Re-Design of an Agro-Silvopastural Montado System on a Large-Scale Farm in Portugal

RE-DESIGN OF AN AGRO-SILVOPASTURAL MONTADO SYSTEM ON A LARGE-SCALE FARM IN PORTUGAL

MSc Thesis

Study field: Campo Frio farm

Paulo Martinho Supervisors: Kees Van Veluw , Jeroen Groot, Alexander Wesel

Farming Systems Ecology Group FSE - 80430 Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

February 2016

RE-DESIGN OF AN AGRO-SILVOPASTURAL MONTADO SYSTEM ON A LARGE-SCALE FARM IN PORTUGAL

Paulo Martinho February 2016

M.Sc. Thesis

WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY Farming Systems Ecology Group FSE - 80424

ISARA-Lyon Department Agroecology and Environment

Supervisors: Kees Van Veluw, Wageningen University Jeroen Groot, Wageningen University Alexander Wesel, ISARA – Lyon University

ABSTRACT

Campo Frio is a farm that in the last years was in some areas overused, due to intensive production of cereals and eucalypts, and in other areas underused, completely abandoned full of shrub invasion. These landuse have created several problems to the farm along the last decades like soil erosion, deforestation, extinction of fauna and flora species, wildfires and also, losing an important patrimony of Portugal that is the Montado system. Montado is an agro-silvo-pastural production system that has more than 500 years and combine trees (Oaks), shrubs, cereals production and extensive grazing animals like pigs, sheep, goats and cows. The aim of this study was to re-design a large scale farm, based on four steps: 1) Farm diagnosis, 2) Define objectives for the farm’s future, 3) Design the farm and 4) Sensitivity analysis, supported by two models Farm DESIGN and NDICEA. The design undertaken was an extensive Montado system, combining 50 sow Black Iberian pigs and 600 Churra do Campo sheep with the goal to have a self sufficient farm in terms of animal feed with a specific diet and crop rotation, in a 621ha farm. The results of 2 model programs (FarmDESIGN and NDICEA), literature review and opinion of several experts, showed that the proposed design; crop and animals diversity, extensive systems, stocking rate, crop rotation, crops and animal management, is a viable solution in all parameters, agronomical, environmental and economical. The results in FarmDESIGN indicated that the interactions between animals, trees, pasture, crops of this design will create a sustainable system regarding animal feed (feed requirement vs feed available balanced), organic matter (SOM balance 2233 kg/ha) and profit (€ 148.476). The nitrogen balance, NDICEA illustrated that with intercropping (cereals and leguminous) and with a certain amount of animal + green manure incorporated in the soil, the nitrogen uptake vs. nitrogen available will be balanced. Nevertheless, labor required (15.328 h/year), acorn production required (228.000 kg DM) and rainfall / water availability may cause serious trade offs for the re-design. After re-design, three scenarios were created to make a sensitivity analysis and explore the limiting factors (acorns and water). Scenario: 1) dry year with a low acorn production; scenario 2) reduction of the irrigation system area; and scenario 3) combination of both. According to the scenarios it is possible to reduce the area of irrigated fields, relying more on precipitation and increasing the rainfed fields. However, if a low yield of acorn production with low precipitation occurs for several years, the farm will face large difficulties in the long term.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Firstly I would like to say thanks to my main supervisor Kees Van Veluw. Thank you for your availability, knowledge, ideas, and passion for the long and endless meetings and also for your patience to understand my complex brain. To my professors Jeroen Groot and Alexander Wezel thank you for being always available for my questions and thank you for your support improving my thesis and also myself. A special thanks to a marvelous and wisdom person, Gerard Oomen, thank you for your help with NDICEA and crop rotation. To the manager of the farm, that is so many times referred in this thesis, António Tomás, and the responsible for the animals Taraz, thank you for the opportunity, time, advices and support.I would like also to thanks Emanuel for your support with the program ArcGIS and time spent to teach me how to use the program. To my good friend João Vasco Silva thanks for the inspirational talks, motivation, ideas, comments and discussions, and thank you for your friendship, all the best for you. To my colleagues and friends in farming system ecology group and to my friends that were in Wageningen (Organic Agriculture group), Lyon (AgroEcology group) and Sweden (Ali), thank you for your friendship and support. Lastly but certainly not least, my thanks to my family father, mother and brother. Thank you for your constant support and love and for always giving me the confidence to persevere.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ...... i Acknowledgments ...... iii 1. Introduction ...... 1 1.1 The Montado System ...... 1 1.2 The Institution IPF ...... 3 1.3. Research aim, research questions and hypotheses ...... 5 1.3.1. Research aim ...... 5 1.3.2. Research questions and hypotheses ...... 5 2. Material and methods ...... 6 2.1 Case Study ...... 6 2.2 Research framework ...... 8 2.3 Step 1 – Farm diagnosis ...... 9 2.4 Step 2 – Objectives for the farm ...... 9 2.5 Step 3 – Design of the farm ...... 10 2.5.1 - Animal system ...... 10 2.5.2 – Agropastoral system ...... 12 2.5.3 – Silvo-Pastoral system Montado ...... 12 2.6 Step 4 – Scenario and sensitivity analysis ...... 12 2.7 Modeling – FarmDESIGN and NDICEA ...... 13 2.7.1 FarmDESIGN ...... 13 2.7.2 NDICEA ...... 14 3. Results ...... 15 3.1 Redesign - qualitative results...... 15 3.1.1 - Animal system ...... 16 3.1.2 - Agropasture system ...... 22 3.1.3 - Silvopasture system ...... 24 3.2. Redesign quantitative results ...... 26 3.2.1 FarmDESIGN ...... 28 3.2.2 NDICEA ...... 31 3.3 Scenario, sensitivity analysis ...... 34 3.3.1. Scenario 1 ...... 34 3.3.2 Scenario 2 ...... 35 3.3.3 Scenario 3 ...... 37 4. Discussion ...... 39 5. Conclusion ...... 43 6. Reference ...... 44 7. Annex ...... 48 Annex 1. Map of the farm ...... 49 Annex 2: Full description of the farm ...... 50 Annex 3. Conversion period - the farm 0-15 years ...... 55 Annex 4. Crop data ...... 56 Annex 5. Pigs nutrition calculations ...... 61 Annex 6. Sheep nutrition calculations ...... 63

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1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Montado System The Montado (Portuguese) and Dehesa (Spanish) are agrosilvopastoral systems that cover 1,067,954 ha in Portugal and 3,515,920 ha in Spain (Olea et al. 2006). In Portugal (see figure 1) this multifunctional system represents 34% of the total national forest where cork oak (Quercus suber) represent 69% with 736,775 ha and holm oaks (Quercus ilex) 31% with 331,179 ha (Pinto Correia et al. 2013). The typical environment of the Montado is marked by a Mediterranean climate (dry and hot summers, cold winters and low rainfall averages 500–650mm/year, but it varies from year to year) and shallow, poor soils with high content of stones and low fertility (particularly P and Ca) (Jofre et al. 1988). These conditions make Figure 1. Map of the Montado arable farming unsustainable and unprofitable. The in Portugal. Yellow - cork oak topography is generally hilly (see figure 2). and green - the holm oak.

Figure 2. Montado (Portugal) and Dehesa (Spain) system with animals and cork. The Montado is a complex man-managed system with several components and multiple outputs (see figure 3). All components, i.e. animals, crops, trees and shrubs, are connected and need to be balanced through a sensitive and integrated management in order to be sustainable in a long-term (Pinto Correia et al. 2013).

The tree density varies from 20 to 80 trees per ha depending on the soil, climate and management practices (Olea et al. 2006). The trees are either cork oaks or holm oaks and sometimes Portuguese oak (Quercus faginea). Cork oaks need more humidity so they are located closer to the coast and holm oaks grow under more extreme conditions of temperature and drought, therefore they are located closer to the border of Spain. The trees produce wood, mainly for charcoal, fruit (acorns) and the cork oaks produce also cork, which is harvested once every 9 to 10 years. Presently, cork is the most valuable product of Montado (Pinto Correia et al. 2013). Holm oaks are managed for acorn production, which is an important part in the diet of the Iberian pig. In addition, shade from the trees is important not only for the livestock, protecting them from high temperatures in summer, but also contributes to retaining water and maintaining soil moisture, and thus to the survival of young tree shoots (Moreno et al. 2007). The livestock can be composed of cattle, sheep, goats or Iberian black pigs. The livestock is kept outside during the year, feeding grass, shrubs and acorns, also roots and hay or fodder produced in other parts of the farm. Some years ago shepherds were guiding the livestock to the different parts of the system, but nowadays because of the lack and cost of labor, the farmer has to use fences and manage livestock by circulating the animals between different parcels, depending on the sensitivity and production capacity of the soil. The livestock is crucial in this system as it contributes to shrub control and soil fertilization (Olea et al. 2006; Joffre et al. 1988). Regarding the crops, cereals are sometimes cultivated in long rotations under the canopy, but intensive cultivation under the trees is hardly profitable and operations like tillage compact the poor and shallow soils and thus can harm the trees (Joffre et al. 1988). Due to low yields under trees, the farmers uses an area outside of the Montado, usually the best soil with an irrigation system, to produce cereals and other fodder for the animals. The system is also often harvested for other goods, such as honey, aromatic and medicinal herbs and mushrooms (Pinto Correia et al. 2013). Hunting is an important component and recently rural tourism has also become more important (Pinto Correia et al. 2013).

All components of the Montado are connected and they rely on each other (see figure 3), for instance; trees help with water retention and provide shelter and food (acorns and leaves) to foraging animals, they also produce timber, charcoal and cork for human consumption (Pinto Correia et al. 2004). The animals fertilize the trees and pasture with their manure and their grazing clean and control shrubs invasion and risk of wildfires (Rey Benayas, 2007). The crops (i.e. cereals, leguminous, horticulture etc.) are produced to give fodder to the animals and can rotate between them, sometimes also in combination with pasture. Shrubs and pasture contribute for nitrogen fixation and feedstuff for animals and also food for human beings with medicinal and aromatic plants. Beside this interaction, the system provides also important ecosystem services such as groundwater recharge, carbon sequestration and soil conservation that is very important in this region, decreasing soil erosion and soil degradation (Sá-Sousa, 2014; Carbonero et al. 2014). In Portugal the Montado system

2 has a huge social, environmental and economic importance (Pinto Correia et al. 2013).

Figure 3. Montado system diagram.

1.2 The Institution IPF The Fundação Instituto Social Cristão Pina Ferraz (IPF) is a private institution with public services and social purpose. Dona Carlota founded the institution in 1952 with the aim to provide shelter to children at risk of poverty and social exclusion. IPF owns a huge patrimony (7255 ha of land) that was given by its founder in order to have a financial viability. The income that compensates the expenses of the IPF is coming from land rent contracts of several farmers and stakeholders that are exploiting the land mainly for forest production and agricultural production. During the last few years the managers of IPF observed that the rented land was in some areas overused, because of the intensive production of cereals and eucalypts, and in other areas underused, completely abandoned full of shrub invasion, because agriculture in these areas started to be unprofitable. This created several problems like erosion, degradation, deforestation, extinction of fauna and flora species, and also, losing an important patrimony of Portugal that is the Montado system. Unfortunately, it is happening all ove Portugal, the Montado system is changing and in some areas it is being abandoned and in other overused. Since 1960 Portugal has lost more than 50,000 ha, 5-10% of the total Montado area in the country (Pinto Correia et al. 2013). The number of trees per hectare is reducing because trees are dying and there is no reforestation or regeneration, threatening the sustainability of the system and increasing desertification in these regions. The changes are related to

3 a combination of several factors contributing to both extensification and intensification of the system affecting the sustainability (Pinto Correia et al. 1999) (see figure 4). Extensification (underuse): The increasing of labor cost due to migration from the rural areas to the cities, cereals and animals production became unprofitable for the farmers (if not intensified) creating an abandonment of the system. Intensification (overuse): Intensification of agriculture due to wrong EU and government policies offering subsidies mainly for intensive cereal production and animal production (cows), and consequently reducing number of trees per hectare, damaging soil structure by compaction - heavy machinery, plowing, overstocking and overgrazing on pastures (Fragoso, 2009).

