Prototypes for milking and dairy processing using sheep and goat's milk from animals kept in the wild or transhumant flocks

This study regards the design, construction and experimentation of a system for the milking and dairy processing of milk from animals kept in the wild or transhumant flocks. The prototype is intended to provide shepherds with 200-400 animals with a solution permitting them to process milk and sell the dairy products obtained, in observance of the D.P.R. (Presidential Decree) no. 54 of 14th January 1997. The system is made up of two interconnected modules, the first for mechanical milking of the sheep and goats and the second for dairy processing, as well as a vehicle, type approved as an agricultural tractor, which can be used to transport them, one at a time. All three elements of the system, which can be managed by a single operator, have been widely experimented and their performance was found to be excellent, in that it is by superior to that obtained from the shepherds with the equipment used at present, which in any event does not meet the new regulations’ requirements.