GAIA actions 2020

The actions organized by DELTA’s milk zone as part of the GAIA Action Plan were the following:

Cultivation of non-genetically modified soya

There is a shortage of protein-rich animal feed in the European Union. As such, there’s an effort to increase arable land for the production of the above-mentioned feed in order to reduce the reliance on imports. The Agricultural University of Athens, in cooperation with the Research Institute of Animal Science/Giannitsa of HAO-Demeter, and the funding of DELTA FOODS, organized and implemented the cultivation of NON-GENETICALLY MODIFIED (NGMO) SOYA on the Institute’s farm. The goal is to study the cultivation conditions, the productivity and the production costs of soya in Greece. Soy flour is important when calculating dairy cow, goat and sheep feeding rations, due its concentration of proteins of high biological value.

The results of this effort were published during 2020 and indicate that soybean production in Greece is not only possible but also efficient. This protein-rich animal food also has financial and environmental benefits, even with only one round of pesticide application.

In terms of its energy content, soybean outclasses all other oleaginous seeds and improves the production characteristics of feeding rations of dairy animals.

Educational seminar for goat breeders in Stefani, Corinth.

In February 2020 DELTA’s milk zone of South Greece organised an educational seminar at the Spiritual Center of Stefani, Corinth, on the subject of “Sustainable Goat Breeding”.

The seminar’s goal was to highlight critical factors in the management of goat-breeding units, in order to improve the segment’s competitiveness. Speaking to 30 goat breaders from the Eastern Peloponnese, executives from DELTA’s milk zone of South Greece and EUROFEED, presented key issues, such as the important role of the goat-breeding sector and its prospects, the need to extend the production period of goat milk in order to satisfy customer demand, quality issues pertaining to goat milk, as well as sound animal feeding practices.

DELTA’s milk zone participates in a Research Project by the Agricultural University of Athens

Over a two-year period, 2019-2020, DELTA participated in a project initiated by the Agricultural University of Athens, titled “Development of innovative condensed animal feed mixtures, for the optimisation of the quality of sheep milk.”

This is a scientific project, part of which was to analyze the effects of:

  1. Replacing the soybean placenta with other protein-rich animal feed produced in Greece.
  2. Breast formation characteristics of two indigenous sheep species (Chios and Frizarta) regarding the volume and quality characteristics of sheep milk.

Some very interesting conclusions were drawn from the research, both in terms of replacing soya with protein-rich animal feed that’s produced locally (which was proven not to have an effect on either the volume or quality of milk), and the yield characteristics of the above-mentioned species. As a result of this research, several scientific studies were concluded, two of which were presented at the annual International Conference of the European Association of Animal Production (2020).