Current Status and Possibilities for the Development of the Cattle Breeding in the Primorsko-Goranska County, Croatia

Abstract

Abstract: At the beginning of 2007 the milk producers from the Primorsko-Goranska County, Croatia were surveyed through the questionnaire in order to determine the current status and to highlight the obstacles and the possibilities of development and improvement of the modern cattle breeding in the observed county. The questionnaire spanned 2001-2006 period and all together 260 families were surveyed. The survey aimed to get as much as possible useful information's that would indicate the problems concerning the cattle breeding in this area, and based on these results to give certain guidelines for the improvement of current status. Older age of milk producers, significant number of family farms with small number of cattle and difficult implementation of selective measures due to the small number of cows that were included in milk recording were determined as the main obstacles for cattle breeding development in the surveyed county. It is emphasized that development of cattle breeding in this area should be based upon the increased number of family farms with larger herds. To achieve this it is necessary to retain existing cattle fund, and then gradually increase the number of cattle in the mentioned county through the import of breeding heifers of dairy and combined breeds from neighboring European countries with highly developed cattle breeding. Besides that, it is also necessary to create conditions for the production of organic (ecological) products, which represents the future of agriculture, livestock production, bearing in mind that demanding European market has recognized the value of organic agricultural products that were produced through environment friendly production, which Primorsko-Goranska County, due to its significant natural resources, could easily assure