Thereby, facing this reality, the IPF defined goals and a future plan to improve and create added value to the patrimony and to support the activities of the Institution. The goals are promoting and investing in agriculture, not only in forestry, preserving and maintaining the landscape using sustainable production systems, protecting the fauna and flora genetic diversity and promoting quality and certification of products. To reach these goals the institution already started to invest in projects like a) reforestation by planting of oaks (Quercus suber) on 826 hectares, cleaning and pruning the forest, b) starting animal production; 20 sows and 200 sheep, animal houses, improving pastures and c) improving buildings, infrastructure and equipment.

Taking into account the goals of the institution and the manager of the farm, the edafo-climatic conditions and market opportunities, the scope of this study was to design a sustainable and multifunctional system in the context of the Montado ecosystem.

Figure 4. Extensification and intensification of the Montado system.

1.3. Research aim, research questions and hypotheses

1.3.1. Research aim

The aim of the current study is to re-design a large-scale farm in Portugal by reestablishing the traditional Montado system. To reach this aim it is important to study and to understand the current situation in this farm, to analyze the functioning of Montado systems and to identify options for the farm to benefit from the Montado farming system.

1.3.2. Research questions and hypotheses The following research questions were formulated: 1) How does the farm currently perform in terms of agronomic, environmental and economic parameters? Hypothesis 1) The farm has potential to improve in agronomic (soil organic matter content), environmental (erosion control, nitrogen balance), social (amount of labor) and economic (revenues) parameters. 2) Given the objectives of the farmer, the land-use suitability and market opportunities, which production systems and interactions can be designed? Hypothesis 2) The farm is characterized by poor soils, high erosion risk and lack of water. Therefore integrating an extensive and multi-functioning system with animals, pastures, trees and arable crops is a viable solution. 3) What are the trade offs at farm level (labour, profit and SOM) if the farm is re-designed in order to create a self-sufficient farm in terms of animal feed? Hypothesis 3) When integrating an agro-silvopasture system several tradeoffs can occur. With a rotation between animals, crops, pasture, fallows will be possible to create a self-sufficient farm in terms of feed for the animals and therefore soil organic matter and profit will be improved. However, labor demand and the need of water will also increase. 4) Is the proposed crop rotation for the design sustainable in terms of nitrogen balance and organic matter? Hypothesis 4) A sustainable crop rotation is only possible when intercropping and green manures are part of the crop rotation. 5) Do the limiting factors of acorns availability and water limitation influence the feasibility of the redesign? Hypothesis 5) A Montado system can be a feasible solution, however, economically, the farm will be dependent on these two limiting factors. Scenarios will show that low acorns yields and lack water will create unsustainable redesign in the long term.

2. MATERIAL AND METHODS 2.1 Case Study

The total area of the IPF property is around 7255 ha distributed over 4 municipalities (Penamacor, Idanha-a- nova, Fundão and Castelo Branco). However the institution only uses 1843 ha (see figure 5) in Penamacor municipality. The remaining land is rented to companies and farmers, mainly for forest industry (timber, wood, paper). Figure 5 – Penamacor Municipality The property explored by IPF is distributed to several farms where Campo Frio, that is the farm of this study, has the biggest area 1256 ha. Campo Frio is situated on the border of Spain and Malcata Reserve (see figure 5). The total area of the farm covers a mountain and a valley and therefore the altitude varies from 330 to 800 m above sea level. The temperature depends on the altitude and season. On average the temperature is around 13 ºC - 15 ºC and it is very different throughout the year, hot during summer (40ºC) and cold during winter. The total precipitation during a year is on average 776 mm. During summer the water availability is limited due to lack of rain. Even though the farm is located in a dry and water scarce region, the farm is rich in water sources, for instance; the Bazagueda river that starts in Malcata Mountains in the north, and in the south several water streams come from the mountain of the farm located at 780 meters altitude running into the Basagueda River, creating several lakes. The soil texture is medium to heavy with an average of 2% of OM and a pH around 5,5, acidic soil. (For detailed information, see annex 2). In terms of land-use, the land is mainly suitable for forest or silvopasure. Thus the main production activities defined for this farm are as: game hunting (whole farm), animal production, cork production, and wood/timber production. There are three big areas/zones that were divided according to the soil suitability, slope, vegetation and proximity of the infrastructures/buildings (see figure 6). Zone 1 - Agropasture is the area that is close to the buildings and supports the animal production. The area is around 121 ha plus 13 ha of infrastructure, animal houses, buildings etc. Zone 2 - Silvopasture is the area where cork oaks are planted. The area is around 500 ha of small trees cork oaks, pasture to improve soil, yellow lupins and ryegrass. Zone 3 – Forest is the area that is too far from the buildings and is slopy and hilly. The area of 622 ha is planted with a mixture of several trees pines, eucalyptus, holm, cork oaks. For this study, only zone 1 and zone 2 were considered because the focus of this study was silvopasture and animal production and not forestry production.

Figure 6. Zone map of the farm (see also annex 1)

2.2 Research framework

The redesign approach is based on four steps: Step 1 – Farm diagnosis, Step 2 – Define objectives (goals) for the farm’s future, Step 3 – Design the farm and Step 4 – Sensitivity analysis (see figure 7).

Step 1 includes describing and explaining the current situation on the farm. Step 2 is based on establishing objectives for the future of the farm. Step 3 entails designing the farm according to the objectives defined, and finally Step 4 is testing scenarios with a sensitivity analysis of the design, thus testing the feasibility.

Figure 7. The design steps

To describe the current situation in Step 1, several maps were created supported by ArcGIS. ArcGIS is a geographic information system (GIS) for working with maps and geographic information. It is used for: creating and using maps; analyzing mapped information; and sharing and discovering geographic information. Step 2 was carried out by doing several interviews to the manager of the farm, experts of several fields, landscape and market opportunities. Step 3 and 4 were supported by two models Farm DESIGN (Groot et al. 2012) and NDICEA (Van der Burgt et al. 2006). Farm DESIGN takes a view of the farm over a period of one year, it is a static model that examines key system flows and presents the balances at the farm level. Examples of these are the whole farm organic matter balance, feed balances, labor balances and economic indicators. NDICEA is a dynamic model that calculates the dynamics of the nitrogen flows and soil organic matter in a particular location and crop rotation, during several years.

The results of the design (baseline scenario) and scenarios of this farm (Steps 3 and 4) are divided in qualitative and quantitative results of the Animal system, Agropastural system and Silvopastural system. In the end was calculated the balances of: feed, labor, organic matter, nitrogen and profit.

2.3 Step 1 – Farm diagnosis

The study of the current situation was carried out mainly in Portugal. The goal was to initially collect data, observe the site and describe and explain the conditions of the farm. The main obtained information describes and explains the current situation in the study case (Chapter 2; for detailed information see annex 2). The data and information collected were based on a one month stay at the farm doing visual observation done by walking across the farm, taking notes/photos and one on one discussion with the famer (see table 1). After the observation on the field, the information that was collected was used in the ArcGIS program to create maps. The maps were created with the support of an expert of ArcGIS. The data collected about rain, temperature and radiation was taken from NOAA-National Centers Environmental Information and worked in MS Excel. Regarding the soil assessment, a private company did three-soil samples and afterwards gave the results of the analyses regarding soil texture, pH, organic matter content and nutrient content. All the information was used to create a picture of the current status of the farm, what are the conditions for the future and what are the limitations and restrictions. The data collected during this step was, later on, used to design the farm and to parameterize the computer based models FarmDESIGN and NDICEA.

Table 1. Data collected during step 1 – Farm diagnosis B - Soil & A - Climate D - Describe current Vegetation C – Mapping conditions situation assessment • Rain • Texture • Map observation • Water availability • Temperature • Nutrients • Infrastructures • Crops & livestock • Radiation • Organic matter • Land use map • Labor available • pH • Landscape map • Buildings and tools • Soil map

2.4 Step 2 – Objectives for the farm

Step 2 was mainly to explore the goals of the farm manager, the opportunities of land-use and market, the opinion/advice of experts of the Montado and to read literature about the traditional Montado system. For this step several interviews and visits were done during a one-month stay in Portugal. Afterwards, several objectives were established to achieve the future goals of the farm, which also set out the criteria for the design of the farm.

Several visits and interviews were done. The idea was to understand better the goals of the manager of the farm and the Montado system, i.e., the extensive animal system and the crop system more adapted for Mediterranean conditions and also how to link crops – animal – trees – pasture and managing a multi-functioning farm.

Interviews and visits:

• Farm manager (IPF) • Association: ANCSUB – National Association Bísara Pigs Breeder - Associação Nacional de Criadores de Suinos da Raça Bísara; • Farm: Quinta d'Alagoa; • Farm: Freixo do Meio; • Association: ANCPA – National Association of Alentejano Pigs Breeder - Associação Nacional dos Criadores do Porco Alentejano; • Institute: ICAAM - Institute of Mediterranean Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; • Veterinary expert of animal system (Churra do Campo sheep autochthonous breed);

2.5 Step 3 – Design of the farm

The starting point - the farm in 15 years (See annex 3) Step 3 was the design phase. It was assumed that the starting point of the farm is after a conversion period of 15 years (see annex 3). The oaks will only give sufficient acorn production after 15 to 20 years (Gómez-Castro et al. 2007; Díaz-Ambrona et al. 2011; Bote 1998), therefore to have an interaction with animals and the Montado system, the starting point is only possible after this time. To build the design, all the inputs obtained in step 2, i.e., the opinion of experts, literature about the traditional Montado system, the market and the goals of the farm manager, were taken into account. To explain what will happen in 15 years, it was assumed that the biophysical and socio-economic external conditions would not change. That means, the weather, rainfall, soil (organic matter, pH, texture, etc.), market price, wages costs, input prices, etc. will not change in the next 15 years.

The design was grouped in 3 sub-topics, 1-animal system, 2-agropastoral system (121ha), 3-silvopastoral system (500ha). All the information and the data referred in these subtopics were used afterwards in FarmDESIGN and NDICEA programs.

2.5.1 - Animal system The farm manager selected traditional breeds for the animal production. The reasons for this choice are not only because these breeds are more adapted to the region but also because nowadays the traditional (autochthonous) and local products are more valued by the consumers. Breeds selected for pigs and sheep were “Bísara” and “Churra do campo”, respectively.

Pigs’ Characteristics The typical breed for the Montado system is the porco alentejano (Black Iberian pig). For centuries this pig breed developed characteristics (ingest acorns, grazing) that makes the Iberian pig the animal that is most beneficial when combined with the Montado system, by converting 10 kg of fresh acorn into 1 kg of fat pork meat per day (Rodríguez-Estévez et al. 2009). Nevertheless, the farm manager opted to choose Bísara breed instead of the black Iberian, because he believes that consumers, in the future, will prefer light meat instead of fat meat, and the meat of the black Iberian pig is fatter than the Bísara pig. According to ANCSUB, the Bísara pig could be well adapted into the Montado system because it is a traditional breed used to eat nuts and horticultural crops and also grazing on the forests, however, due to the lack of information and data about the Bísara pig in Montado system, thus, for calculation and the design of this farm, the data and information on Iberian pig were used. The Iberian pig is an autochthonous pig breed (150kg – 180kg), developed traditionally in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, descendent from the Sus mediterraneus, the wild boar. This pig is traditionally produced in the Montado fattened by the acorns provided by the oaks. The fattening phase is called “montanheira” and takes place from early November to February (Bote et al. 1998). The prolificacy of the Black Iberian varies from 5 to 8 piglets. Normally the sow gives birth twice per year and has a lifetime of 5 years (replacement rate 20%). After 10 months of age the sow is ready for mating, and after 3 months 3 weeks and 3 days the piglets are born (Bote et al. 1998).

