Abstract

Grazing dairy systems in La Pampa are going through a difficult situation due to low profitability and the competitive and sustitutive relationship between agriculture and livestock production over use of the land. Agriculture (primarily soy and maize) is listed at international prices, but dairy production competes in the inner Argentinian market. In this complex situation it is necessary to understand the efficiency and viability of these systems in the province of La Pampa (Argentina). Random stratified sampling was carried out per department with proportional allotment and 47 producers were interviewed, representing 27 % of the producers in the Pampa basin. Milk production (MP, L year-1) was modelled with regards to the size of the herd in number of milking cows (MC) and concentrate intake (CONI, kg MC-1 d-1). Through parametric techniques, an average technical efficiency of 35 % was estimated and three levels of efficiency were established through the interval (x-1/2S, x+1/2S). Later, through single-factor variance techniques of fixed effects the variables that explain differences based on the level of efficiency were determined: size, productivity, percentage of permanent grasslands, use of supplements, labor productivity and degree of diversification of farms. The viability study revealed that 59.6 % of farms are not economically viable. The main factors to increase viability are: improving feeding guidelines and use of concentrate; optimization of input allotment and size of farms.