On 2 July, in addition to the workshop organised for livestock producers from the Jales AIGP, LIFE Maronesa also welcomed the European Seminar on Extension & Education, organised by UTAD and CETRAD – Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies, a biennial international conference on agricultural advice and education that has been bringing together academics, advisors and educators since 1973.
The delegation began its tour in the morning at Serra do Alvão in Lamas, Alvadia, to visit the farm of breeder Avelino Rego. In the afternoon, the delegation travelled to Soutelinho to visit the Casal da Bouça farm, owned by breeder Tommy Ferreira.
On both farms and on the common land where farmers graze their livestock, the delegation learned about the good practices implemented by the project, with emphasis on the management of agricultural areas in the hay meadows and the management of marginal areas of the common land using prescribed fire. It was highlighted that the daily route of the animals in the mountains must be accompanied by a spatial distribution of water points (drinking troughs/ponds/fountains) that allow the animals to move through the common land areas with minimal nutritional loss.
Another decisive factor identified by seminar participants is the influence of the farm’s location on logistics, management and the needs of each herd: the farms and domestic animals of Alvadia, being a village located at the top of the Serra do Alvão, are exposed to more aggressive weather conditions, which strongly influence the free movement and well-being of domestic (and wild) animals. On the other hand, although the Casal da Bouça farm is more sheltered from the prevailing winds that affect Alvadia, it is located on the edge of the Serra do Alvão, where the climate does not offer the same water availability as Alvadia.