Sheep characteristics The sheep Churra do Campo is a traditional and typical breed from the mountains of Iberian Peninsula. With a live weight of 40 – 50 kg it is a small-sized sheep that is very rustic and well adapted to poor pasture regions and conditions like the ones provided in the region where the farm is situated. This breed is used in extensive systems and it is characterized by having a triple purpose, i.e. milk, meat and wool production (Carvalho et al. 2010). In 2004 this breed was considered extinct, however, with a project that involved several institutions and the municipality of Penamacor, they tried to restore some herds and create an autochthonous breed for that region (Carvalho et al. 2010). According to the studies and research carried out (Carvalho et al. 2010), the Churra do campo has a fertility of 85 – 90% and premature reproduction age, after 18 months. Due to the fact that is an autochthonous breed and was never bred/selected to improve milk production or meat production, this breed has relatively low productivity either in milk and meat. The milk production can vary between 30 to 50 liter per lactation period, depending on the birth season. The milk contains 5.2% of protein and a high percentage of fat, 8%. With this percentage of fat the manager of the farm believes that is possible to produce a high quality cheese. In these traditional systems the lambs weigh after 45 days around 15 kg.

For the design, the pigs and sheep system was divided in: description of the system, animal nutrition requirements (see annex 5 and 6), animal feedstuff requirements and market/price.

2.5.2 – Agropastoral system

The agropasture area (121 ha) was divided in 3 categories; irrigated field 40 ha, rainfed field 60 ha and improved pasture 21 ha, to manage the crop rotation. The design for the crops was based on the animal diet, crops adapted to the region, climate and soil and water demand. The crop rotation was elaborated with a help of an expert at Wageningen University. The idea was to create a self-sufficient farm in terms of animal feed. Therefore, all the crops for animals are going to be produced on the farm.

2.5.3 – Silvo-Pastoral system Montado

The silvopasture area (Montado), around 500 ha of pasture with oaks, was divided in small plots to facilitate the animal rotation. The idea for this area is taking the most benefit from the trees, acorns and pasture without overgrazing the area.

2.6 Step 4 – Scenario and sensitivity analysis

The scenarios were created to make a sensitivity analysis and explore the limiting factors of the design. Three scenarios were explored, one about a dry year with a low acorn production, an other about a reduction of the area with irrigation system and one other with a combination of both.

Scenario 1 – Dry year and low acorn production For the first scenario, a year with low rainfall and low acorns production was considered. Rainfall rates and acorns productivity are very unpredictable in the region. For this scenario a reduction of 20% of all crops produced in the farm and a 50% reduction of acorns yields was assumed. Acorns is a important factor for this design, not only because it is the product that creates the added value to the pigs meat (in the “montanheira” phase), but also because it is a natural resource saving 20% of the feed that is given/produced to/for the pigs. Consequently, because of losing the certification “bellota”, due to the fact that during the “montanheira” the pig has to be fed by other supplements, and not only acorns, the price is also reduced from 2.40 €/kg LW to 2 €/kg LW. The price of milk for this scenario was also reduced form 1.5 €/L to 1 €/L, because the price of sheep milk is very unstable.

Scenario 2 – Reduction of the area with irrigation system The region is characterized as being a dry region with several problems of water during summer. Although the farm currently is not facing these problems, however, it

is most likely to take place in the future. Therefore a scenario was created where the number of hectares of irrigation is reduced from 40 ha to 10 ha, relying more on the winter crops.

Scenario 3 – Both This scenario is a combination of scenario 1 and 2. A dry year scenario with only 10 ha of irrigation system available in the farm. The yields of the crops were reduced 20% and the yields of acorns 50%. Additionally, a reduction of the sales price of milk and pigs.

2.7 Modeling – FarmDESIGN and NDICEA

All the data collected from animal system, agropasture system and silvopasture system was introduced to FarmDESIGN (FD) and NDICEA, to calculate the interaction between Animals – Crops – Pasture – Montado.

Regarding the animal data (see table 2), the number of animals was defined by the farm manager. The body weight, weight gain per day and milk production were collected from literature. The net energy MJ (Mega Joules) year and protein (kg year) were calculated according to the “Normas FEDNA” from Spain. The animal management system (number of months in the system etc.) and grazing periods was defined by experts who were visited during step 2. The prices (kg body weight (BW) or kg live weight (LW)) were assumed according to the market (www.3tres3iberico.com and www.fertiprado.pt/cotacoes). Finally the labor was assumed the same data as similar farms. The data crops (see table 3) included the dry matter (DM), N-fixation (N kg/ha), effective organic matter (kg/ha) and net energy MJ (Mega Joules) per kg DM and protein g (grams) per kg DM were taken from literature. Yields, manure and fertilizers applied and water (mm/ha) per crop needed, were calculated based on literature and exploring the model NDICEA. The weather data parameterized in NDICEA were based on a region in Spain, with similar condition to the ones observed in the farm region. Finally the labor and costs per hectare were assumed to be the same data as similar farms.

After parameterizing the programs, both, FarmDESIGN and NDICEA, were explored to produce results and balances; balances of feed, labor, nutrients, organic matter, nitrogen and profit.

2.7.1 FarmDESIGN The model FarmDESIGN (Groot et al. 2012) is a bio-economic static model that takes a view of the farm over a period of one year; after calibrating it with all components; labor, climate, soil, crops, livestock etc. The program examines key system flows of resources between the components on the farm and presents the balances. For example: organic matter balance, macronutrients balances, feed

balance, labor balance and economic indicators such as gross margins and operating profit. By capturing the links between the different farm components, identifying ranges of possibilities and setting constrains and objectives, the program will generate alternatives and solutions by using tradeoffs between the key flows.

2.7.2 NDICEA The NDICEA model (van der Burgt et al., 2006) is a model that integrates the most important processes and factors of nitrogen (N) dynamics in crop rotations. It calculates the dynamics of the state variables soil carbon, soil organic matter. The results of the model includes inputs and outputs for the water and nitrogen balance as well as for the soil organic matter mineralization during a period of time.

The data For all the data used to parameterize FarmDESIGN and NDICEA see table 2 and 3.

3. RESULTS

3.1 Redesign - qualitative results

In order to design the farm, a simple design system (see figure 8) was created to understand the relations between the three sub topics, in this particular Montado system: 1 – animal system, 2 – agropastoral system, 3 – silvopastoral system. The animals provide manure to the silvopasture area and agropasture area and control the shrubs invasion. The silvopasture area gives feed (grass, natural resources, acorns etc) to the animals and the conditions to apply for certification (“bellota” and extensive animal production). The agropasture area provides feed and fodder during the periods of lack of feed (manly summer) and stables (housing). All these relations were calculated later on to describe the quantitative results.

Figure 8. Design system of the farm

Objectives of the farm manager The manager has a clear idea about the future of the farm. The priority of the farm is creating hunting reserves, forestry production, manly cork production and animal production. The Montado area is crucial for his goals and therefore it needs special attention and maintenance for the future. Regarding the animal production, his idea is to grow the number of animals, pigs and sheep, in a sustainable way. The priority is to have autochthonous breeds to produce traditional products, like meat, hams, cheese etc. In this way he wants to have an extensive animal production with low inputs.

By planting a vast area of oaks, the manager also sees an opportunity to recreate the traditional Montado system, however according to him, it will take time to create the interaction between the animals and oaks. For the future, the manager is exploring the farm to have a potential of 600 sheep and growing 800 piglets.

3.1.1 - Animal system

Pigs system (for more background information see annex 5)

The system selected for this design is a traditional system where the animals maximize the use of natural resources that the Montado offers, like acorns, grass, shrubs, roots, flowers, worms, insects etc, reducing the amount of supplements (grains) needed. The daily gain in kg (pig productivity) is far lower than the intensive production, and therefore this system is only economically sustainable due to the low costs of production and higher price of market. The main goal of pig production, is the ham and meat production. Therefore, the piglets were divided in two big groups in order to maximize the “montanheira” phase from November until February (ANCPA). The ones born in May/June are named “extensive piglets” and they have multiple purposes, to be sold as leitão (piglet), ham production, meat/sausage/smoked meat and to replace the sows. The piglets born in November/December are named “intensive piglets” and they are more oriented to the ham industry. The difference between the extensive and intensive piglets are the number of months in the system, the first will be 20 months and the second 16 months.

The Sow During the year the sows pass through three phases, reproduction cycle that is when occur the mating with the hog, the gestation and finally the lactation. The reproductive cycle is about 21-31 days and occurs twice per year during January and July. The gestation is around 115 days, after January or July onwards. The lactation continues for 45 - 60 days after the piglet birth, and after the weaning of the piglets/recovery period, the sow start again the reproductive cycle (see figure 9) (ANCPA).

Figure 9. Sow phases

The Piglets From birth to slaughterhouse, the piglets have to pass through four phases. The first is the suckling, the second the weaning, third growing/fattening and finally the “montanheira” phase. The milking phase covers the period of birth until the

weaning. The days after birth are very important regarding mortality, usually in this extensive systems the mortality is high, around 10-15% (Sarapatka et al., 2009). The high mortality can be explained by the fact that the piglets after birth are very small, with only 1.1-1.3 kg, and therefore it is common to have piglets suffocated by the sow while sleeping. During 45-60 days, the piglet is with the mother, gaining an average of 250-300 kg day, until reach 12-14 kg. Afterwards the piglets are moved to separate plots to be weaned. The process of weaning can last between 30 and 60 days. The piglets should be divided in categories for example in categories of weights, so the weaker piglets (weight lower than 12 kg) can have special attention, with extra food. Piglets move to the next phase when they have reached a weight of 25-30 kg, gaining on average 150-350 g/day (Nieto et al. 2002). The growing / fattening is the longest period. For the extensive system this phase will last around 15 months and for the intensive system11 months. During this period the piglets will be in their natural habitat, the forest. There are oscillations in growth rate of the piglets, which can vary between 150 and 450 g/day (Barea et al. 2007). The growth rate is lower during the summer and higher in spring, because of the seasonal availability of feed (grass), natural resources (acorns and shrubs), nutritional feed (protein and energy) and weather conditions (Bote C. L. 1998). For this design was assumed an average growth rate of 200 g/day for the extensive piglets and 275 g/day for the intensive piglets. According to ANCPA and Bote C. L. 1998, the piglet can only enter into the next “montanheira” phase after reaching a weight of 100 kg. Therefore it is important to feed the piglet well during this phase. The “montanheira” is the last phase of the animal before going to the slaughterhouse, and it is the most crucial for the quality of the ham and meat products. This phase is characterized by an exclusive diet based on grass and acorns during 2 months. It is the most traditional and valued process of fattening the Iberian pigs linked to the Montado system (Bote et al. 2000). The period of acorns production is normally 4 months, from November to February. Therefore it is possible to divide the “montanheira” phase in two. The extensive piglets will enter in November until December, and the intensive from January to February (see figure 10).

Figure 10. piglets phases

Pig feedstuff requirements – diet The sow The feed management of the sow must be planned according to the phases of gestation, lactation and mating (see figure 11). The goal is to control the diet in order to balance the body conditions, neither too fat nor too skinny. The diet of the sow is based on grains 70%, hay 12%, green fodder 13% and horticulture (fodder beetroot and jerusalem artichoke) 5% (Sarapatka et al. 2009). During the first month of gestation, where the sow will be on the irrigated pasture, the feed quantity can be reduced. After the first month onwards the quantity is gradually increasing, from 1.5 kg/day to 3 kg/day, until 2 to 3 days before the birth to avoid problems of constipation (Sarapatka et al. 2009). It is recommended to give a diversified diet with green fodder, hay (oats, triticale, faba beans, peas), horticulture (fodder beetroot and jerusalem artichoke) and finally a mix of grains, maize, oats, triticale, faba beans, peas, spelt and lentils. After gestation, the sow is moved to the maternity area to give birth and start the lactation phase. During this period, it is essential to feed the sow with good quantity and quality to produce enough milk to breastfeed the piglets. The sow is in a confined area being fed only with grains and hay. After lactation, it is important to have a time of rest with good quality and quantity of feedstuff to have a fast recovery and therefore moving the sow again to the mating phase. During the mating the feed per day is reduced but with a more diversified diet.

