Abstract
This study was conducted to determine sheep farmers' selection of marketing channels in livestock sales and the factors affecting their choices. The research data were generated from the survey data of 53 enterprises selected via simple random sampling method in Samsun province in 2019. In this research, descriptive statistics were used to determine some characteristics of the sheep farmers, and the chi-square test was employed to compare the farmers' characteristics according to the selection of the marketing channels. According to the results of the study, four marketing channels were identified to be efficient in livestock marketing. These were final consumers, brokers, retailers, and mixed channels. Besides, it was determined that the variables of selling additional products (milk, cheese, fleece) in the enterprise other than livestock, being a member of the Sheep and Goat Breeders Association, and the reason of choosing marketing channels had an impact (P<0.05) on the selection of marketing channels.
Highlights
Sheep breeding has an important place among animal production activities
When the findings regarding the incomes of the breeders were examined, it was determined that 39.6% of them earned income only from sheep breeding, and, in this income, the rate of those selling only live animals (71.7%) was considerably high
In a study conducted in the province of Niğde (Seçer and Boğa, 2016), it was stated that 89.7% of the breeders sold their livestock to retail butchers and 10.3% to merchants, sales were generally made in the farmyard, and the product prices were received in cash
Summary
Sheep breeding has an important place among animal production activities. This is because grasslands and pastures that are not used for other purposes can be utilized through sheep breeding, and main products are obtained, such as meat, milk, fleece, leather, and fertilizer. The amount of meat obtained from sheep is 100.83 tons, and this amount constitutes 9% of the total meat production. Rural animal breeders are generally smallscale enterprises with poor bargaining power. Animal products’ price in rural areas forms in oligopsony market conditions (Cevger et al, 2011). In Turkey, the existing animal and animal products marketing system has a structure where levels other than breeders
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