Adoption of a new feeding technology in Mediterranean sheep farming systems: Implications and economic evaluation

Innovation in feeding systems involves replacing conventional feeds with alternatives and, in many cases, the modification of distribution devices. The labour demand of feeding management is one of the basic limitations faced by meat sheep production in Spain and other Mediterranean countries. In the region of Aragón, a sheep farmers cooperative has designed a new feeding technology for self-service complete-diet feed (SSCDF) rations. The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate the effects of the adoption of the new SSCDF system and (ii) to assess its economic viability in farms that used traditional feeding systems. For the first objective, all of the farms (n = 23) that used this system for more than 3 years were assessed directly using a questionnaire. In addition, we analysed the information obtained from a sample of 79 meat sheep farms that did not use the SSCDF (all 102 farms were participating in a technical-economic data network of the cooperative aforementioned). In order to assess the economic implications of adopting SSCDF, a typology was established using multivariate analysis with structural indicators, feeding costs and reproductive variables. Finally, an economic study was carried out for each type considering four different scenarios. Almost all farmers that adopted the SSCDF system felt an improvement in their quality of life. However, the new technology was not advisable on all types of farms from the economic point of view. In general, the greatest economic profitability was obtained if the implementation of SSCDF reduced labour requirements and increased technical performance; however, if the SSCDF implied only a reduction of labour requirements, Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return were considerably lower for all types of farms and, in some cases, the investment was not justified. Our study showed that the adoption of the SSCDF led to positive changes in farm structure, particularly in terms of flock size, and could contribute to the social sustainability of sheep farms in the region. The economic interest of adopting this feeding system depended largely on the expected improvements of technical results and on the increment of feeding costs that SSCDF involved.