Management strategies for dairy cattle in mountain: product quality, animal welfare and environmental sustainability

Supervisor : Stefano Bovolenta

Intensification of dairy farming in the last decades led to a reduction in the number of farms, growth of specialized cattle breeds, abandonment of marginal lands and standardization of products. This process is still more pronounced in mountain area where he has determined, among other things, a reduction of biodiversity bred, reforestation of pastures and disappearance of local products and traditions. However, mountain dairy farms may focus on product quality and diversification of activities, as well as on the ability to evoke the production area and its environmental, historical and cultural values. In this way the production constraints can be transformed into competitive advantages.
These studies are aimed at providing scientific tools for the development of dairy farms in mountain through the valorisation of traditional dairy products and ensuring respect for animal welfare and environmental sustainability of the whole production chain. In particular is considered the applicability of different farming and feeding systems and the main qualitative characteristics of the cheeses in terms of chemical composition (dry matter, fat, total nitrogen, soluble nitrogen), fatty acid profile, rheological properties (profile analysis weaving), colour (colorimetric parameters L *, a *, b *) and sensory properties. For a wider assessment of mountain dairy sector are then used the most current methods of assessment of animal welfare (Welfare Quality® scoring system) and environmental sustainability (Life Cycle Assessment).

Biography and contacts
Alberto Romanzin was born in 1985 in Italy. In 2010 he graduated with honours (110/110) in Animal Sciences and Technologies at University of Padua (Italy). In 2011 he started the doctoral course at the PhD school “Agriculture Science and Biotechnology” at the University of Udine.

alberto.romanzin@uniud.it
[Phone 0435/558167]