Animal Performances, Pasture Biodiversity and Dairy Product Quality: How It Works in Contrasted Mountain Grazing Systems
Abstract
The interactions between botanical composition of pasture, quality of herbage grazed, performances of dairy cows and sensory and nutritional properties of dairy products were investigated using an integrated system approach. Two contrasting grazing systems were evaluated from May to September in two years. The treatments included a continuous grazing system (DIV) managed at a lenient stocking rate (1.0LUha−1) on a botanically-rich permanent pasture, and a rotational grazing system (PROD) set up at a higher stocking rate (1.7LUha−1) on a former temporary grassland presenting moderate biodiversity. DIV aimed to maximize biodiversity and obtain high sensory and nutritional quality cheese, whereas PROD was oriented towards milk production and herbage quality. In each system, 12 non-feed-supplemented Montbéliarde cows were used. The DIV system led to higher milk production per cow in the early grazing season than the PROD system (22.2 vs. 19.9kgd−1). At the beginning of summer, this milk production pattern was inverted following a decrease in grass nutritive value in the DIV system. In parallel, DIV cows showed a more marked loss of body condition than PROD cows over the season. In terms of milk fatty acid profile, the DIV system proved very interesting early in the grazing season but lost its value over time as the herbage matured. Cheese sensory properties differed between systems only after a long ripening period (6 months). Regarding the ecological performances, the DIV plot showed greater botanical and entomological biodiversity than the PROD plot. This study provides evidence that the balance between animal performances, dairy product quality and biodiversity in dairy systems is more complex than previously thought, since the expected benefits of each system vary markedly over periods. The evolution of herbage vegetation stage during the grazing season combined with the botanical composition of the pasture is a key component for understanding these variations.
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Milk quality directly reflects ruminants' diets and the biodiversity present in pastures.
“Furthermore, the effects of using their own forages can be observed in the final products, as it is known that, for example, milk quality directly reflects the ruminants' diets and the biodiversity present in pastures [24].”
From Grassland-Based Farming Systems Targeting Agroecology: Which Indicators Should Be Used for On-Farm Assessment? (2025) · cites this paper as [24]
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Benedetti del Rio, E., Michaud, A., Brunschwig, G., & Sturaro, E. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17062720
“Furthermore, the effects of using their own forages can be observed in the final products, as it is known that, for example, milk quality directly reflects the ruminants’ diets and the biodiversity present in pastures [24].”
- Authors
- Farruggia, A., Pomiès, D., Coppa, M., Ferlay, A., Verdier-Metz, I., Le Morvan, A., Bethier, A., Pompanon, F., Troquier, O., & Martin, B.
- Affiliations
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- University of Turin (IT)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Farruggia, Anne
- Venue
- Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-03
- Volume
- 185
- Pages
- 231-244
- ISSN
- 0167-8809 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2005103476
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 15.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Institutional Research Information System University of Turin (University of Turin) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Forestry › Pasture and Agricultural Systems
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Agriculture and Rural Development Research
- Keywords
- pasture biodiversity, dairy cow performance, dairy product quality, rotational grazing, continuous grazing, stocking rate, milk fatty acid composition, cheese sensory properties, herbage nutritive value, botanical composition, body condition, grassland management
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