Abstract :
In recent decades there has been a worldwide increase in the intensification process of the
livestock sector. This study looks into the changes that have taken place in goat farms in
less favoured areas of Spain by comparing the situation of systems in the Northern Sierra
of Seville (SNS), a traditional goat farming area in Spain, in the years 2002 and 2008. The
information for this study was collected in 2002 and 2008, from a sample of 22 and 23 dairy
goat farmers, respectively. A farm survey was conducted, composed of 95 items, grouped
into the following sections: animal base, infrastructures and facilities, feeding, reproduction,
milk production and animal health. For either of the two years of study a multivariate
analysis has been conducted through a multiple correspondence analysis followed by a
cluster analysis. Four groups have been identified for each year, showing a diverse range of
farms whereby the most intensive farms coexist with those that continue to practise grazing.
The following main changes have been observed throughout the study: (i) the herd size
is increasing; (ii) the supply of concentrates and straw has increased significantly but use
of forage has decreased; (iii) the lactation length has increased; (iv) milking facilities and
feed distribution systems have been modernized; and (v) the animal health has substantially
improved. Other important changes, although less significant, are the establishment
of reproductive groups on the farms, genetic improvement of herds by absorbing the dairy
breed Florida and improving goat productivity. Most changes have focused on intensifying
the productive systems. Some drivers behind these changes are the loss of grazing as a feed
source for goats, acceptable prices for the purchase of feeds during the period studied, the
increase in milk demand from industry, EU aids and willingness of the farmers to improve
their working conditions. Evolutions of purchase feed and sold milk prices together with
EU agricultural policy evolution will determine the future of dairy goat production.
