The Effect of Dairy Farm Size on the Economic Structure and Feed Consumption: A Case Study of the Aegean Region

Abstract

Dairy farming has an important place in the agricultural activities in Türkiye. Cow's milk production constitutes 92.11% of the total milk production in Türkiye. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effect of scale size on the economic structure and feed consumption in dairy farms. The research data were obtained from face-to-face surveys conducted with 143 farmers in the Aegean Region. In the study, the farms were divided into four groups based on the number of cows: 5-15 cows, 16-25 cows, 26-40 cows, and 41 cows and above. The total variable cost per livestock unit in the 4th group farms was 26.07% less than the farms in the 1st group. The total production cost per livestock unit in the largest farm group is 25.81% less than that of the smallest farm group. The research findings indicate that large-scale farms take advantage of economies of scale, resulting in lower cost per livestock unit. Additionally, it was observed that as farm size increases, the feed conversion ratio also increases. As farms grow larger, they often have access to economies of scale, better management practices, and improved infrastructure.