Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Scienze e tecnologie dei sistemi e territori forestali - STEF

The general objective of the module is to meet the requirements of training and technical-scientific updating of a graduate able to apply knowledge on the mountain and less favored areas livestock farming.  The course as a project will include the conservation of animal resources, the knowledge of local products.

The course aims to acquire knowledge on the main resources of high-hill and mountain breeding and of the most important management and productive aspects of livestock farming systems.

Students will have the qualification to work in the field of private practice, in public administrations such as Regional government offices, Municipalities and Municipality Unions, in the teaching sector, as established by the law, and in the sector of university and private research.

Knowledge and understanding skills

The course will provide students with elements to recognize different expressions of mountain farming systems and the related management practices for the improvement and characterization of of livestock for land and rangeland productions.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding 

At the end of the course students will be able to:

- to develop livestock management plans through knowledge of the state, functioning and criteria for managing the main mountain farming systems for rational use and productive and environmental aims;

- collaborate, in multidisciplinary contexts, for the creation of management tools at different territorial levels (from the municipal to the regional, national, transnational levels);

- planning interventions and carrying out consultancy for farms or administrations that propose to undertake a process of improving animal production with the objective of a reduction of the environmental impact.

Judgment autonomy

At the end of the course, students will be able to link productive and management aspects of mountain farming systems.

Communication Skills

At the end of the course students will be able to:

- properly express the different types of mountain farming;

- adopt an appropriate technical vocabulary for the different types of mountain farming;

- communicate on mountain farming systems with industry knowledge but also in relation to other related disciplines (e.g. integration with Alpine grass and rangeland management), but also in view of the in-depth studies in the second year of ‘Planning of pastoral and animal resources in the mountain area’, curriculum Sustainable forest management.

Hall / online lectures for 24 hours overall (2-3 hours lessons), followed by in-field practice for 16 hours.

Details on teaching methods are reported in the course file

At regular intervals and in appropriate positions of the program development, during lessons,  moments of recall of the given notions will be spent, in order to connect the different topics and to understand the harmonization of the issues in the development of the program itself.

The exam will consist of a written test to test the student basic knowledge (2 of 6 open questions in 90') followed by an oral test for the students getting the passing grade. During oral test the ability to organize acquired knowledge and to manage complex situations, the quality of the speach and an appropriate language will be evaluated. Oral test will deal with course topics and the report on pasture vegetation and its grazing features, and the livestock system management drafted on the basis of the data gathered during on-field practice.
Final score will be on a 18-30 scale, where examinations scored below 18/30 will be considered insufficient. Final score will depend on written test score (weight 50-80%), oral test (40-10%) and quality of the report drafted from in-filed data.

Specific student support will not be provided.

The course belongs to the common learning area.

The course belongs to the common learning area , and plans to acquire information on the sector of the farming productions in mountain and marginal areas

-       Factors influencing animal productivity (cattle, sheep and goats)

-       Genetic factors

-       Livestock systems.

-       Milk production. Lactation: order, stadium, season. Milking.

-       Breeds: Piemontese, Aosta RP, BP,C, Bara-Pustertaler, Oropa RP, Italian Brown, Italian Simmental, other breeds

-       Chemical and nutritional evaluation of feedstuffs

-       Livestock requirements and diet formulation.

-       Pasture systems.

-       The cow - calf system

-       Sheep and goat farming.

-       Animal hygiene. Diseases and prophylaxis of infectious diseases and sanitation. Parasitic diseases and pest control. Metabolic diseases. Toxicology.

-       Stress and animal welfare.

-       Multifunctional role of farming and inherent ecosystem services.

-       Technical visits to representative farms and pastoral environments.

-       Field practices will be integrated with the course of Alpine grass and rangeland management.

Video lectures, course slides and several course notes are downloadable from the course web pages on Moodle platform.

However, the use of the following texts is suggested for further improvement

-   Fortina R., Cornale P., Renna M., Battaglini L. Gli animali domestici delle Alpi, Blu Edizioni, 2017.

-   Bittante G., Andrighetto I., Ramanzin M., Fondamenti di Zootecnica, Liviana Editrice, 2005.

-       Scientific articles and material provided by the teacher will be uploaded at the beginning of the course on the web platform http://agraria-offdid.campusnet.unito.it/do/home.pl).

-       Websites of interest related to the content of the course (e.g.  www.sozooalp.it Società per lo studio e la valorizzazione dei sistemi zootecnici alpini "Quaderni")

The taching activity may undergo changes depending on the situation COVID19. The e-learning model system is guarantee for the whole year.

Practice, if feasible in filed, will be carried-out in high-altitude environments. Thus, good physical training and suitable equipment are suggested