STILNOVO: sustainability and innovation technology for dairy sheep production, an innovation transfer project in Tuscany

In Tuscany, the ewes farming for dairy production is facing low incomes and scarce competitiveness of farms, mainly due to a poor level of innovation concerning the management of both the cropping and animal systems. Consequently, in the recent years, the milk quality decreased preventing the production of high-quality dairy products. Moreover, in the Mediterranean, climate change is leading to an increase frequency of extreme rainfall events, raising the risk of soil loss by water. Thus, novel cropping systems have to be more resilient to these new conditions to guarantee the conservation of farm profitability and natural resources. Within this framework, the STILNOVO project (sustainability and innovation technology for dairy sheep production) is aiming at: (i) improving milk quality at competitive costs, (ii) increasing the efficiency of the grassland-based production by rational management, (iii) optimizing the ewes feeding, (iv) decreasing the risk of contamination by clostridia bacteria and (v) optimizing the use of bio-active compounds for cheese aging. Keywords: milk quality, legume, soil erosion, extension services, resilience.