Technical efficiency in beef cattle farming in Uruguay: Insights from census data

Livestock farming is the agricultural activity with the greatest individual land-use, but it faces competition from other sectors for land, and is criticized for its environmental footprint. In this global context, Uruguay emerges as an important case study, boasting a long tradition and significanc...

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Detaylı Bibliyografya
Yazar: Aguirre, Emilio (author)
Diğer Yazarlar: García Suárez, Federico (author), Sicilia, Gabriela (author)
Materyal Türü: article
Dil:İngilizce
Baskı/Yayın Bilgisi: 2024
Konular:
Online Erişim:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12008/43635
Etiketler: Etiketle
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Özet:Livestock farming is the agricultural activity with the greatest individual land-use, but it faces competition from other sectors for land, and is criticized for its environmental footprint. In this global context, Uruguay emerges as an important case study, boasting a long tradition and significance in the beef export sector. Enhancing livestock productivity is im-perative to mitigate environmental impacts, and bolster farm competitiveness and food production. This study delves into the technical efficiency of cattle ranches focused on cow-calf production in Uruguay during the 2011 agricultural year, with nationwide and mandatory data coverage. Using data from the 2011 General Agriculture Census we esti-mate a translog stochastic production frontier model encompassing key inputs (livestock units, grazing area, and la-bor), along with control variables such as soil suitability and infrastructure improvements. Our findings underscore the potential to augment Uruguay's beef production by an average of 26.4%, harnessing existing resources and technolo-gy while improving ranch management. Moreover, variables like the extent of reliance on livestock farming as the pri-mary source of income of the ranch, the use of outsourced services, foreign cattle ownership ratios, and agronomic and veterinary consultation exert noteworthy significant impacts on TE.