Figure 11. Diet and location per phases

Hay = vetch/oats, triticale/fababeans, spelt/lentils

The piglets During the sucking phase, the survival of the piglets mainly depends on the birth weight. Heavier piglets have more chance to survive (Freitas et al. 2006). According to ANCPA, the milk does not satisfy all the nutritional requirements (amino acids, iron, magnesium), so after 5 days of life it is important to give solid feed to the piglets to develop the digestive system and to fulfill the nutrition requirements. It is advised to give roasted triticale grains and gradually, in the second week, a mix of mash-dry grains, oats/ triticale/ barley/ clover scattering/ peas/ faba beans/ dry yeast/

feed lime/ salt/ all moistened with milk or water (Sarapatka et al. 2009). This diet will also contribute to developing the digestive system. During the third week onwards it is possible to already give some horticulture products like fodder beets, carrots, other vegetables and green fodder. To prevent anaemia in the piglets it is recommended to give 5 kg of red soil, 1 kg of feed lime, 4 kg crushed hay/flour plus one soup with copper sulphate and aromatic substances like herbs + fennel + caraway (Sarapatka et al. 2009). During the weaning it is important to adapt the pig to the natural resources available in the Montado and the diet used in the growing/fattening phase. Therefore, grass, some acorns, mix of cereals and leguminous grains, hay and vegetables must be included on the diet with gradually increasing quantities (in accordance with the piglets weight) (Bote et al. 2000). During growing/fattening phase the piglets will grow from 25 to 100 kg. (Barea et al. 2007; Bote et al. 2000). The extensive piglets will have a lighter diet because the growth is slower than the intensive piglets. The piglets will be in plots divided with fence on the Montado area, here they will graze from October until June and eat natural resources that grows like shrubs, bugs, roots and soil (Shepard, 2013). Every day the piglets receive a supplement of mixed grains (triticale, oats, spelt, peas, beans, lentils and maize) and during the periods where grass is scarce also some hay can be given (Farm: Freixo do Meio). During summer a larger quantity of grains and hay complemented with horticulture, straw and stubbles is needed. Therefore, for redesign two horticultural crops were proposed, Jerusalem artichoke and fodder beetroots, even though these crops are not known in Portugal, it started to be more common in countries like France. Nevertheless other horticultural crops can be used like turnips, potatoes and carrots. Hay must be of good quality, a mix of oats/vetch/peas and triticale/fababeans were proposed for this farm, according to the edafo-climatic conditions. To complement this diet lisina and minerals like feed lime, calcium, mix of aromatic herbs (parsley + rosemary + coriander + fennel + caraway +garlic) is also needed (Sarapatka et al. 2009). One month before moving to the next phase, “montanheira”, it is essential to restrict the diet, especially grains (maize), because afterwards the piglet will better optimize the ingestion of natural resources like the grass and acorns (Farm: Freixo do Meio). “montanheira” phase, the piglet will enter with 100 kg to the Montado and in 2 months the pigs will grow 50-60 kg around 800-1000 g/day, reaching the 150-160 kg, eating 7 to 10 kg of acorns and 2 kg/day of fresh pasture (Rodríguez-Estévez et al. 2009). The studies show that the Black Iberian pigs can convert 10 kg of fresh acorn, supplemented with grass, into 1 kg of fat pork meat per day. During the last phase, three different feeding systems can be used according to the market and certification to sell to the Spanish market (Bote et al. 2000). 1 – “montanheira” in which animal are fed in the Montado and consume exclusively acorns and grass; 2 – “recebo” half the time in “montanheira” and the other half fed on mixed diets with grains; 3 – “do campo”, fed on mixed diets in confinement.

The idea of this design is to have all the piglets under the “montanheira“ system, however if the acorns production is not enough the manager has the alternative to feed the pigs with the other 2 systems.

Figure 12. Diet and location per phases

Market and price Nowadays there is a quality norm for the production of Iberian hams, Iberian forelegs and Iberian loins. According with this norm, only pure Iberian pigs managed in the last phase as “montanheira”, “recebo” or mixed diet confinement, can be commercialized as “Iberian” meat products (Ribeiro, 2006). The price is distinguished by the last phase feed system. The pigs that are fattening in “montanheira” phase, only fed with acorns and grass, have the certification of “bellota” and have higher price than the other two systems. The price is 2.60€ kg/LW for the “bellota” and the others 2 € kg/LW, sold before the slaughterhouse (for the redesign was used a lower price 2,40€/LW) (https://www.3tres3iberico.com). The markets of Iberian pigs are increasing in Portugal and in Spain, where it is considered a product of high value. However, because the farm is on the border with Spain, the pigs can be sold to the Spanish market, where these products already have a good differentiation and are a reference product. In the near future, farm manager could already build processing infrastructures to process the meat product of the pigs, gaining more added value to the farm. Other product that can be explored in the local market is the “leitão assado”, which is the selling of the young piglet after 30 to 45 days. The price for this product is around 25 euros per piglet (ANCPA).

Sheep system (for more background information see annex 6)

For sheep production a traditional system is used with double purpose, milk and meat, which is the most suitable system according to the local veterinary expert in Churra do Campo. However, the main goal will be always the production of milk, and therefore it is used as semi-intensive production for autochthonous breed, 3 times lambing in 2 years with 5 to 6 months lactation period (1 month lamb milking and 4- 5 months milk production). The 3 lambs born, that is, one during June, for replacing the herd (substitution rate 15-20%) and for the festival days during summer, and the others during October/November and February to be sold during Christmas and Easter respectively, where the demand is higher for this regional/typical product (Ribeiro 2006). The lambs are slaughtered between the ages of 40 and 45 days at a live weight of 12-15 kg (Carvalho et al. 2010). The phases for this animal system are the mating 31 days, the gestation, around 140 to 153 days, the lactation 120 days (see figure 13).

Figure 13. Sheep phases

Sheep feedstuff requirements – diet Normally, for meat production with an extensive stocking rate, the grass produced in the Montado is enough to feed sheep (70% total grass production March – June) spring, except during summer where some forage is needed to replace the scarcity (Sales-Baptista et al. 2015). However, one of the goals is milk production and a supplement is necessary to fulfill the energy and protein requirements. For the quantity of feed ingested per day, was assumed that sheep can eat 2.6 kg DM per 100 kg LW, around 1.2 kg DM on average (Sarapatka et al. 2009). The feedstuff is divided in Montado pasture (60%), hay (30%), straw (5%) and grains (5%). From October to June the sheep are grazing on the Montado pasture and they are fed in the stables at night with high quality hay (Sales-Baptista et al. 2015). During milking phase, they are also fed with a small amount of grains to improve the milk production. In summer the sheep are fed by grains, hay and in the end of the summer, straws and stubbles (see figure 14). The diet of the lamb is exclusively based on milk, after 40 to 45 days the lambs are slaughtered and sold.

Figure 14. Diet and location of the sheep

Market and Prices There is a high demand for lamb meet and sheep milk (cheese) in this region. It is a region famous for sheep cheese like “serra da estrela” and for lamb meet “Borrego assado”, mainly during Christmas and Easter time. Nevertheless, there are opportunities for differentiated products like autochthonous breed products (Ribeiro, 2006; Andrade et al. 1997). One example is the “Cabrito à canastra”, which is highly appreciated by tourists and hunters who visit the region (Andrade et al. 1997). For the characteristics of this product, “Cabrito à canastra”, the lamb must be Merino, Churra do Campo or Churra Mondegueira breeds, which are slaughtered between the ages of 40 and 45 days. The lambs cannot weight more than 12-15 kilograms at the time of slaughter and they are only milk-based diet, giving to the meat a tender texture and a distinct smell and taste of milk. To simplify the design, the processing of the products was not taken into account, which means that we assumed that the lamb are sold before slaughtering and the milk is sold in raw form. The prices are 60€/lamb of 15kg and the milk 1.5€/L (Veterinary expert).

3.1.2 - Agropastoral system (for more background information see annex 4)

The design made for the agropasture area was organized in 3 categories. For each category the area was divided into several smaller plots (see figure 15) to facilitate the crop rotation. Field A (10 ha) + field B (10 ha) and field C (20 ha) have an irrigation system, “irrigated fields”, which makes a total area of around 40 hectares. Field D, E and F, 20 ha each, are the fields without irrigation system known as the “rainfed fields”, making a total area of 60 hectares, and Field J, I, H and G are the “improved pasture fields” divided in 5 ha each with a total area of 20 ha.

Figure 15. Agropasture area divided by fields for crop rotation

Improved pasture

Irrigated field Rainfed field

- Maternity area - Wean area - Irrigated pasture

Crop rotation: Irrigated fields On these fields, it is possible to produce two different crops during one year, the winter crops and summer crops. The winter crops (from October to May) are intercrops of triticale + faba beans, oats + peas, spelt + lentils and the summer crops (from May to September), maize (grain and silage) and fodder beet. The crop rotation for the fields with irrigation is quite intensive. Thus, it is important to use as much manure as possible from the animal production (stable manure and yard manure) and also some NPK fertilizers to provide nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Six tons/ha of animal yard manure are always used before sowing the summer crops. For the winter crops NPK fertilizers with 30 kg/ha of nitrogen during January/February is used. For more details on crops management see annex 4.

For the Irrigated field, the crop rotation is as follows:

Crop rotation: Rainfed fields The crops of the 2nd category are comprised of only winter crops, cereals + leguminous crops, the same winter crops used in the irrigated fields. The rain fed crop rotation is an extensive crop rotation. The manure that is not used in the irrigated fields is used on these plots. Two tons of sheep yard manure is always used before sowing the winter crops. Because the animal manure is not enough to cover the crop nutrients demanding, 30 kg/ha of Nitrogen must be applied during January/February. For more details on crops management see annex 4.

The crop rotation is as follows:

Crop rotation: Improved pasture field The 3rd category is only a simple rotation with pasture and Jerusalem artichoke. After 4 years of grass the Jerusalem artichoke is planted (JA).

3.1.3 - Silvopastoral system

Montado is the silvopasture area, where the pigs and sheep will be most of the time grazing and eating natural resources like acorns, shrubs and herbs. The Montado on average has a density between 20 to 40 trees/ha, however in some cases the density can be much higher with 80 - 100 trees per hectare (Gómez-Castro et al. 2006). In this farm 160 trees per hectare aging 20 years were assumed. Due to the goals and priorities for the farm, the Montado pasture is never overgrazed (maximum 2 adult animals per hectare) (Olea et al. 2011) because the main goals for this area are always for cork production and hunting. Nevertheless, pigs and sheep will interact with the Montado the whole year. During the growing phase the intensive and extensive piglets, will be in zone K1 (see figure 16) divided per groups/pen to control the weight. Afterwards in November, when the acorns season starts, the “montanheira phase”, the extensive piglets will enter in the plot K2 and

after 2 months they will pass through all plots until the final plot, that is K12 where piglets will weigh 150 kg LW. The intensive piglets will enter in K2 only in January, following the some process until they also reach the 150 kg LW. After they gain the recommended weight the pigs go to the slaughterhouse. The sheep will enter in the Montado in March, end of the acorns season, and stay there grazing and eating natural resources until the end of October.

Figure 16. The silvopasture area divided by plots for the “montanheira phase”

Piglets house

3.2. Redesign quantitative results

Data used to obtain the results of FarmDESIGN and NDICEA are expressed on the table 2 Animal table and table 3 crops table.

Table 2. Animal data base

N.A. = Not Applicable

Table 3. Crops data base

3.2.1 FarmDESIGN

With FarmDesign the animal feed balance, organic matter balance, labor balance and operational profit were calculated.

Table 4. Fields and crops (kgDM)

In table 4 the results of yields in kg DM, number of hectares for each crop, production kg DM, the name of the field, quantity of DM that is left on the soil and the amount (DM) kept for animals bedding, of 13 crops divided in 7 groups, pasture, acorns, grains, hay, horticulture, straw and green manures are illustrated (GM). The Montado pasture produces around 55% of the total DM. 70% of the production of pasture in the Montado area is left on the soil to improve soil organic matter. Also some DM is used as bedding for the animals. To increase the soil organic matter content the straw of the cereals is left on the soil in the “irrigated fields”. Regarding the green manure, 66% of the DM is left on the soil with the purpose to improve the fertility (nitrogen) of the soil for the next crops.

