Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi di Ladu Pasqualino S.S. Forage system

Hill FS9 – sheep –

The Ladu and Pirisi dairy farm is located in Sarule (Barbagia mountain area), in the province of . The 960 Sarda dairy sheep produce milk which is sold to a Sardinian dairy industry of the (LA CESA, latteria centro Sardegna) for the production of Pecorino Romano, Pecorino Sardo, ricotta cheese etc. Sixty five percent of 245 total hectares (ha) are used for sheep breeding system and the remaining area for bovine breeding. Natural pastures cover the main part of the farm land, whereas in the rest of surface are present mixed grass meadow (oat, Italian Rye-grass and Crimson clover) and meadow pasture which are mainly used through grazing. Sheep graze in natural pasture often typical of the silvo-pastoral system; the feed self- sufficiency is usually lower than in other areas. During the year the flocks are usually moved to lower altitudes (winter) or to higher one (late spring, summer) thus farms are often divided in different parts whit different pedo-climatic conditions. The average annual milk yield is 131 kg FPCM year-1 head-1.

Ex ante results – GWP of milk; carbon stock in soil.

Characteristics of the 15 sheep farms involved in the project in 2016 and characteristics of Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi di Ladu Pasqualino SS Farm in 2016.

Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi Mean Min. Max. di Ladu Pasqualino SS_2016 Daily milk production, kg/ewe 189 112 301 131 Dairy efficiency, kg milk/ kg ingested DM 0.55 0.37 0.84 0.44

Feed self sufficiency,% 67 41 100 49 Land, ha 142 37 260 260 Arable land, % 90 67 100 75 Land with maize silage, % 1 0 11 0 Land with alfalfa, % 2 0 20 0

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Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi di Ladu Pasqualino S.S. Forage system

Hill FS9 – sheep – Sardinia

Land with meadows, % 8 0 36 0 Lactating ewes, n 560 177 1530 960 Stocking rate, LU/ha 4.5 1.5 11.7 3.9 Replacing animals % 29 2 46 42

GWP of milk

Graph shows the environmental impact of the farm (green bar) for the production of 1 kg of corrected milk. The average value of the 15 farms monitored in 2016 was 3.75 kg of CO2 eq/kg corrected milk. Global warming potential of milk production: Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi farm green bar

6 LADU e PIRISI 4.60 kg CO2 eq/kg FPC-Milk Study sheep farm average value was 3.75 kg CO2 eq/kg FPC-Milk

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/kg FPCM) /kg 2

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1 Global Warming Potential (Kg WarmingCOGlobalPotential 0 Sheep farms Goat farms

Carbon stock in soil

Soil organic carbon (SOC) content, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen content, exchangeable potassium, available phosphorus, cation exchange capacity, pH (in water or KCl), and soil texture from samples taken in Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi farm are the follow.

Parameter Unit value Textural classes sandy loam pH 5.9 Organic carbon (g/kg) 12.0 N (g/kg) 15.3 C/N 7.8 P (ppm) 42 K (ppm) 100 Sand (g/kg) 662 2

Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi di Ladu Pasqualino S.S. Forage system

Hill FS9 – sheep – Sardinia

Silt (g/kg) 297 Clay (g/kg) 41 Figure shows the data from the soil analyses carried out for samples collected in Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi farm: the vertical bar is the average of the sample from sheep-goat farms monitored in A1 action and the arrow identifies results of Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi. Soil ORGANIC MATTER content (%) in the 0-30 cm layer

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 LOW (0.8-1.2) MEDIUM (1.2-2) MEDIUM-HIGH (2-4) HIGH (4-8) VERY HIGH (>8) Soil available PHOSPHORUS (mg/kg) in the 0-30 cm layer

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 LOW MEDIUM-HIGH VERY HIGH (7-14) (15-45 ) (>45 ) Soil exchangeable POTASSIUM (mg/kg) in the 0-30 cm layer

40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320 360 400 440 480 520 560 600 640 680 720 LOW MEDIUM-HIGH VERY HIGH (40-80) (80-180 ) (> 240) Graph shows the average carbon stock in the first 0-30 cm soil layer (green bar) of Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi. The average value of the 21 farms monitored was 63.7 t C/ha.

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Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi di Ladu Pasqualino S.S. Forage system

Hill FS9 – sheep – Sardinia

120 LADU e PIRISI 50.8 t C/ha Study farm average value was 63.7 t C/ha 100

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30 cm soil layer (t C/ha) -

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0 Carbon stock in the 0 Sheep farms Goat farms

Mitigation techniques applied in the farm

• Natural pasture improvement in order to reduce land erosion, increase biomass production and carbon sink activity by weed removal, sowing of forage species and fertilization

Results of the mitigation actions:

Reduction of GHG emissions linked to milk production between 2016 and 2019: - 1%

CROPS PURCHASED FEED ENTERIC & BARN EMISSIONS BARN ENERGY

4.60 4.55

0,359 0,357

3,119 3,119

0,656 0,654 0,462 0,416

2016 2019

Characteristics of the 6 sheep farms involved in the project in 2019 and characteristics of Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi di Ladu Pasqualino SS Farm in 2019. 4

Società Agricola Ladu e Pirisi di Ladu Pasqualino S.S. Forage system

Hill FS9 – sheep – Sardinia

Società Agricola Ladu Mean Min. Max. e Pirisi di Ladu Pasqualino SS _2019 Daily milk production, kg/ewe 216 131 301 131 Dairy efficiency, kg milk/ kg ingested DM 0.60 0.44 0.84 0.44 Feed self sufficiency,% 78 49 99.9 49 Land, ha 130 65 260 260 Arable land, % 83 67 98 75 Land with maize silage, % 3 0 11 0 Land with alfalfa, % 4 0 20 0 Land with meadows, % 7 0 36 0 Lactating ewes, n 690 186 1300 960 Stocking rate, LU/ha 5.10 3.2 9.1 3.9 Replacing animals % 34 19 46 42

GWP of milk

Graph shows the environmental impact of the farm (green bar) for the production of 1 kg of corrected milk. The average value of the 6 farms monitored in 2019 was 3.82 kg of CO2 eq/kg corrected milk. Global warming potential of milk production: farm green bar

LADU E PIRISI 4.55 kg CO2 eq/kg FPC Milk Study farm average value was 3.82 kg CO2 5,0 eq/kg FPC Milk 4,5 4,0 3,5 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5

(kg CO2 CO2 (kg eq/kg FPCM) 1,0 Global Warming Potential 0,5 0,0 Sheep farms Goat farms

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