Aseasonal sheep and goat milk production in the Mediterranean area: Physiological and technical insights

A large factory-scale application of selected autochthonous lactic acid bacteria for PDO Pecorino Siciliano cheese production

“…High levels of enterococci in milk has been related to milking equipment (Gelsomino et al, 2002), and their fast growth to the high adaptation abilities of these bacteria (Medina et al, 2001). Fat, protein and casein percentages resulted within the parameters of sheep milk produced in Sicily (Todaro et al, 2014). The variability observed among milk parameters of the dairy factories is linked to different environmental factors (such as breeds, altitude, management, etc.)…”

“…The different productions were grouped by a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) performed as described by Todeschini (1998), selecting parameters as reported by Martorana et al (2015). Furthermore, data were subjected to the principal component analysis (PCA).…”

High‐milking sheep have a lower ovulation rate and tend to yield fewer embryos in response to superovulation and intrauterine artificial insemination

“…About 46% of the world sheep milk originates from the Mediterranean area (Todaro et al. ), including both European and North African countries, where dairy sheep products are an integral part of the household diets. Major factors affecting milk production in this geographic area are nutritional factors related to seasonal climatic trends, seasonality of reproduction of the existing breeds and high ambient temperatures in late spring and summer which have a detrimental impact on their production and reproductive performances, immune function and udder health (Todaro et al., ).…”

“…), including both European and North African countries, where dairy sheep products are an integral part of the household diets. Major factors affecting milk production in this geographic area are nutritional factors related to seasonal climatic trends, seasonality of reproduction of the existing breeds and high ambient temperatures in late spring and summer which have a detrimental impact on their production and reproductive performances, immune function and udder health (Todaro et al., ). Dairy sheep breeds in the Mediterranean area (Vosniakou, Doney, & Tsakalof, for Greek dairy sheep; Giaccone, Todaro, & Portolano, for the Valle del Belice ewes in Sicily; Carcangiu et al., for the Sarda sheep and Lassoued, Rekik, Khenissi, & Meraï, for the Sicilo‐Sarde breed in Tunisia) have a rather similar pattern of reproductive activity characterized by short seasonal anoestrus.…”

“…Management factors like a proper use of the “ram effect” or strategic use of feed supplements may prove effective in limiting periods of reproductive inactivity. Furthermore, they are characterized by a moderate‐to‐high prolificacy (Todaro et al., ). Within breed, few studies have focused on the relationships between female reproduction and milk production in dairy sheep and whether selection focused on improving milk production occurs at the expense of reproduction as this is often reported for dairy cattle (Lucy, ).…”