Abstract
Factors promoting the adoption of grazing in South Tyrol – Due to the local topographical, climatic and socio-economic conditions, intensive milk production has become established in South Tyrol with year-round indoor housing, while grazing is predominantly carried out on alpine summer pastures with non-producing animals. An online questionnaire was distributed via the contact lists of the South Tyrolean Dairy Association, the South Tyrolean Animal Husbandry Consortium and Bioland South Tyrol, in order to analyse the factors favouring the adoption of grazing as a relevant element of production on forage areas close to the farm buildings. The questionnaire contained questions both on the characterisation of the farms and on how grazing was implemented. The results suggest that the targeted choice of a breed suitable for grazing and the orientation of the farm towards a form of management that enhances the value of grazing and guarantees higher product prices, such as organic farming, can partly compensate for the topographical limitations of mountain areas. Contrary to expectations, in fact, the slope of the farm's forage areas is not a determining factor in the choice of whether or not to orientate the animal production towards grazing.