Traditional Livestock Production (eng)

This book provides a comprehensive overview of various aspects of sustainable agriculture, such as organic production systems focused on dairy farming of both cattle and sheep, indigenous poultry production, the use of insects in animal feed as a sustainable alternative, the production of lambs in organic grazing systems and the carbon footprint of organic livestock. It also addresses regulatory frameworks, challenges, opportunities and the importance of sustainability in agriculture, understanding why the animal products we consume should come from organic and not industrial sources.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the consumption of organic food in the world led by the United States, Germany and France, being a necessity to seek food free of hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and synthetic growth promoters. Likewise, consumers are paying more and more attention to the treatment of farm animals, that they are free grazing, that the food they receive does not compete with human food (e.g. cereal grains). The demand of these consumers concerned about the origin of the food they buy, promoting more sustainable systems, with healthier food without added substances in their production, respectful of the environment and with the certainty that the animals raised do so with the greatest guarantees of animal welfare, pushes producers to become certified in certified organic production. However, the traditional productions of small producers, backyard economies, generally meet almost all the peculiarities necessary to be certified in organic production and that is why this editorial proposal combines the two production systems that help small producers to continue with the traditional production system, dignifying their work and obtaining better economic returns.

This book is focused with an informative language to the future readers of this book, who can be farmers of traditional production systems, technicians who work with them and who facilitate improvements in their yields favoring better selling prices of their products, researchers in the sector and anyone interested in this type of emerging productions. Those who are interested in understanding how organic livestock farming works, what are the benefits of producing organic animal food, whether milk and its derivatives, as well as poultry meat and eggs, and feeding strategies that allow to be more sustainable with the environment, from extensive grazing and production of organic lamb meat, to the use of new alternative foods (i.e. insects) in organic food, understanding the legislation and regulations for its use.

Carlos Palacios Riocerezo obtained a veterinary degree from Veterinarian by the University of León, Spain. Since then, he has worked as a veterinarian and veterinary technician specializing in dairy sheep breeding, reproduction, artificial insemination, animal nutrition services, and sheep farm management. Dr. Palacios obtained his Ph.D. in Sheep Health and Management from the University of León. He is a Full Professor of Animal Production at the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Salamanca, Spain, where he teaches degree courses in Agricultural Engineering. Member of a current European H2020 project, he has participated in foreign projects in Colombia, Mexico, Dubai, Indonesia. First Research Award of the Academy of Veterinary Sciences of Castilla y León 2019. First Prize of the XX Andrés Nuñez de Prado Prize for Research in Organic Production.

Manuel González Ronquillo obtained his doctorate degree from the University of Zaragoza, Spain. He is a research professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry, Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. He received a Fulbright-Garcia Robles fellowship for a postdoctoral stay at the US Dairy Forage Research Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA as well as grants from Alianza del Pacifico for a stay at the University of Magallanes, Chile, and from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) to work in the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Animal Production and Health Division (AGA), Rome, Italy. He has collaborated with researchers from different countries and published ninety-eight journal articles. He teaches various degree courses in zootechnics, sheep production, and agricultural sciences and natural resources. Dr. Ronquillo’s research focuses on the evaluation of sustainable animal diets (StAnD), using native resources of the region, decreasing carbonfootprint, and applying meta-analysis and mathematical models for a better understanding of animal production.