Agraria.org - Agrarian instruction online
Italian breeds of livestock
Welcome to Agraria.org
This site, started in the year 2000 at the initiative of Professor Marco Salvaterra, Agrarian Technical Institute of Florence, is a place of study and rigorous information that responds to the needs of those wishing to learn and understand.
Its purpose is to provide information about agriculture, livestock and the environment. These fields are so vast and complex that the pages are constantly evolving to keep up with regular updates and new discoveries. This English language section provides information on the principal races of domestic animals that originated in Italy (cattle, chicken, dog, donkey, goat, horse, poultry, sheep, swine).
The patrimony of Italian livestock is extraordinarily rich in indigenous races and populations of domestic animals whose origins can be traced back to the country's various regions. The enormous variety in Italy's climate, from the valleys of the Alps, to the sun-drenched plains of Southern Italy, and the multiple populations that made the Italian peninsula their home over the past millenia, have all contributed to this enviable genetic variety that is practically peerless in the rest of the world.
However, beginning in the 1950's, Italy progressively diminished the raising of some indigenous and local races, sometimes even ceasing to do so altogether. In the last few years, thanks to breeders' increased awareness, the safeguarding of local races threatened with extinction has become a cornerstone of agricultural development policies.
To view the illustrated charts of the various races of Italian domestic animals, simply click on the desired species in the navigation menu above or to the left.
For information and collaboration proposals, please write to: [email protected]
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