A Turning Point in the Italian Dairy Farming System: A Comparison between the Frisona Italiana and Bruna Alpina Breeds

Abstract

This research retraces how the Frisona Italiana, which is renowned for its high milk production, became the most popular breed in Italy during the twentieth century. It virtually supplanted the Bruna Alpina, which was the most widespread strain in the country until the late 1950s. The importance of the Frisona Italiana is not yet fully appreciated and its history should be examined from a comparative perspective due to its peculiar development. The Frisona Italiana has long been differentiated from the original Friesian breed in the Netherlands and the Holstein-Friesian breed in North America, one of the highest dairy-producing cows in the world. Italy was the first country to develop a ‘sub-genre’ from breeding stock of the Friesian and Holstein-Friesian strains. This article provides an accurate reconstruction of the development of the Frisona Italiana and identifies the path that enabled it to numerically outstrip the Bruna. Specifically, I examine endogenous (yields, techniques etc.) and/or exogenous (livestock farming system, farmers’ actions, state intervention, etc.) factors that may have affected decisions to introduce the Frisona breed.