Research Regarding the Typology of some Sheep Farms which Practicing Conventional Breeding System

The purpose of this paper was to make a study as regards the typology of sheep farms which practicing the conventional breeding system. To characterize the typology of conventional sheep farms a study of the production system was conducted in 2014 in 10 sheep farms, located in the counties Cluj, Caras-Severin, Covasna, Buzau, Prahova and Teleorman. Evaluation of the production system from each farm was based on the completion of a specific questionnaire to this type of evaluation. The results showed that conventional sheep farms taken in study are diverse in terms of number of animals held and land used, the average size of sheep farm being by 313.6 heads (with limits between 105 and 720 heads), and the average area of land used per farm is 90.02 ha (with limits between 4.32 and 201.5 ha). The maintenance system of animals from these farms is extensive or semi-intensive, mainly based on the maintenance of sheep to pasture in warmer seasons and maintenance in shelters in cold season. The direction of sheep breeding in these farms is mixed, respectively for milk and meat. The main problems faced by farmers are related to the lack of market for their products, low prices for sheep products (especially for wool), delay of subsidies, lack of agricultural consultancy and workforce.