Integrating sheep to agroecological management in the uruguayan metropolitan region: productive and economic results in Ecogranja Svealand

Abstract

Sheep production has declined sharply in recent decades in Uruguay, however, in the metropolitan
region advanced as a complement to the traditional horticulture. In this context the
Ecogranja Svealand has incorporated the sheep production in interaction with the horticultural
production being the only farm in the whole country with agroecological certificate for sheep
production. This work tries to evaluate the evolution of the main productive and economic
results of the ovine production during the first years of integration of this heading to the agroecosystem.
The methodology used was the collection of structural, economic and productive
data based on open interviews and records analysis. The main results show reproductive indicators
that far exceed national historical averages, with high rates of parity, prolificacy, survival
and weaning. The item increased the number of animals and the area occupied, reducing the
horticultural area, although some management problems appeared in recent years. The economic
results show a clear relationship between the income of the item with the percentage of
fertility and survival, also associated with the load and the work weight.