Besides land, agriculture machinery represents the biggest investment for the farmer and its adjustment to the property size is a basic factor related to cost reduction. However, there is a lack of information that does not make possible the analysis and the comparison about the efficiency of these equipments. Therefore, the objective of this work is to evaluate how it is and perform a diagnosis concerning the ownership and use of mechanized systems in agricultural farms. A questionnaire was developed and applied to 139 properties of different sizes in the region of Campos Gerais, Parana State and in the south region of São Paulo State, Brazil. These properties were divided in areas of 100-300 ha, 300-600 ha, 600-900 ha and over 900 ha. The results show that the operators do not have enough training and the smaller farms have twice of tractor power per area than the bigger farms which use the machinery more efficiently. There are equipments producers that control the sales market in the region.
agricultural mechanization; tractors; indexes
