Map of Italy and Sicily with Agrigento marked red. Marketing under the Slow Food Presidium label helps farmers to preserve the breed and valorize their products. Although Girgentana are prolific and produce well, they face competition from more populous breeds with similar productivity. There is a growing interest in establishing sustainable systems of high-quality artisan dairy products from heritage breeds, especially fresh and mature cheeses transformed on the farm for direct sale. Ideas changed in the nineties, as imported goats brought new diseases and did not yield significantly more cheese than local landraces, which proved hardier. During the 1960–70s, the push for increased production led to a preference for imported dairy goats, such as Saanen, and it became easier to find breeding males of such breeds. But by the 1980s, they were on the verge of extinction. In 1958, there were about 37,000 head in these areas. Door-to-door milk sales in the streets of Agrigento at the turn of the twentieth century. Consequently, goat-keeping earned an unfavorable image and was pushed out to the hills and coastline. However, this tradition was eradicated in the thirties by new laws prohibiting urban goat farming for sanitary reasons. This mild-flavored milk was mainly given to infants and the elderly. HISTORY: In the 1920–30s, urban herders took goats door to door and to market to supply milk fresh from the teat to villagers.
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