farms located in a less favoured area in Italy Brunella Arru, Roberto Furesi, Fabio A. Madau, Pietro Pulina, in Agricultural and Food Economics 27/2021
    DOI: 10.1186/s40100-021-00199-z
  • Life cycle impacts of sheep sector in Ontario, Canada Akul Bhatt, Bassim Abbassi, in The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment /2022 pp.1283
    DOI: 10.1007/s11367-022-02105-1
  • How does soil carbon sequestration affect greenhouse gas emissions from a sheep farming system? Results of a life cycle assessment case study Pasquale Arca, Enrico Vagnoni, Pierpaolo Duce, Antonello Franca, in Italian Journal of Agronomy /2021
    DOI: 10.4081/ija.2021.1789

Alberto Stanislao Atzori, Roberto Furesi, Fabio A. Madau, Pietro Pulina, Pier Giacomo Rassu, Sustainability of Dairy Sheep Production in Pasture Lands: A Case Study Approach to Integrate Economic and Environmental Perspectives in "RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA'" 1/2015, pp 117-134, DOI: 10.3280/RISS2015-001008