It was studied the profitability of the milk production in 17 properties in the region of Lavras (MG), and the components that had the greatest influence on the final costs of the business were identified. The data were monthly collected from January 2004 to December 2005. The gross margin, net margin, and the result (profit or loss) were taken into consideration as indicators of economic efficiency. The component items of the effective operational cost that had the greatest influence upon the costs of dairy business were, in decreasing order, feeding (55.9%), labor (19.1%), different expenses (11.3%), energy (7.1%), health (4.9%), milking (0.74%), taxes (0.74%), and artificial insemination (0,23%). The net margin and the positive result show the farmers have conditions to produce in middle and long terms, with consequent capitalization. Although, the results of the study can not be extrapolated, since they do not represent a random sampling.
dairy cattle; production cost; breakeven point; profitability analysis
