Status, Characterization and Typology of Dairy Cattle Farms in Northern Algeria

Abstract

The aim of this study was to make a finding about the structural, functional and performance aspects of 217 dairy farms in northern Algeria through a survey, then to establish a diagnosis and a typology of these farms. The results showed that farms had an average size of 42.7 ± 102 ha, of which 34.5% was fodder area (FA), and an average of 28 ± 34.5 livestock units (LU) per farm, of which 65% were dairy cows (DC) dominated mainly by the Holstein and Montbeliarde breeds (74.8% of the total herd). The average number of annual work unit (AWU) was 2.98 ± 1.92 AWU/farm of which 78 ± 35% was a family labour. The farms’ performances were generally low. Dairy production (DP) average was 14.3 ± 4.77 kg/cow/day/farm, while fertility represented by calving interval (CI) was 397 ± 20.2 days/cow/farm. The use of multidimensional statistical methods has identified five types of farms. This study revealed a poor exploitation of the dairy potential of cows raised in Algeria, with the dominance of archaic breeding practices that oppose the welfare of these cows. To optimize dairy farming, solutions have been proposed.