A diversity of breeding practices was associated to the use of milk recording data and to the purchase of rams sold by the breeding scheme’s cooperative. ![]() Cross-analysis of farms’ descriptors and the use of collective tools was performed by statistical analysis using available databases on dairy sheep flocks in Corsica. The tools’ use and perception were described by means of interviews with farmers (n = 40). We took the example of dairy sheep farming in Corsica (France) and of two collective tools for the Corsican breed’s management: the use of milk recording data within and outside of the breeding scheme and the buying of rams from the breeding scheme’s cooperative. several of these tools select the future breeding animals of their flocks, and the conditions under which they use these collective tools. In order to progress on this question, it is necessary to gain better knowledge of how farmers who use one or. Read moreįor breeding schemes based on a diversity of production systems, there is a growing challenge in combining standardised tools for the collective genetic improvement of a breed and the selection of a flock able to respond to the specific constraints of the farm and the farmer’s objectives. The results provided new insights into the categories of variables to be taken into consideration in studies on farmers’ preferences for TOIs. The findings of this study should help better define priorities for breeding objectives in local breeding schemes. The role of the internal replacement process in the improvement of flock performance varied according to the genetic context of the area (purebred farming, coexistence of several breeds and crossbred animals) and the TOI considered. ![]() Improvement of flock performance for a TOI was obtained through the use of this TOI or a correlated TOI as a replacement criterion or other breeding practices such as culling and the use of breed(s). Milk yield, milk persistence, udder conformation and sensitivity to diseases including mastitis were major TOIs in both regions. In each region, TOIs were identified as traits motivating the use of a given farming practice and listed and quantified according to this definition. A comprehensive approach to farmers’ preferences was applied through 81 semi-structured interviews with dairy sheep farmers in Corsica (France, n=39) and Thessaly (Greece, n=42). through replacement, culling, purchase of breeding animals and choice of the breeds or their crosses. However, these studies have a major limitation: it is difficult to identify the links between farmers’ traits of interest (TOI) and the farmers’ decision making process for the management of flock performance. Assessing farmers’ preferences for animal traits is increasingly used in studies of the implementation of breeding programs, to make sure breeding objectives fit farmers’ expectations.
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