Milk quality and financial management at different scales of production on dairy farms located in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil

The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between aspects related to financial management and scale of production with quality traits (total bacteria count - TBC; somatic cell count - SCC) and composition (protein, fat, lactose, total solids, and non-fat solids) of refrigerated bulk tank milk from 100 dairy farmers located in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, by application of a semi-structured questionnaire. Dairy farmers were categorized according to the daily milk production: small (lower than 150 L); medium (151 to 500 L); and large (higher than 501 L). Chi-square tests and identification of possible relative risks between financial aspects and current regulation standards (Normative Instruction No. 62 of December 29, 2011, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) associated to TBC (higher 300,000 CFU/mL) and SCC (higher than 500,000 cells/mL) means from bulk tank milk among different milk scales productions were performed. Bulk tanks milk composition met the legislation standards and had not differ between scales of production; however, SCC means within all scales, and TBC of small farmers had not attended the legislation standards and differences were identified (P < 0.05). Regarding the financial management aspects, most farmers had no control over incomes, costs, nor calculated milk production cost, with decreased incidences as scale of production increased. Chi-square tests identified that producers that had no concern about milk quality payment bonuses had TBC means 2.95 times more likely (P < 0.05) to be above the current regulations. Small dairy farmers had a greater negligence of the costs management and hygienic milk production as compared to medium and large farmers.

[1]  R. Reis,et al.  Custos e shut-down point da atividade leiteira em Minas Gerais , 2005 .

[2]  Francisval de Melo Carvalho,et al.  Efeito da escala de produção nos resultados econômicos de sistemas de produção de leite na região de Lavras (MG, Brasil), em 2004 e 2005 , 2008 .

[3]  Ricardo Pereira Reis,et al.  Desempenho técnico e econômico da atividade leiteira em Minas Gerais , 2006 .

[4]  Â. Lana,et al.  Evolução anual da qualidade do leite cru refrigerado processado em uma indústria de Minas Gerais , 2012 .

[5]  N. P. Ribas,et al.  Sólidos totais do leite em amostras de tanque nos estados do Paraná, Santa Catarina e São Paulo , 2004 .

[6]  Francisval de Melo Carvalho,et al.  EFEITO DO TIPO DE MÃO-DE-OBRA NOS RESULTADOS ECONÔMICOS DE SISTEMAS DE PRODUÇÃO DE LEITE NA REGIÃO DE LAVRAS (MG) NOS ANOS 2004 E 2005 , 2010 .

[7]  Marcos Aurélio Lopes,et al.  Impacto econômico da implantação das boas práticas agropecuárias relacionadas com a qualidade do leite , 2014 .

[8]  D. Bauman,et al.  MAMMARY GLAND, MILK BIOSYNTHESIS AND SECRETION | Milk Fat , 2011 .

[9]  Silvio Pinto Ferreira Junior,et al.  Eficiência técnica na atividade leiteira de Minas Gerais: um estudo a partir de três sistemas de produção , 2004 .

[10]  R. Harmon,et al.  Suppression of milk production during endotoxin-induced mastitis. , 1991, Journal of dairy science.

[11]  Eliseu Alves.  RETORNOS À ESCALA E MERCADO COMPETITIVO: TEORIA E EVIDÊNCIAS EMPÍRICAS. , 2015 .

[12]  G. T. D. Santos,et al.  Tipologia de sistemas de produção baseada nas características do leite , 2010 .

[13]  Analysis of technical efficiency of milk-producing farms in Minas Gerais , 2008 .

[14]  L. Borges,et al.  Milk quality according to the daily range in farm production in the Mesoregion Central Mineira and Oeste of Minas Gerais regions, Brazil , 2013 .