In orchards, fruit growers spend time, money, and sometimes chemicals, in order to manage the vegetation under the trees. On the other side, sheep breeders are frequently in search of additional forage resources, especially during summer when pastures are dry.
Association of sheep breeding and fruit growing can therefore be advantageous for both sides, and is already experimented by several farmers during winter. However, maximal benefits can be expected from this practice during spring and summer, but several trade-offs still need to be resolved.
The project ECORCE aims at bringing solutions to these issues, with focus on:
Economical, territorial, and reglementary aspects will also be investigated, and various scenario of sheep/orchard association will be proposed.
Project coordination, design and implementation of experiments, knowledge transfer