Animal feed balance Acorns plus grains and silage are 43% of the total feedstuff for the animals. Green fodder (pasture) is 27%, hay and straw 22% and horticulture 8% (see graphic 1). kgDM in percentage (%) Graphic Table 5. Total kg DM production available for feedstuff

production crop Group 1.

*The kg DM of Montado pasture was calculated according with the needs and time that the animals are on the Montado field.

The total amount of feedstuff produced on the farm is enough to meet the energy and protein requirements of the total animals defined for this design (see table 6).

Table 6. DM intake, energy and protein required and available

Soil organic matter of the total farm (SOM) The 500 ha of the Montado pasture will be covered by permanent pasture producing a significant quantity of crop residues like roots and therefore soil organic matter content will also increase significantly, the net OM input per hectare is 2 286 kg. This big increase is due to the huge amount of grass left in the soil in the Montado pasture, the organic matter added by green manures and the animals manure, that correspond to the amount of manure excreted by animals while grazing and stable and farm yard manure applied to the crops.

Labour balance For the re-design 7 employees working 1750 h/year will be needed to cover the labor requirement of 12800 hours (see table 7). The farm manager will supervise all activities and will be responsible for the selling of the animal products and it will require 1940 hours per year for animal management, 4 jobs will be required (4*1750 h). Two of them responsible for sheep and the other 2 responsible for the pigs

29 management. The other 2 employees (2*1750 h) will work on the crops management and administrative work. For the remaining task such as punctual work (veterinary etc.) and harvesting period, more seasonal people will be needed 2520 hours.

Table 7. Labor balance

Costs and revenues The total costs were divided in several rubrics. The crop costs, which are detailed in Table 8, are in total € 71.230. The cost of fertilizers were calculated with a price of 0.3€/kg fertilizer. The general cost, administrative costs and fixed costs that usually are not connected with the operational activities. And finally the regular and casual labor cost. The labor costs are 60% of the total costs and therefore it is the most important cost. In this rubric it is important to distinguish between regular labor cost (47%), and casual labor (14%) cost (see graphic 2). To have lower risk, the manager can choose to have more casual labor. The income (gross margin) of the design is € 420.286. In the calculation, only animal selling was taken into account, and the income from the forestry production, hunting or other activities were not included.

Table 8. Revenues and costs of the farm.

farm the Graphic

2. in percentage (%)

Revenues and costs of

The pigs are the most important product and with the highest value for the farm, € 307.200 (2,40€/kg * 800 pigs * 160 kg), with 73% of the total income (see table 8 and graphic 2). The lambs sales are the second biggest source of income with € 54.000, 900 lambs are sold for 60 euros each. The milk sheep correspond only to 11%

of the total income however it is also labor demanding. It is important to refer that the strategy in the medium and long term, for the sheep milk, is to produce cheese and therefore create more added value to the product otherwise the net margin is relatively low. The sales of sheep and sow that are substituted are in total € 14.086, a residual value, but the goal is not to make profit out of this product. Overall, the operating profit of the farm is € 148.476, an optimistic but realistic value considering the market opportunities.

3.2.2 NDICEA

To calculate the results of nitrogen cycle and organic matter throughout the years, was used the NDICEA model (Van der Burgt et al., 2006). The program was used only for the crop rotation of the Irrigated fields and Rainfed fields.

Irrigated fields According to NDICEA, this crop rotation has shown good results concerning the nitrogen cycles. If a reasonable quantity of manure is applied, the nitrogen available in the soil is almost the same as the nitrogen uptake by the crops. The balance of N- available and N-uptake of a field of 8 years according to the crop rotation proposed in subtopic B- agropasture system can be seen on figure 17. The green line is the N- available and the red line is the N-uptake by the crops. Although it is an intensive rotation with few different crop families, the intercropping with leguminous and rotation with green manure tend to balance the nitrogen uptake and nitrogen availability. The organic matter in this area is around 2 %. As illustrated in the figure 18, with the animal manure applied, plus the green manure, plus the straw and residues that is incorporated in the soil, the organic matter is slowing improving, around 0.1% after 8 years.

Figure 17. Available and uptake of N throughout the crop rotation

1 - Triticale + Fababeans; 2 - Maize (silage); 3 - Oats + Peas; 4 - Maize (grain); 5 - Spelt + Lentils; 6 – FodderBeet; 7 - Green manure; 8 - Maize (grain); 9 - Triticale + Fababeans; 10 - Maize (silage); 11 - Oats + Peas; 12 - Maize (grain); 13 - Spelt + Lentils; 14 – FodderBeet; 15 – Green manure; 16 - Maize (grain).

Figure 18. Organic matter dynamics throughout the rotation

Rainfed fields According to NDICEA, the crop rotation proposed for the rainfed fields had performed well, the nitrogen uptake is the same as the nitrogen available in the soil (see figure 19). For these fields, 9 winter crops were used. Regarding the organic matter for this crop rotation, because the straw is removed from the field, it is not increasing the percentage of organic matter. However the percentage of organic matter is balanced (see figure 20).

Figure 19. Available and uptake

1 - Triticale + Fababeans; 2 – Oats + Peas; 3 – Spelt + Lentils; 4 – Triticale +Fababeans; 5 – Green manure; 6 – Oats + Peas; 7 – Spelt + Lentils; 8 - Triticale +Fababeans; 9 – Oats + Peas

Figure 20. Organic matter

3.3 Scenario, sensitivity analysis

3.3.1. Scenario 1 Without water the winter crops yields will be reduced and without acorns the farmer has to buy or produce other grain to replace it. With half of the acorns production it is possible to feed only 475 pigs, therefore it will be necessary to produce more grains in the farm once the goal of this re-design is to have a self-sufficient farm in terms of animal feed. For this scenario the solution is reducing the number of pigs and sparing some fields for grain production. The manager of the farm has to predict a low acorn yields and, during the milking phase, sell 2 to 3 piglets per sow as “Leitão”, after 45-60 days and leave to the fattening phase only 280 extensive piglets and 350 intensive piglets. The piglets are sold for 25 euros/unit.

Table 9. Comparison between baseline scenario and scenario 1: Crops, yields (kgDM/ha), area (ha) and production (kgDM)

In what concerns the crops, the biggest changes are the reduction of improved pasture and Jerusalem artichoke field to produce more grains, like Oats+Peas and Triticale+Fababeans (see table 9).

Feed balance When compared with the baseline scenario, the animal feed production kg DM will be reduced around 20% of the total feed available and therefore the number of animals must be reduced to balance feed required vs available (see table 12).

SOM balance There is not much difference on the balance of organic matter between the scenarios. However in scenario 1 there is less green manure added to the soil and less manure

produced by the animals there is also less degradation of the manure. The difference between the scenario 1 and the baseline scenario is 6% (77.725 kg) (see table 12).

Labor balance The labor hours required per year will change (reduction of 6%) due to the lower number of animals on the farm, nevertheless more hours will be needed for crop management to produce more area of grains, Triticale+Fababeans and Oats+Peas.

Profit Even with the solutions presented, the operational profit will reduce significantly 76% (from 148k € to 35k €) but there will be still profit, which means that all the costs will be covered, despite a reduction in the price of pig and sheep milk. Although the income will be reduced, the costs will not differ so much between the scenarios. It is important to mention that the manager has to predict and act fast reducing the piglets, because otherwise it will be difficult to cover all the costs (see table 12).

3.3.2 Scenario 2 Portugal and specifically the region of Beira Baixa, is very susceptible to drought. Therefore a scenario was created where the area of irrigational land is reduced.

Table 10. Comparison between baseline scenario and scenario 2: Crops, yields (kgDM/ha), area (ha) and production (kgDM)

With the reduction of the area of irrigated fields from 40 to 10 ha, the farm loses 30 hectares of production (summer crops), nevertheless, the crops and animal management, will be not too different from scenario 1. Now the limitation is the summer crops, the solution is to produce more winter crops to substitute maize for grain (10 ha), maize for silage (10 ha) and fodder beet (10 ha). The idea is to reduce

the improved pasture and Jerusalem artichocke, and replace them with winter crops for example oats + peas, triticale + faba bean but also maize + faba bean, fodder beet + other leguminous (see table 10).

Feed balance The total production in kg DM of scenario 2 is 11% less than the baseline scenario this reduction concerned mainly grains (reduction of 30% in kgDM) and horticultural crops (see table 12). The number of animals also had to be reduced. The manager can use the same strategy as in scenario 1, reducing the number of piglets by selling 1 or 2 piglets per sow after 45-60 days and leave for fattening phase only 300 extensive piglets and 350 intensive piglets. Another change is reducing the number of sheep from 600 to 500. As discussed previously, the sheep production is not so profitable compared to pig production, thus, it is better to reduce the herd of sheep than the number of pigs.

SOM balance Due to the fact that there are fewer animals and less area of pasture, there will be less organic matter added to the soil. However the difference is not so significant when looked to the whole farm, only 1% (see table 12).

Labor balance The labor hours required per year will be lower (5%) than the baseline scenario due to the lower number of animals on the farm. The sheep milk production is labor demanding reducing the number of hours of regular labor required in the farm. These regular hours can substitute part of the seasonal hours.

Profit The reduction of the irrigation area will not have a big impact in the profit of the farm (profit reduction of 17%) (see table 12). This low impact can be explained by several reasons. Firstly, because the replacing of summer crops and pasture to winter crops will not change significantly the DM production for the animal feedstuff. Secondly, although the number of animals sold is lower than the scenario designed, also the cost of labor will be reduced. Finally, another reason of the limited financial effect is the choice for reducing the sheep herd instead of the number of pigs. The sales of pigs production has a bigger profit margin than the product of sheep therefore the difference of profit will not be so significant when compared to the baseline scenario.

3.3.3 Scenario 3 The last scenario is based on the limitations of both scenarios 1 and 2, and includes a 50% yield reduction for acorns, a 20% yield reduction for other crops, a product price reduction and reduction of the area of irrigated fields (only 10 ha of irrigation fields).

Table 11. Comparison between baseline scenario and scenario 3: Crops, yields (kgDM/ha), area (ha) and production (kgDM)

The solution for this scenario was not so different from the solutions proposed for scenarios 1 and 2 (See Table 11). Because we had lower yields and less irrigated area, the number of animals had to be reduced. In this situation, it is not possible to decrease the number of sheep instead of pigs due to the acorns limitation. Therefore the extensive piglets had to be reduced from 400 to 230 and the intensive form 400 to 300. Like in scenario 1, the manager of the farm has to predict the low yields and sell the piglets after 45-60 days in order to lower the animal feed requirement. To replace the summer crops, the improved pasture area and Jerusalem artichoke have to be replaced and the green manure reduced.

Feed balance This scenario will have a big impact in the DM production. The difference is around 33% less of the feed production comparing with scenario designed (1.444.648 kg DM to 974.565 kg DM) (see table 12).

SOM balance The soil organic matter is less 7% compared to the baseline scenario (see table 12). Although the difference is not large, if compared only the open fields (without the Montado area), the results can have a more profound impact. Not only because of the reduction of the number of animals, and therefore less available manure for the crops,

but also less green manures added to the soil because of the reduction of the pasture and green manure fields.

Labour balance With scenario 3 the number of hours required are substantially lower (21%) and thus is possible to have only 6 workers instead of 7.

Profit As expected, the profit for this scenario is relatively low, reduction of 80% when compared with the baseline scenario (see table 12). Even though it is possible to reduce the labor costs, the other costs are similar to the baseline scenario. The income is 40% less than the baseline scenario (scenario 3: 253 k€ and the baseline scenario 420 k€). The low income is mainly explained by the low number of pigs that goes to the fattening phase and reduction price from 2.40 to 2.00 €/kg. The reduction of the sheep milk price is not so significant as the pigs price, the value reduction is around 20 k€.

