Available and missing information on production factors in Parmigiano Reggiano area dairy farms

A survey was conducted on 59 farms in the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production area to understand the awareness level of breeders on the availability and use of production factors in their farms. An interview including questions on animal capital, productivity and management, feedstuff inventory and origin, animal nutrition and rations per animal category, facilities and structures characteristics, land management and use, mechanical equipment and work allocation was submitted to the breeders. Almost all breeders knew the number of animals per category in their farm and, for the lactating cows, milk production and quality were well known on a herd basis. The 91.5% of the breeders knew the average age at 1st calving whereas the number of calves weaned for reproduction (84.7%) or sold for meat production (52.5%) were less known. The 92.2% of farmers was able to estimate the amount and origin of the feedstuffs available in the farm, but only 44.1% of them was aware of the exact formula of the feedstuffs supplied to the different categories of animals. Buildings size and stoking capacity data were available for the 70.8% of the cases and a similar proportion of breeders (69.5%) was able to provide information about land usage and crops productivity. A complete mechanical equipment list was provided in the 79.7% of the cases while the 55.9% of the breeders were able to provide an estimation of labour allocation in animal activities. Results show that a sensible proportion of farmers are missing key data related to herd management, nutrition, facilities and crops productivity; moreover, an accurate traceability of work allocation is unavailable in a large number of dairy enterprises. Lacking of those information can have detrimental effects on their efficiency and profitability. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under the grant agreement No 777974.