PRACTICES AND RESULTS CONCERNING THE DAIRY CATTLE IN THE CITY OF TOLEDO - PR: A STRATIFIED ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCERS

Abstract

This study approaches the cow's milk productive chain in the city of Toledo - PR, focusing on the raw material producer segment, aiming at analyzing the relation between the practices adopted and the results obtained in the productive units. In the research, issues concerning the development of the activity next to a group of producers involved in a municipal program of support to dairy cattle raising are explor ed. For data collection, questionnaires were applied, in personal surveys with 85 producers, seeking to identify characteristics of the production practices, of the economic indicators and the commercialization of milk. Afterwards, the producers were stratified among small, mediumsized and large, according to the volume of milk produced in the farm, and then the characteristics concerning each of these groups were analyzed. It was identified that the performance of the large producers is better in view of the others, in spite of the fact that these farms need larger investments and attention. The intermediate stratum is the most representative, however, such producers do not reach results in the same proportion of their investment. The small producers are the least privileged and prepared, bearing the burden of this reality. It is concluded that the volume of milk produced is the major factor that guides the performance of the producers, generating distinct results because of the productive stage of each of the strata.