Overview

Table 12. Overview of the baseline and alternative scenarios for key indicators of the all farm.

Comparing all the scenarios, the biggest differences, looking to the main feature, are the animal feed production and revenues. The limitations of the scenario, mainly on scenario 1 and 3, acorn and water limitation, will create a reduction of crop production (less feed available) and therefore the manager has to reduce the number of animals and consequently the animal revenues. The labor, the SOM and cost do not differ too much when compared with the other features.

4. DISCUSSION

According with the results of the baseline scenario and scenarios (table 12), the redesign of Campo Frio showed to be a good example for the future of the farm. However, even though the trade offs of agronomical, environmental and economical are balanced, there are two essential external factors that can create an unsustainable design for the long term; acorns and water availability.

The current situation of Campo Frio: agronomic, environment and economic features

Currently, the farm is at the beginning of its activity and therefore due to lack of data it is not possible to have an accurate evaluation of the farm. The oaks were planted in 2012, and are 40 to 50 cm of height. The animal production is already in functioning but is still in an experimental phase, the buildings are already renovated to support the hunting activity, which is the only activity that is already running. The starting point for the re-design of the farm (baseline scenario) was setup after 15 years. One of the main reasons was because the oaks will only be high enough and give sufficient acorn production after 15 to 20 years (Gómez-Castro et al. 2007; Díaz-Ambrona et al. 2011; Bote 1998), therefore to have an interaction with animals, trees and pasture the starting point is only possible after this time.

Objectives of the farmer, the land use suitability and market opportunities

The general/main objective of the IPF is preserving and maintaining the landscape, fauna and flora, by using sustainable production system. For that reason, the manager prioritized the goals for the farm. The goals are hunting reserve, forest production (cork harvesting) and extensive animal production using autochthons breeds, to produce traditional and certified animal products. Taking into account the goals, land use and market opportunities, a system that can be suitable for this farm is the Montado system. The Montado system is an agrosilvopasture system that support one of the highest levels of biodiversity, as well as the highest diversity of plants found anywhere in the world (source WWF). Due to its potential for biodiversity is attracting several wild animals like red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa), creating a perfect hunting reserve for game (Pinto Correia et al. 2013), which is a priority goal for the manager of Campo Frio. Another goal of the manager is producing autochthons animal breeds. The autochthonous breeds from the region are more adapted to the edafo-climatic conditions then exotic breeds. As states Carvalho et al. 2013 these breeds are more efficient to use the natural resources that Montado offers (water and feed). According to ANCPA and as referred by the authors Bote et al 2000 and Rodriguez et al 2009, the Black Iberian pig is the most adapted animal to this system and environment.

Regarding sheep, the local Vet states that Churra do Campo is an interesting breed to produce in the farm. Also the author Carvalho et al. 2010, states that due to Churra do Campo rusticity, allows the sheep to survive in poor pasture and high temperature in the region of Campo Frio, Beira Baixa region. According with ICAAM and several articles (Olea 2006; Joffre 1988), the holms and cork oaks are the trees with the best suitability for the type of soil and weather conditions (Mediterranean conditions). As Sá-Sousa et al. 2014 and Carbonero et al. 2014 referred, the oaks provides important ecosystem services such as groundwater recharge, carbon sequestration and soil conservation that is very important in this region, decreasing soil erosion and soil degradation. It also meets the goals of the manager of the farm; having cork for forest production and acorn resources to feed animals. Regarding the Market, once the animals are autochthonous breeds producing products very appreciated by tourists, there are opportunities to create added value with premium price like the pig products (“bellota” certification) and lamb meat (“cabrito à canastra”) (Ribeiro et al. 2006). Overall we can also accept the second hypothesis stating that the improved and rehabilitated Montado is a viable solution.

A self-sufficient farm in terms of animal feed: trade offs at farm level (labour, profit and SOM) The design showed that the organic matter and profit could be improved if the farm produce all the crops needed to feed the animals (see table 6), which is in line with hypothesis 3. In the results, the soil organic matter increased substantially due to the organic matter added into the soil per year and animal/green manure applied to the soil (see point 3.2.1 - Soil organic matter of the total farm). According with the study managed in dehesas Of Sierra Norte in Spain (Joffre et al. 1988) the organic matter in the soil are much higher in soils located under dehesas systems then in soils without trees. This is due partly to leaf shedding and other litter fall but also to animal excretion. Animals prefer to rest under the canopy of the trees. Regarding the profit and revenues of the redesign (see table 8), once the manager wants to produce autochthonous breeds with sustainable systems and with high value products, it is possible to achieve high profit. There are several opportunities for traditional products that combined with low cost inputs (extensive production systems) (Bote et al. 1998) and also with more added value, products certified (Andrade et al 1999; Cabo et al. 2015), will provide high profit to the farm. The profitability of the farms that use the Montado or Dehesa systems also depends on the farm typology and management. A study of sheep farms in the Spanish dehesa found six main types of farms, of which the most profitable extensive farms were very large (805ha) Dehesas with pastured Iberian pigs and sheep (profitability rate of 5.4%) (Gaspar et al. 2008) the same as the redesign of Campo Frio (Profitability rate = net surplus / annual mean fixed capital).

Due to the fact of the dimension of the farm, complexity of crops and number of animals, logistic and management, labor is a critical point for the success of this design (see table 7). Labor has to increase substantially as a trade off and can be a constraint. At least 6 full jobs are needed to manage the animals and crop production, however. Nevertheless, for the social principles of the farm and institution, once IPF is supporting and taking care of children at risk of poverty and social exclusion, this re-design of the farm, can be an opportunity to give job to educated young people, like the ones that IPF is supporting. Water is another trade off of this redesign (see table 3). A huge amount of water will be needed not only for the animals but also for producing the proposed crops to feed the animals. The Montado system, due to his characteristic of dry climate, poor soils and scarcity of water is affecting the yields of the crops and number of animals per hectare in farms, as shown in the study of Joffre et al. 1988 in the Dehesa Sierra Morena area of Spain. The Campo Frio, despite being a farm with several water resources, during the summer water is scarce creating a huge dependency on irrigation system. The manager of the farm is already building several water catchments as a solution for water dependency (see annex 1).

Crop management: nitrogen and organic matter balance For the crop production three rotations were created in three different fields. The “Irrigated fields”, the “Raindfed field” and the improved pasture fields (see point 3.1.2 and figure 15). The two most complex crop rotations were study in NDICEA to calculate the nitrogen cycle balance and organic matter throughout the time. The design of the crop management was based on the animal diet, crops adapted to the region, climate, soil, water and nitrogen demand and availability. The main idea behind a crop management is to enhance diversity through the use of alternative crops, diversifying agroecosystems, rotation and cultivating mixtures with a goal of increase yields, and providing ecological services like conserving soil organic matter and reducing external nitrogen inputs (Bedoussac et al. 2015). Therefore the design for Campo Frio was intercropping cereals with leguminous with different varieties, rotating with green manures and incorporated green and animal manure. Although it is an intensive rotation with few different crop families, the results of NDICEA (see figure 17 to 20) showed that the intercropping plus green manure and animal manure tend to balance the nitrogen uptake and nitrogen availability and conserve soil organic matter. An important remark is that the yields were setup as low yields (but average in that region) for all the crops and therefore the demand for nitrogen is also low. To support NDICEA results, a review done by INRA of a dataset of 58 field experiments conducted since 2001, showed that intercropping legumes with cereals (with similar combination as this design) enhances biological N fixation of legumes, concluding that are suitable for low nitrogen available systems. Also, according with the study carried out by Cong et al. 2015, concluded that strip intercrops like wheat and faba beans, accumulates higher levels of SOC and N available in the soil, than

41 sole crops over a period of 7 years, benefiting soil fertility, organic matter and productivity in the long term.

The limiting factors: acorn and water Three scenarios were created to test the feasibility/sensitivity of the baseline design. Scenario 1 with a reduction of 50% of acorn yield and 20% of crops yields, scenario 2 reduction of 30 hectares of irrigated area from 40 to 10 hectares (75% reduction in area) that correspond to a reduction of 30% of grain production (kgDM) and scenario 3 with both criteria’s. As shown in the results (see point 3.3.2), it is possible to reduce the area of irrigated fields relying more on winter crops and consequently on precipitation. However if a dry year with a low acorn yield occurs (see point 3.3.1 and 3.3.3), the profit will be minimized creating several problems for the sustainability in the long term. Even though there are several studies that show relation with the weather and acorns production, this subject is still very uncertain and therefore makes the quantities of acorns production very unpredictable (Carbonero et al. 2014; Gómez-Castro et al. 2007). Both, acorn production and water are limiting factors; they are a natural resource unpredictable to control; acorns can reduce 20% of the total feed production on the farm; and without water the yields of the crops and animal stocking rate per hectare has to be reduced (Joffre et al. 1988). Moreover, without the acorns diet in the “montanheira phase”, the pigs cannot have the certification “bellota” reducing enormously the profit of the farm (Ribeiro, 2006). As mentioned by Andrade et al 1999, only differentiated products can have an added value (premium price) to support extensive systems. The operational profit for the scenario 1, 2 and 3, are 35k €, 123k € and 28k €, respectively (see table 12). With the reduction of 50% of the acorns yields it is not possible to feed all the piglets proposed on the baseline scenario. Therefore the manager has 2 solutions: 1) sell the pigs as “recebo” and “do campo”, certification (see point 3.1.1 Market) but not as certified “bellota” (and consequently the price will be reduced from 2,40 € to 2 € per kg LW (https://www.3tres3iberico.com)) or 2) predict a low yield acorns production and reduce the number of piglets per sow, selling the piglets as “Leitão”, after 45-60 days for 25 euros/unit (ANCPA). In conclusion we can accept the hypothesis number 5 that states that a reduction of acorn yield and a reduction of crop yields due to lack of precipitation is not sustainable in the long term.

5. CONCLUSION

The trends of land use in the Montado system, namely extensification and intensification, are creating several problems to the landscape in Portugal; soil erosion and desertification (Pinto Correia et al. 1999). Like in several areas in Portugal, the farm Campo Frio is facing the same problems. Therefore the purpose of this study was to recreate and redesign a sustainable integrated multifunctional system based on the Montado ecosystem. The design was integrating the animals that better behaves in the Montado system, with the goal to have a self-sufficient farm in terms of feed with a specific crop management. According with literature, the visited experts interviewed in Portugal and the modeling results of two models, FarmDESIGN and NDICEA, the proposed design is a viable solution for this farm. The results in FarmDESIGN showed that the interactions animals, trees, pasture, crops of this system will be sustainable regarding animal feed; organic matter and the profit. In what concerns the crop rotation defined, NDICEA confirmed that with a intercropping cereals + leguminous and with a certain amount of animal and green manure, the nitrogen and soil organic matter are balanced and therefore crop rotations are feasible for this design. Moreover, it is a system that meets all the goals of the institution (IPF) and the manager of the farm, preserving and maintaining the landscape using sustainable production systems, protecting the genetic diversity of the flora and fauna and promoting quality and certification of products. Nevertheless, low labor availability, low acorn production and low rainfall / water availability may cause serious trade offs. Acorns and water will be the two most limiting factors of this design. According to the scenarios if low yields of acorn production with low precipitation occurs for several years then the farm will face large difficulties in the long term.

6. REFERENCE

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7. ANNEX

Annex 1. Map of the farm 49

Annex 2: Full description of the farm 50

Annex 3. Conversion period - the farm 0-15 years 55

Annex 4. Crop data 56

Annex 5. Pigs nutrition calculations 61

Annex 6. Sheep nutrition calculations 63

Annex 1. Map of the farm

Annex 2: Full description of the farm

The total area of the IPF property is around 7255 ha distributed for 4 municipalities (Penamacor, Idanha-a-nova, Fundão and Castelo Branco). However only 1843 ha (figure 21) are being explored by the institution in Penamacor municipality. The other land is rented to companies and farmers, mainly for forest industry (timber, wood, paper). Land use: The agriculture in this region is based on extensive livestock (beef cattle, sheep and goat), olive Figure 21 – Penamacor Municipality orchards and cork production. The property explored by IPF is distributed for several farms where Campo Frio, that is the farm of this study, has the biggest area 1256 ha. Campo Frio is located on the border of Spain and Malcata Reserve (figure 21).

