Production costand profitability analysis in familydairy farming

Abstract

Family farming has a significant economic and social contribution in Brazil, where it is present in most of the farms. In the State of Minas Gerais, there is a predominance of small dairy farmers, mainly in family farming. In this context, the objective was to identify the main components of the cost of production and to analyze the profitability of a family farm in that State. The data were collected during a period of 12 months, from January to December 2015, in a dairy farm located in the municipality ofConceição da Barra de Minas. Electronic data processing and profitability analysis considered gross and net margins and the result as indicators of economic efficiency. Revenues outpaced operating and variable costs, however, were not sufficient to pay the sum of variable and fixed costs. In this way, the total costs exceeded the revenues obtained in the period. The most representative effective operational cost component was the feed. Due to the positive net margin and the negative result, the farm is able to produce efficiently in the medium term, however, in the long term, the farmer tends to decapitalize.