Using olive leaves by-products in grazed orchards

Olive leaves are fibrous with a low digestibility, especially in crude protein, and they promote very poor rumen fermentation. However, if adequately supplemented, they may be successfully used in animal diets mostly fresh when the nutritive value of olive tree leaves is greater. When olive leaves are rich in oil, ruminal protozoa decrease, and this could increase the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis in the rumen. Furthermore, for lactating animals, olive tree leaves result in an improvement in milk fat quality due to the high linolenic acid content, compared to diets based on conventional forages. Feeding olive tree leaves to ewes also has a positive effect on the fatty acid profile of cheese and therefore improves its human nutrition quality. Olive orchard grazing can offer a lot of benefits: sheep reduce costs by controlling grass and suckers growing and increasing nitrogen recycling, while the olive leaves provide high quality feed in winter when the availability of grass is reduced.