It is added that ‘during the stabling period, the individual daily ration comprises at least one kilogram of dry matter of hay on average across the flock’. Hay is traditional fodder that helps to ensure a balanced feed. This is also added under paragraph 3.3 of the Single Document.
Two lists of feedstuffs prohibited in the sheep's feed are added.
The first list added is the following:
‘—
any addition of urea to the feed;
— any sweet corn silage;
— any silage or wrapped fodder older than one year;
— any industrial by-products preserved by ensilage.’
The second list of prohibited ‘feed for ovine dairy flocks (sheep and lambs) all year round’ is as follows:
‘—
any products of animal origin, with the exception of mother's milk and milk replacers for replacement lambs;
— any additives from the categories antibiotics or growth promoters;
— any pre-mixed medicated mixtures comprising anti-bacterial products for oral use, except for treatment of replacement lambs during weaning;
— any feedstuffs with added fat that have undergone treatment to protect them from degradation in the rumen.’
The aim is to remove certain feedstuffs or practices in order to guarantee high-quality, traditional feed for the sheep. Likewise, in order to guarantee the quality of the fodder distributed to the sheep, it is added that ‘poorly preserved, damp hay and fodder are removed prior to distribution’ and that ‘fodder must be harvested under optimal weather conditions’.
—
Storage of fodder:
In line with the previous provisions, rules on storage of fodder are inserted in order to ensure good conditions for preservation. The following paragraph is added:
‘Dry fodder and straw are stored in a dry place insulated from the ground. Fodder preserved in silos is stored on a sloping concrete platform to allow run-off to be collected. The tarpaulin covering the silos is replaced every year and complies with the relevant NF standard. Wrapped fodder is stored on a concrete or stabilised platform. For these methods of wet preservation of fodder, a silage additive must be used.’
—
Layout of sheep barns:
It is added that ‘the layout of sheep barns provides a minimum area (including corridors) of 1,5 m
2
per sheep with lamb or 1,2 m
2
per single sheep’ in order to ensure a good state of cleanliness for the animals, allow them to move around in the barn and maintain a healthy environment.
Sub-heading ‘Milk storage and collection’
It is added that the milk supplied to the manufacturing workshops is ‘unskimmed and non-acid’ in order to guarantee the purity and quality of the milk used in production.
In order to avoid any contamination and guarantee the quality of the milk used in production, the following conditions are added after the present sentence ‘After filtering, the milk is refrigerated’.
— ‘The milk is stored in closed and refrigerated containers’;
— ‘The storage temperature of the milk at the farm and during transport to processing facilities is a maximum of 10 °C’.
This temperature, which is higher than that provided for in Annex III, Section IX, Chapter I, paragraph II.B.2 of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, is necessary to maintain the activity of the milk's natural lactic flora, which is used in the production of ‘Roquefort’ from raw milk and is authorised by the competent authority.