Produção de leite na região Oeste de Santa Catarina em sistema orgânico e convencional na Agricultura Familiar.

Abstract

The aim of this study were: I) to characterize the organic dairy farms in Santa Catarina, identify the motivations and evaluation of producers on the particular production system, in comparison to conventional farms and; II) to compare indicators of health and animal welfare (AW) of dairy herds, management systems and milk quality in both systems. We selected 17 organic dairy farms or in the conversion process and 17 conventional farms. All producers were visited twice: once in March, once in September/2010, which were open interviews about the historic and farmer s opinions on organic production and an evaluation on the structuring of production farms, discussed the differences between the systems. The technologies and management practices adopted were analyzed in the light of current legislation in order to estimate the contribution needed to ensure the permanence of these families in the organic system. One question in the interviews was examined the farmers' perceptions about animal welfare. Data on environment, food and health management, clinical examination of animals and bulk tank milk samples were collected. Notes on diseases and treatments done in animals were evaluated within the period. Our results indicate that the reduction in production costs and benefits to health and environment are factors that motivate the organic, while the lack of technical support and logistics market are cited as major barriers. It is also evident that farmers know little about the recent regulations, which limits its suitability standards. Organic farmers make production less intensive than conventional ones, where the composition of the herd and feed management are key differences. Both systems kept similar level of animal health, despite greatest difficulty of organic in controlling ectoparasites in summer. We found a lower incidence of disease in animals in the organic, and were reduced use of antimicrobials than in conventional, which is an important indicator of welfare animal and food safety. The levels of animal welfare in some way correspond with the farmers' perceptions on the subject, so improvements could occur via changes in attitudes of the producers.