The objective of this research was to calculate the technical efficiency and its determinants in seasonal milk production of dual-purpose cattle system farms of El Salvador (DPCS). Seasons were classified as rainy ...The objective of this research was to calculate the technical efficiency and its determinants in seasonal milk production of dual-purpose cattle system farms of El Salvador (DPCS). Seasons were classified as rainy (May-October) and dry (November-April). The stochastic production frontier model through the Cobb-Douglas specification was used to provide the technical efficiency score and its determinants for the production data of the 2009 rainy season and the 2010 dry season of the DPCS farms from South East El Salvador. The results showed that the mean technical efficiency was 14% higher for the dry season than for the rainy season. Moreover, more farms obtained higher efficiency scores in the dry season. In the rainy season, milk production was attributed to labor and farmland, whereas in the dry season, it was attributed to the decrease of herd size. Therefore, we suggest adopting strategies such as increased cow productivity and improved feed quality to increase the overall technical efficiency of DPCS farms.展开更多
文摘The objective of this research was to calculate the technical efficiency and its determinants in seasonal milk production of dual-purpose cattle system farms of El Salvador (DPCS). Seasons were classified as rainy (May-October) and dry (November-April). The stochastic production frontier model through the Cobb-Douglas specification was used to provide the technical efficiency score and its determinants for the production data of the 2009 rainy season and the 2010 dry season of the DPCS farms from South East El Salvador. The results showed that the mean technical efficiency was 14% higher for the dry season than for the rainy season. Moreover, more farms obtained higher efficiency scores in the dry season. In the rainy season, milk production was attributed to labor and farmland, whereas in the dry season, it was attributed to the decrease of herd size. Therefore, we suggest adopting strategies such as increased cow productivity and improved feed quality to increase the overall technical efficiency of DPCS farms.