Sheep and goat farming practices in a hilly and mountainous area of South Greece (Messinia)
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The objective of this work was to study the currently practiced dairy sheep and goat farming system, based on the utilization of extensive unimproved grazing lands, in a hilly and mountainous area of South Greece, and to underline its potential, trends and limitations. The extensive sheep and goat production systems applied in the studied area are based mainly on natural grazing, which provides a significant part of the animals’ energy and CP requirements. However, the stocking capacity and the stocking rate of these grasslands are low. There are also nutritional fluctuations throughout the year, which limit animal performance, due to seasonal production of natural vegetation. The state ownership of rangelands, which does not allow their rational management, reduces their sustainability in the long term.