Delle Langhe

The Delle Langhe, also called Pecora delle Langhe or Langarola, is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to Piedmont, in north-western Italy.[4][2] It is a rough-woolled breed of southern Mediterranean type, and originates from the mountainous area of the Alta Langa, where the Apennines meet the Alps, in the province of Cuneo. It is raised mainly in the Langhe, but is found in several other regions of Italy including Abruzzo, Basilicata, Emilia–Romagna, Liguria and Tuscany.

Delle Langhe
Conservation statusat risk of extinction
Other names
  • Pecora delle Langhe
  • Langarola[1]
Country of originItaly
DistributionPiedmont, other regions
StandardMIPAAF
Useprimarily for milk
Traits
Weight
Height
Wool colorivory-white
Face colorivory-white, with silky sheen
Horn statushornless in both sexes

History

In the early twentieth century, attempts made to improve the meat yield of the breed by cross-breeding with Bergamasca stock were unsuccessful. Cross-breeding with French Lacaune and Larzac stock to improve milk production was also tried, but was soon abandoned in favour of selective breeding within the existing breed.[2]

The Delle Langhe breed is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[5] Numbers were estimated at 40,000 in 1930, and at 12,000 in 1983. In 2006, 3653 head were registered in the herdbook;[2] the conservation status of the breed was listed as "not at risk" by the FAO in 2007.[6] In 2013 the total number recorded was 1800.[7] The breed is listed as "at risk of extinction" by the region of Piemonte.[2]

Use

The milk yield of the Delle Langhe breed, over and above that taken by the lambs, is about 102 ± 34 litres per lactation for primiparous, and 166 ± 63 l for pluriparous, ewes;[5] it may reach 300 l per lactation. The milk has 6–7% fat and 5–6% protein.[5] Lambs weigh 13–15 kg at 30 days, and are usually slaughtered at about that weight. Rams yield about 3 kg, ewes about 2.5 kg, of low-grade wool.

The milk is used in Toma di Murazzano, a DOP cheese made with sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep's and cow's milk.[2][8]

References
  1. J. Errante, L.A. Brambilla, M. Corti, E. Pastore, R. Leonarduzzi (2006). Le razze ovine autoctone a rischio del Valle d'Aosta, Lombardia, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia (in Italian). Associazione RARE. Accessed May 2014.
  2. Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN 9788850652594. p. 210–211.
  3. Caratteri tipici e indirizzi di miglioramento della razza Delle Langhe (in Italian). Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali. Accessed May 2014.
  4. Breed data sheet: Delle Langhe/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2014.
  5. Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. p. 11. Accessed February 2014.
  6. Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed May 2014.
  7. Consistenze Provinciali della Razza 30 Delle Langhe Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed February 2014.
  8. Murazzano DOP (in Italian). Provincia di Cuneo. Accessed May 2014.
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