Characteristics of the milk production system at the Imperatriz micro-region, State of Maranhao, Brazil
Abstract
The geographic micro-region of Imperatriz produces half the milk in the State of Maranhao. In order to know its production system, a survey based on 249 properties which produce milk for commercial purposes was carried out. To this end, questionnaires on the milk production and marketing conditions, cattle handling and infrastructure of the properties were conducted. The properties were categorized into five strata according to the total number of cows in the herd: up to 10, 11-20, 21-50, 51-100 and over 100. It was possible to observe that half of the milk produced in the micro-region originated from herds with more than one hundred cows, although these represent only 22% of the strata. The average size of properties was 201 ha, with 102 ha used as pasture, mostly with Brachiaria grass. The average milk production was 130 L d-1 , varying from the rainy to the dry seasons. Only half of the producers sell the milk to dairy plants. Dairy farming in the micro-region of Imperatriz presents low technological level and low land, livestock and pasture productivity.Downloads
Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal the right to the first publication. Authors are encouraged to and may self-archive a created version of their article in their institutional repository, or as a book chapter, as long as acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication. As the Journal provides open access to its publications, articles may not be used for commercial purposes. The contents published are the sole and exclusive responsibility of their authors; however, the publishers can make textual adjustments, adaptation to publishing standards and adjustments of spelling and grammar, to maintain the standard patterns of the language and the journal. Failure to comply with this commitment will submit the offenders to sanctions and penalties under the Brazilian legislation (Law of Copyright Protection; nº 9,610; 19 February 1998).