An insight into the dairy chain of a Protected Designation of Origin cheese: The case study of Asiago cheese

摘要

The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label ofthe European Union safeguards and guarantees topqualitytraditional agri-food products that must bemanufactured in a specific region according to traditionalproduction methods. Production specifications ofPDO cheeses are often focused on the cheese-makingprocess and lack information on the dairy farming systemthat is upstream of the chain. This case study aimedto analyze and cluster the dairy farms that supply milkto the chain of Asiago, an internationally known PDOcheese of northeastern Italy. A large survey involvingall of the cheese factories of the Asiago PDO chainwas made in 2017. Each cheese factory submitted aquestionnaire to its supplying dairy farmers concerning(1) farm facilities and herd management and (2) feedingprogram of lactating cows. Results from 517 farmswere processed; there were 67 ± 27% (mean ± standarddeviation) respondents per cheese factory. Four clustersof dairy farms were identified by hierarchical clusteringanalysis. Cluster 1 (8% of the surveyed farms) andcluster 2 (22%) are small in size and low in yield, representingthe traditional milk production system; farmsare mainly located on mountains or hills and haveautochthonous dual-purpose breeds mostly housed intiestall barns. By rearing cattle of endangered breedsand feeding cows primarily with forages produced onfarmtogether with the use of pasture, these clusters,and especially cluster 1, have shown to provide essentialecosystem services for landscape and biodiversitypreservation in the alpine areas. Clusters 3 and 4 (34and 36% of the surveyed farms, respectively) gathermedium-scale farms mainly located in the lowlandthat operate according to modern management andhousing systems and rear high-producing dairy cows.These cows are mainly fed total mixed rations basedon corn silage, but the dietary forage: concentrate ratiois kept relatively high, as farmers are more interestedin producing high-quality milk for cheese-making thanpushing for yield. Regardless of the cluster allocation, aconsiderable cow longevity, which is a recognized “icebergindicator” of cattle well-being, was highlighted.This study showed that different farming systems maylay behind a single PDO cheese. The knowledge oftheir characteristics is important to reinforce the PDOproduction specifications as well as to distinguish andprotect niche products that come from specific groupsof farms that provide essential ecosystem services.