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The objective was to investigate the existing relationships between production, sustainability and generational succession of dairy farms in Minas Gerais. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test nine hypotheses identified in the literature on the subject. Socially and economically sustainable properties can contribute to increasing family succession. In addition, properties that produce more milk may have greater possibilities of contributing to young people remaining in the dairy activity. The generational succession was directly influenced by economic and social sustainability and, indirectly, by the scale of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dairy farming is an important sector of national agriculture, being present in all regions of Brazil. In order to have high efficiency, it is essential that there is quality in its production process. The workforce is one of the main elements that can contribute for dairy properties to become more efficient. In fact, research that investigates which elements linked to workforce influence the efficiency of their use can contribute for producers to be able to improve the quality of work in the dairy industry. Therefore, the objective was to analyze which characteristics contribute to the efficiency of the workforce of dairy farms in Minas Gerais, as well as which factors help to distinguish these properties. For this purpose, factor analysis was used to identify the main factors responsible for influencing the quality of the workforce on dairy farms at different levels of efficiency (low, medium and high). The results indicated the existence of five factors: family work, hiring, legalization, incentive and motivation. Legalization and motivation have been shown to be important in dairy farms regardless of their efficiency regarding the use of this resource. The other factors, however, were decisive to differentiate properties that have low and high efficiency. It is concluded that dairy properties should be concerned, mainly, with issues such as contracting, scale of production and incentives for them to be able to have high efficiencies in the use of labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aimed to analyze the profitability of 20 demonstration units (DUs) participating in the Balde Lleno program (“Balde Cheio”), in Rio de Janeiro, between January and December 2011. It also sought to identify components with the greatest influence on total and effective operational costs, in addition to their impact on revenues. Data were analyzed with the PASW 18.0 software. The multiple linear regression model was used with the stepwise method to identify production cost components that had the greatest influence on the liquid margin, lucrativeness, and profitability. Regarding the indicators of gross and liquid margin, as well as the result of dairy activity, the economic analysis examined conditions to produce in the short and medium term, but not in the long run, due to a negative result, which would lead to the decapitalization of the producer. The component items of effective operational cost that had greater representativeness on the cost of dairy activity were, in decreasing order, food, labor, and various expenses; in terms of total cost, in decreasing order, the components were food, labor, and the remuneration of the capital invested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]