Brogna

{{Short description|Italian breed of sheep}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}} {{use list-defined references|date=September 2013}} {{Use British English|date=September 2013}} {{Infobox sheep breed | name = Brogna | image = | image_alt = | image_size = | image_caption = | status = {{nobreak|FAO (2007): endangered{{r|barb}}}} | altname = {{ubl|Brogne|Brognola|Locale veronese|Ross-a-vis|Testa rossa}} | country = Italy | distribution = province of Verona | standard = [http://www.assonapa.it/norme_ecc/OVINI-RA_Standard_WEB/Standard-Brogna.htm MIPAAF] | type = | use = triple-purpose, milk, meat and wool | maleweight = 60 kg{{r|dad}} | femaleweight = 47 kg{{r|dad}} | maleheight = 67 cm{{r|dad}} | femaleheight = 57 cm{{r|dad}} | skincolour = pinkish | woolcolour = white | facecolour = white with red markings | horns = hornless in both sexes | note = }}

The '''Brogna''' or '''Brogne''' is an Italian breed of domestic sheep from the province of Verona, in the Veneto in north-eastern Italy.{{r|aspa3}} It is well adapted to the local upland environment.{{r|dad}} The name of the breed may derive from that of the suppressed comune of Breonio, now part of Fumane.{{r|dad}}

== History ==

The origins of the Brogna are unknown.{{r|rare}} It is raised principally in Lessinia, the plateau which extends from the {{ill|Monti Lessini|it}} to the Po Valley, in the comuni of Grezzana, Illasi, Mezzane di Sotto, Rovere Veronese, Selva di Progno and Tregnago.{{r|bigi|p=198}} This area coincides with an enclave of Cimbrian language and culture, and the origins of the breed may be closely linked to those people, who arrived from Bavaria in the early thirteenth century.{{r|bigi|p=198|aspa|p2=50}} Alternatively, the Brogna may have originated as a composite of the Bergamasca and Lamon breeds.{{r|dad}}

The Brogna is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.{{r|aspa|p=50}}

The area of Verona was formerly famous for its woollen goods, but from the sixteenth century its importance began to decline. Sheep-farming became secondary to cattle-raising in the area; from about {{val|30,000}} head of sheep on the plateau in the late eighteenth century, numbers had fallen to {{val|5334}} in a census of 1881.{{r|bigi|p=198}} In the early 1980s a census of the Brogna breed counted 50 head and it was considered to be close to extinction.{{r|bigi|p=198}} By 1994 numbers had risen to over {{val|4500}}.{{r|dad}} In 2013 total numbers for the breed were {{val|2193}}.{{r|aspa2}}

== Characteristics ==

The Brogna is a medium-sized breed, with rams averaging about {{convert|60|kg|abbr=on|-1}} with a wither height of {{convert|67|cm|abbr=on|0}} and ewes about {{convert|47|kg|abbr=on|-1}} with a wither height of {{convert|57|cm|abbr=on|0}}.{{r|dad}}

== Use ==

The Brogna was traditionally a triple-purpose breed, raised for meat, milk and wool; however the demand for wool is now low and it is raised principally for meat.{{r|bigi|p=198}} After the lambs are weaned, ewes yield about {{val|100|u=kg}} of milk in 100 days. Lambs reach about {{val|17|u=kg}} at 60 days, and are slaughtered at a weight of {{val|15|–|20|u=kg}}.{{r|bigi|p=198}}

In a feeding trial of the lambs, comparing them to other regional breeds under three different feeding regimes, the Brogna was found to have more fat and better cooking qualities than the Alpagota but a slower growth rate and smaller carcase size than the Foza. All three breeds were worth preserving to provide regional products to local markets.{{r|erika}}

== References == <references>

<ref name=aspa>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054642/http://www.assonapa.it/Pubblicazioni/Razze-ovine-caprine-Italia/Razze_Ovine_Caprine_Italia.pdf ''Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia''] (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. Archived 21 September 2013.</ref>

<ref name=aspa2>[http://www.assonapa.it/Consistenze/Cons_razza.asp?Anno=2013&Cod_razza=F5 Consistenze Provinciali della Razza F5 Brogne Anno 2013] (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed September 2013.</ref>

<ref name=aspa3>[http://www.assonapa.it/norme_ecc/OVINI-RA_Standard_WEB/Standard-Brogna.htm Norme tecniche della popolazione ovina “Brogna (Brogne)”: standard della razza] (in Italian). Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali. Accessed May 2014.</ref>

<ref name=barb>Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20200623201209/http://www.fao.org/3/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources], annex to [https://web.archive.org/web/20170110125634/http://www.fao.org/3/a-a1250e.pdf ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'']. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{isbn|9789251057629}}. Archived 23 June 2020.</ref>

<ref name=bigi>Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). ''Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia'' (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. {{isbn|9788850652594}}. pp. 198–99.</ref>

<ref name=dad>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=0b1613ebf16355cf65f6a05b9a65fe25,reportsreport8a_50012318 Breed data sheet: Brogne/Italy]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed May 2014.</ref>

<ref name=erika>Erika Pellattiero, Alessio Cecchinato, Massimo De Marchi, Mauro Penasa, Nicola Tormen, Stefano Schiavon, Martino Cassandro, Giovanni Bittante (2011). [http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/107356 Growth Rate, Slaughter Traits and Meat Quality of Lambs of Three Alpine Sheep Breeds]. ''Agriculturae Conspectus Scientificus''. '''76''' (4): 297–300.</ref>

<ref name=rare>J. Errante, L.A. Brambilla, M. Corti, E. Pastore, R. Leonarduzzi (January 2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20210920121059/https://www.associazionerare.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/nlRARE6-gen-2003-convertito.pdf Le razze ovine autoctone a rischio del Piemonte, Valle d'Aosta, Lombardia, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia] (in Italian). ''La Newsletter n.6 di RARE''. Associazione RARE. Archived 20 September 2021.</ref>

</references>

Category:Sheep breeds originating in Italy