The Malcata Reserve is a protected forest with an area of 16.348 ha, where parte of the area belongs to the Penamacor Municipality. The mountains of Malcata have an altitude of 800 m surrounded by several rivers, Rio da Bazágueda, Ribeira da Meimoa and Rio Côa. Like the IPF Farm, Malcata is characterized by a Mediterranean region, climate, fauna and flora with a high risk of fires, desertification and erosion. The reserve was created in 1981 to protect the Ibéric lynx (Lynx pardinus). Nowadays the lynx is extinct however there are several programs going on to reintroduce it in this region. Malcata is rich in biodiversity presenting several important species like wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris), wild boar (Sus scrofa), red-fox (Vulpes vulpes), Genetta (Genetta genetta), Black stork (Ciconia nigra) and others. Regarding flora, trees and shrubs, Quercus suber, rotundifolia, pyrenaica, the Pinus pinaster, Arbutus unedo, Cistus ladanifer, Erica australis and Pterospartum tridentatum, are dominant (source site: http://www.icnf.pt/portal/ap/r-nat/rnsm).

The farm Campo Frio is located on a mountain and a valley and therefore the altitude varies significantly from 330 meters to 800 meters (see map 2). 53% of the farm is situated between 330 to 420m, 36% 420 to 510m and 11% between 510-780 m. The altitude is important because it affects the climate of the region and also the soil characteristics. Usually land that is close to the rivers, low altitudes, soil are more suitable for agriculture, arable crops. Also, the temperature is influenced by altitude, decreasing 1ºC per each 150 meters high.

The slope has a direct effect on erosion, water streams and soil exposure to wind and radiation (see map 3). The farm has 45% of the area with low slopes (0-10%), contributing to a better soil mechanization if necessary. The remain area presents slope between 10 – 20 % (35%) and only 20% of the land is higher than 20%, where 3% is higher than 40%. The radiation exposure is important for the fauna characterization and abundance. The slopes that are oriented to south and east tend to have more solar radiation, and therefore warmer and dry areas, contributing for different vegetation like (Cistus ladanifer and Lavandula stoechas). While the slopes that are oriented to north have less solar radiation. In the study area, the 29% of the slopes are oriented to north, 26% to east, 13% west, 11% south and 23% without exposure (flat area) (see map 4).

The region has a high number of hours of radiation. During Autumn and winter at least 5 to 7 hours of radiation is available, on spring 8/9 hours average and during summer 12 hours per day (see figure 24 and 25). The temperature in the farm depends on the altitude and season. On average the temperature is around 13 ºC - 15 ºC and it is very dispersal through out the year; very warm and hot during summer (40ºC) and cold during winter where “sometimes” negative temperatures can be reached (see figure 23). Depending on the year, between 20 to 30 days of frost are common during the months of December to February and rare, but possible, during March (source http://snirh.apambiente.pt). Concerning the humidity of the air, the average on this region is around 65% (see figure 22). The total precipitation during a year is on average 776 mm (see figure 26). However during summer there is no rain creating problems of water availability during these 3 months due to be a very hot and dry region (NOAA weather station: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/) Even tough the farm is located in a dry and water scarcity region, during September until May, the farm is rich in water sources. At North there is the Bazagueda river that starts in Malcata Mountains, Although during winter is a mighty river it dries during summer. At south several water streams come from the mountain of the farm at 780 meters altitude. At least three-water stream runs south into the Basagueda River, creating several lakes. In 1954, five water mines and a big tank were built to supply Penamacor and Aranhas villages. These infrastructures still exist and the tank is used to irrigate the farm. The tank has a capacity of 300 tons to store water. Others eight lakes and several small lakes exist in the farm, ready to be used for animal production (see figure 6).

Three soil samples were done during the fieldwork. Two were dug on the silvopasture area, one in the low land and the other on the high land, and the third sample, on the agropasture area (see map 1). On the low land of the silvopasture area the soil texture is heavy with an medium OM 2,33%, the pH is around 5,3 acidic soil. The high land have also a heavy texture with a lower OM 1,51% but with a higher pH 6. Regarding the agropasture area, the texture of the soil is medium with a good organic matter when compared with the standards of the region (very poor in OM bellow 1%), however the pH is acidic 5,2 pH (H2O).

Map 1 – Map of the location where the soil samples were collected

The flora and fauna that was observed during the field work, is similar to the Malcata reserve region. The main species of trees, shrubs and animals are illustrated in the table 13.

Table 13 – Flora and Fauna observed in Campo Frio

Map 2. Altitude Map 3. Slopes

Map 4. Wind and sun exposure Map 5. Soil lithology

Figure 22 – Relative humidity (%) 2008 - 2014 Figure 23 – Temperature (ºC) 2005 - 2014

Figure 24 – Radiation per month from 2008 to 2014 Figure 25 – Radiation per day/month 2008 to 2014

Figure 26 – Precipitation 2005 - 2014

Map 6. Water sources and roads

Annex 3. Conversion period - the farm 0-15 years

Currently, the farm has already 200 sheep and 20 cows. However only the agropasture area has being used. The oaks in the silvopasture area were planted in 2012 and it is risky to introduce animals on that area. According to the legislation only after 5 years animals can graze where oaks are planted. Interaction between animals, pasture and oak is only possible after some years. Therefore to design and create a Montado system this area needs a period of conversion. There are some oaks of more than 15 years old on the farm. However, the majority of the oaks were planted in 2012 and they will need at least 15 years more to start producing sufficient amounts of acorns for animal production. It is estimated that Q. ilex does not give an optimal yield of acorns until it is 20-25 years old. During this conversion period of 15 years, it is important that the manager of the farm carries out several activities to create optimal conditions, before the system starts to work. An important activity is increasing the organic matter (SOM) content of the soil. To achieve this, he could introduce a mix of cover crops. According to the experts of ICAAM, a good solution to improve SOM of poor soils with a low pH, is a mixture with annual ryegrass like westerwoldicum, and a fast growing annual leguminous crop like Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum) and vesiculosum clover (Trifolium vesiculosum L.). The idea is to divide the area of Montado in parts of 40 to 50 ha and to sow this mixture during some years and afterwards to sow permanent pasture. Afterwards this method will be applied to the other plots. Another important activity is to correct the pH of the soil and according to ICAAM, the fastest way to do this correction is using calcium oxide. Thirdly, carrying out some soil correction of nutrients, especially phosphorus, 25 to 35 kg P2O5/ha during the first year (Moreno et al. 2007). Superphosphate is the usual product, but natural phosphates (ecological products) are also showing good results (Olea et al. 2005). Moreover, the maintenance of the oaks is crucial by cleaning of the shrubs, pruning of the trees etc. must be handled in every 3 years, depending on the shrubs invasion (ICAAM). The number of animals can grow slowly and can be introduced in the Montado for 2 or 3 months, during spring, to graze and fertilize the soil. After the oaks reach the age of 5 years, it is legal to introduce sheep in silvopasture area, nevertheless it is important that the trees should have reached an appropriate height so that oaks are not damaged. Finally, water catchments are created to have minimally one or two lakes in each 40 ha in the Montado area.

Annex 4. Crop data

Triticale + FabaBeans Triticale (Triticosecale Wittmack) is one of the most important winter crops for animal feed in Portugal. It is a well-adapted crop to different soils and has a double purpose, fodder (straw) and grain. Fababeans (Vicia faba) intercropping with cereals have a positive influence on the soil structure on topsoil, is also a good companion plant for triticale and fix nitrogen. Usually cereals grown together with legumes can take up more nitrogen, partly from the soil and from the residues leaves and roots of the beans. Was assumed 70 kg nitrogen fixation in one hectare of mix cereals and leguminous. The yields of this winter intercropping (cereals + leguminous) are according with the average of the region. For triticale grain is around 2000 kg and fababeans grain is 1500 kg, the total mix grain per hectare is 3500 kg/ha DM. 3500 kg/ha DM of straw it is also produced. In the irrigated field, the straw is left on the floor to improve the organic matter in the soil. To reach the yields of 3500 kg/ha DM, 2 tons of animal manure and 30 kg of Nitrogen must be applied. The animal manure is applied before sowing (October) and the fertilizer (NPK) during January/ February. To have a good response of the fertilizers, at least 150-200 mm of rain has to occur until harvesting. The harvesting is done in May. The cost per hectare was taking into account the costs of a farm in France which is already producing this intercropping, 500 € per hectare plus labor 24 hours/ha. Regarding the nutrition for the animals, was used that 1 kg DM of these grains mixture have 8,8 MJ of energy and 205 grams of protein.

Oats + Peas Oat (Avena sativa L.) is the most produced cereal in Portugal due to the easy adaptability to different kind of soils. Peas (Pisum sativum) are a good companion of oats, and it is common using as intercropping crop. Peas can fix nitrogen, increase the organic matter on the topsoil and have a higher content of protein (comparing with grain of cereals). This mixture can also be used as fodder or grain. Because it is a intercropping with a leguminous, was assumed 70 kg of nitrogen fixation. Comparing with triticale + fababeans, the yields can be slightly lower, however was used the same, oats grain 2000 kg and peas grain around 1500 kg, so in total per hectare, around 3500 kg DM and 3500 kg DM of straw. On the irrigated field, the straw is left on the floor to improve the organic matter in the soil. Two tons of animal manure before sowing and 30 kg of Nitrogen must be added during January/ February. The harvesting is during May. The cost per hectare was taking into account the costs of a farm in France, which is already producing this intercropping, 500 € per hectare plus labor 24 hours/ha. Regarding the nutrition for the animals, was used that 1 kg DM of these grains mixture have 8,2 MJ of energy and 180 grams of protein.

Spelt + Lentils Spelt (Triticum spelta) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medicus) is also an intercropping cereals and legumes, however is not as common as the others. Spelt is a “primitive” kind of wheat that is increasing importance in France because is much less demanding of soil quality than

56 wheat. Lentil is other crop that is increasing importance in France. Lentils like cool temperatures but not frost. Although is an interesting intercropping, there are no research or information about it in Portugal. Therefore this intercropping is more as an option to have more diversity regarding cereals and leguminous. The yields are lower than triticale and fababeans around 3000kg/ha DM of grain (1500kg of spelt + 1500kg of lentils) and 3000 kg DM of straw. In the irrigated field, the straw is left on the floor to improve the organic matter in the soil. The manure applied, is the same as applied on triticale and fababeans, 2 tons of animal manure before sowing and 30 kg of Nitrogen must be added during January/ February. The harvest is in May. The cost for the calculation were based on a farm in France, which is already producing this intercropping, 500 € per hectare plus labor 20 hours/ha. Regarding the nutrition for the animals, was used that 1 kg DM of these grains mixture have 7,7 MJ of energy and 180 grams of protein.

Hay For hay production, was used the same crops as used for grains, however there are other mixtures interesting that can be integrated, like for example Vetch (Vicia sativa L.) or Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) or Rye (Secale cereal). Was assumed 70 kg of nitrogen fixation per hectare. Even though is used 2000 kg of animal manure and 30 kg of N fertilizers, the yields are low, 5500 kg DM per hectare, mainly because is a rainfed crop. The cost for the calculation were based on a farm in France, which is already producing this intercropping, 230 € per hectare plus labor 16 hours/ha. Regarding the nutrition for the animals, was used that 1 kg DM of these grains mixture have 4,3 MJ of energy and 67 grams of protein.

