Using cluster analysis to characterize the goat farming system in Sardinia

This study is a large-scale survey based on interviews with owners of 151 Sardinian goat farms. The aim was to provide an up to date description of the goat production chain on the island. A multivariate statistical approach was applied to exploit the great number of available variables in the best way. The statistical analysis was carried out in two steps: principal component analysis and successive cluster analysis. In general, Sardinian goat farming showed a remarkable backwardness compared to dairy sheep farming. This is particularly true for farm facilities and productivity. Cluster analysis allowed us to identify five clusters, which corresponded to three principal farming systems. Firstly, a traditional system with little infrastructure and low management and productive levels was identified. Here the most frequent genotype was basically the native Sardinian breed. Secondly, there is a group of farms mainly located in the southwest of Sardinia where the facilities and the management were poor and production was on a low level than dairy sheep farming but generally better developed than the previous cluster. Thirdly, there is a group of farms using a sort of semi-intensive farming system, which was more similar to that of dairy sheep, with relatively high productive and reproductive performance.In conclusion, this study identified different goat farming systems in Sardinia and emphasizes the need to develop strategies, which are able to take this diversity into account.