Effect of scale production on economic results of type B milk production in São Paulo state

This study evaluated the zootechnic and productive indexes, the production costs and the profit of four type B milk production systems in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, that use intensive pasture grazing as the forage source for the cattle during the summer. The four selected systems were: EMBRAPA/CPPSE system and two private production systems of São Carlos region, and one system located in São João da Boa Vista city. The criterion for the private systems selection was to have similar technology and productive profiles as the EMBRAPA system. The collection data included zootechnical index and available recourses for every system. Once the zootechnical index was obtained, the herd was stabilized to allow descriptive analyses of studied characteristics in the systems. The obtained results allowed to conclude that high productivity does not mean greater profit and that the production scale influenced the total cost per litre of milk and, therefore, the profit of the systems.

analyses; comparisons among systems; technique and economic efficiencies; zootechnic; productive and economic indexes; production systems