PASTO project: towards a realistic scenario for meat production in mountain areas

The PASTO project tested and developed innovative practices in meat production based on Herens breed, that contribute to landscape preservation and to added value creating at local level. A multi-disciplinary approach evaluated the agronomical, economic, technical and sociological aspects of these practical cases. In the perspective of transferring the results to the practitioners, a transversal approach was used. Results of all research themes were combined to build a realistic scenario considering both agro-technical constraints of the local environment and organizational constraints or representations linked to the special context of Herens cow breeding. Concerning this last point, a particular attention was given to the role of the different breeder profiles, as well as to their possible complementarities within this meat production scenario for Herens breed.