Maize Maize (Zea mays L.) is a very high value crop due to the yields potential, digestibility, energy value and easy to storage as silage. However traditionally Maize was a winter crop, intercropping with beans, nowadays in areas that water is available, is more common as a summer crop. For the design we calculate the yields around 6 to 9 tons per hectare for grain and for 20 to 30 tons hectare for silage. The yields can vary according with the previous crop, if it is green manure or cereals+legumes, and the quantity of manure applied on the field. Is used always 6 to 7 tons of animal manure plus 30 kg N. The water, during the irrigation period, is always the most limiting factor for maize production, because is a very water demanding, almost 472 mm of water are needed during the maize cycle. To calculate the costs per hectare was taking into account the costs of a farm in France, 400 € - 650 € per hectare plus labor 20 -120 hours/ha, grain and silage, respectively. Regarding the nutrition for the animals, was used that 1 kg DM of grain maize have 8,3 MJ of energy and 90 grams of protein and for silage 5,9 MJ of energy and 77 grams of protein.

FodderBeet Fodder beet (Beta vukgaris L) is another crop that is not common in Portugal but in countries like France has becoming very important regarding animal feed. Fodder beet is a productive crop that grows under Mediterranean climates. It is drought tolerant and can provide fodder at the end of a dry summer. Although is used as a summer crop, the sowing can also be done during autumn – winter. Yields of 35-50 t of fresh roots/ha are common, for our design was 57

used only 35tons fresh matter or 8 ton DM. The crop also produces 10-20 t/ha of leaf material (Draycott et al., 2003). The limitation for this crop is the soil pH, should be higher than 6.5 because fodder beet is susceptible to acid soils (Feedpedia). Although at this farm the soil pH is 5.5 to 6, its possible to correct the pH applying calcarium. Before sowing, 6 tonnes of animal manure has to be applied, to give enough nutrients to reach the yields expected, 35tonnes/ha. For harvesting its necessary to have specific equipment’s (to reduce hours of manual work) and it is possible to store fodder beet roots for 5 months. However, the field can also be grazed by strip grazing. The animals can enter on the field and graze 3 linear meters of fodder beet for 2 hours a day. The cost per hectare will depend of the harvesting method, grazed by strip grazing or harvesting mechanically. For the calculation we used the mechanical costs. The costs were based on a farm in France, which is already producing this crop, 500 € per hectare plus labour 96 hours/ha. Regarding the nutrition for the animals, was used that 1 kg DM of fodderbeet have 6,6 MJ of energy and 81 grams of protein.

Green manure: Crimson clover The use of green manure to the soil has two purposes, to break the intensive rotation of cereals and to increase the organic matter on the soil and thus increasing the nutrients available for the crops. The suggestion is Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), a clover variety that is more adapted to acidic soils and with low fertility. Crimson clover can fix more than 100 kg/ha of Nitrogen if the yields are good 4500 kg/ha. Other suggestion, if the goal is improving organic matter rather than have nitrogen available for the next crop, is mixing the clover with other annual crops (ex: clover + Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) + cereal). The cost per hectare was estimated according with other farms that are already producing this crop, 100 €/ha plus 10 hours of labour. Regarding the nutrition for the animals feed consumption, was used that 1 kg DM of this green manure has 5,5 MJ of energy and 175 grams of protein.

Improved pasture Improved pasture is a mix of several species, tolerant for acidic soils, for example Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), Tall fetusca (Lolium arundinaceum), Rigid ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaudin) and orchard grass (dactylis glomerata), and clovers, like white Strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum) the subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum), bush clover (Trifolium glomeratum), Arrowleaf clover (Trifolium vesicolosum) and Medicago polymorpha (Moreira, 2002). Was assumed a 4500 kg of DM yield where 68% of the DM is produce during spring, 12% winter, 20% autumn and 0% in summer. The N-fixation is calculated according with the percentage of leguminous used in the intercropping. The quantity of clover is 30% of the total amount, thus kg DM 4500*30%= 1350 kgDM. Clover can fix 6kg of nitrogen per 100 kg of DM, total 81 kg N (Sarapatka et al. 2009).

To maintain the productivity of the grass is needed 50 kg of nitrogen fertilizer per hectare, and a person 12 hours per year, with a total cost per hectare of 160 €. Grass consumption is a very important source of protein during October to April 16% reducing the content of protein afterwards to 7% due to the dry conditions, on average 11%. The energy is around 6,5 MJ per 1kg DM of grass.

Jerusalem artichocke The improved pasture can be combined with Jerusalem artichoke after three years. The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) is an erect, rhizomatous perennial herb, up to 3-4 m high. Though perennial, it is mainly grown as an annual. Jerusalem artichoke tubers have long been used to sheep and pigs. The tubers can be harvested once the leaves have dried. In subtropical areas, the tubers should be removed from the ground within a month as they may rot relatively rapidly. Tubers can be directly dug up and consumed by pigs that can strip-graze once stems have been cut. However this should not be done under rainy conditions as pigs may damage the soil. Other options are, harvesting the tubers and store them or intercropping with pasture, however, regarding the latter option, only will be available for sheep. The yields can vary between 35-50 tons/ha with a 23% of dry matter. Because of lack of information about this crop, to calculate the costs and labour was used the same information as fodderbeet. The cost per hectare will depend of the harvesting method, grazed by strip grazing or harvesting mechanically. For the calculation, we used the mechanical costs, 500 € per hectare plus labour 96 hours/ha. Regarding the nutrition for the animals, was used that 1 kgDM of fodderbeet have 7,7 MJ of energy and 66 grams of protein.

Montado pasture The grassland in the Montado is usually with natural/native species, however, on this farm, because of the scarcity of natural vegetation, was considered improved species adapted to the region adapted/tolerant to acidic soils (see improved pasture). The productivity of dry matter of grass varies but studies showed that on average the yields of pasture in the Montado are 3000 kg DM. 70% of the production are during March until middle June. During summer the grass is dry and start again to grow after the first rains in September. The N-fixation is calculated according with the percentage of leguminous used in the intercropping. The quantity of clover is 30% of the total amount, thus kg DM 3000*30%= 900 kg DM. Clover can fix 6kg of nitrogen per 100 kg of DM (Sarapatka et al. 2009). To maintain the area of the Montado and productivity of the grass is needed 15kg of phosphorus and 15kg of potassium per hectare, and a person 2 hours/ha per year, with a total cost per hectare of 20 €/ha. Grass consumption is a very important source of protein during October to April (14%) reducing the content of protein afterwards to 6% due to the dry conditions, on average 13,6%. The energy is around 6,5 MJ per 1kg DM of grass. Divided in plots of 30/40 ha with fences and a lake each plot.

Acorns Acorns production is highly variable, depending on the years, weather conditions, age of tree, healthiness of the tree, tree management and soil conditions. However some authors/ researchers found out a correlation between age of the tree and production. (Gómez-Castro et al. 2007) divided in 4 categories of age where Junior tree less 50 years produce 11,4 kg of acorns, for young tree between 50-100 years 14,4 kg, for a mature tree 100-150 years 27,4 kg and for old tree, more than 150 years around 8,7 kg. Medina Blanco (1956) indicated that after 5 years the oaks can already have some acorns and after 20 years the tree can have already good acorn production, where the potential yields will be only after 100 years. For our calculations was defined 5 kg per tree with a tree density of 160 oaks per hectare. Thus the yields per hectare of acorns are 800 kg or 456 kg DM with 57% DM content. The whole acorn (shell, skin and endosperm) is not totally used by Iberian pigs. The shell and the skin, which constitute around 21% to 23% of the total weight of the acorn, are removed by the animal while ingesting. The endosperm of the acorn from oaks shows a 72% of dry matter, 50 grams of crude protein and 6,8 MJ in 1kg DM.

Annex 5. Pigs nutrition calculations

Pig nutrition requirements The calculation of the energy and proteins required for the pigs was based on the “Normas FEDNA”. All the information and data was studied and experimented by farmers/companies in Spain. (http://www.fundacionfedna.org/normas_fedna) The energy required is calculated according with the sum of energies needed for maintenance, milk production (lactation), gestation and corporal reserves, expressed in net energy (EN, Kcal/kg) (Normas FEDNA). Was assumed that 1Kcal = 0,0041868 MJ. The Iberian pig is less productive than the others white breed pigs and therefore they are less demanding in nutritional requirements. The Iberian pig is normally produced in extensive systems (outside door), although their energetic needs are higher, being outside and in the forest, allow the pig to eat natural resources available like, grass, soil, bugs, roots, shrubs, reducing the needs of macronutrients, fibers, and other micro nutrients like Ca, P. Fe, and vitamins D and E (Normas FEDNA). For piglets nutrition the proteins are not so important, therefore, even though the calculation was made, will not be presented in this report.

The Sow – energy

The piglets - energy

Sow

1) Maintenance

Energy metabolized (EM) = 106,8 kcal EM/kg LW^0,75 day LW = Live weight EM = Energy of maintenance

2) Lactation

Lactation = EM + EL – Mobilized reserves EL = 6,83*(6500kcal piglet/lactation days)* number of piglets – 125*number of piglets Mobilized reserves = 3735 kcal day

3) Gestation

Gestation = EM + Gestation (G) + Reserves accumulated (R) G = 2600 kcal * Piglets * kg piglet / gestation days Piglets = 8 Kg piglet = 1,3 kg Gestation days = 114 R = R1 * 4800 kcal / gestation days R1 = 3600 kcal / LW (kg) LW = 170 kg Was assumed that the net energy is 70% of the metabolized energy

Piglets

1) Maintenance EM = 195 kcal EM/kg LW^0,75 day + 15%

2) Growing Gr = kg gain/day * 0,161 * 13,2 + kg gain/day * 0,16 * 13,8

3) Reserves R = LW * 6kcal

Annex 6. Sheep nutrition calculations

The calculation of the energy and proteins required for the sheep was based on the “Normas FEDNA”. All the information and data was studied and experimented by farmers/companies in Spain. (http://www.fundacionfedna.org/normas_fedna) The energy required is calculated according with the sum of energies needed for maintenance, milk production (lactation), gestation and corporal reserves, expressed in net energy (EN, Kcal/kg) (Normas FEDNA). Was assumed that 1Kcal = 0,0041868 MJ. Other assumptions, Live Weight (LW) = 45 kg/sheep and milk production is 0,366 l/day/sheep. The proteins recommended were establish according with the digestible protein (PDI = Proteína Digestible en el Intestino) that is equivalent to the Metabolize Protein (PM= Proteína Metabolizable).

Calculations:

Energy required 1) For dry sheep maintenance the net energy required is 4,7 MJ/day. 2) The energy net for gestation before 100 days is 4,7 MJ/day + 0,5 MJ/day = 5,2 MJ/day and for after 100 is an average of 4,7 MJ/day + 1,7 MJ/day = 6,4 MJ/day. 3) For the lactation period the energy net required is 4,7 MJ/day + 1,7 MJ/day + 2,4 MJ/day = 8.8 MJ/day.

Protein required 1) For maintenance 4 grams of protein is needed per day. 2) During the gestation period 2grams/day plus the 4g of maintenance are needed between 105days and 120 days, and from 120 days onwards 4,5 grams.day plus 4grams/day for maintenance 3) Regarding the lactation period, beside de 4grams of maintenance, is also needed 10 grams/day of protein, in total 14grams day

Energy required:

1) Dry sheep maintenance Energy net = Energy maintenance (EnM) EnM (Kcal/d) = (64,7Kcal /kg LW ^0,75) d = days LW = Live Weight

2) Gestation sheep after day 100 Energy net = Energy maintenance (EnM) + Energy gestation (EnG) EnM (Kcal/d) = (64,7Kcal /kg LW ^0,75) EnG = 9,2438*Pc*e^-11,465*e^(0,00643*t) Pc = Weight of the lamb t = Days of gestation

3) Lactation sheep Energy net = Energy maintenance (EnM) + Energy lactation (EnL) + Energy reserves EnM(Kcal/d)= 57,5 Kcal/kg LW^0,75 EnL (kcal/d) = 1132 kcal / L EnL reserve = 575 kcal/d L =Production of milk per day

Protein required: 1) Dry sheep maintenance

PM = 2,5g/kg Lw^0,75 PM = Metabolize protein Lw = Live weight

2) Gestation sheep

Gestation days 105d 120d 135d P (g/d) 22 40 52 kg/ 0,022 0,04 0,052

3) Lactation sheep PL= (PDL*10*P)/0,58 PDL = Diary Milk Production Kg/day P = Protein (N*6,38) %