Evaluation of cattle husbandry effectiveness in farms maintaining the native breeds included into the programme of protection of genetic resources

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cattle husbandry in farms maintaining two native Polish breeds included into the programme of protection of genetic resources, i.e. Polish Red (15 farms) and Whiteback (20 farms). The control group consisted of 15 farms maintaining the Polish Holstein-Friesian cows, in the intensive technologies. The information was collected directly from the farms on the basis of farmer survey conducted in 2011 and from own observations. The structure of costs and incomes as well as revenue from cattle husbandry were calculated. The costs per unit and profitability were determined per one cow and 1 kg of milk. Unit costing was accomplished according to the methodology used in the FADN. It has been shown that the current level of refunds from agri-environmental programmes to the native breeds of cows (including significantly lower milk yield) is the crucial support which to a large extent is decisive for their maintenance by farmers. However, the refunds do not compensate for the loss of revenue, compared to the farms with intensive milk production.