The sheep farming systems in Extremadura are usually

NOTA BREVE
STOCKING RATE AND CAPITAL INDICATORS IN EXTENSIVE SHEEP FARMS
(SW SPAIN)
INDICADORES DE CARGAS GANADERAS Y CAPITAL EN
SISTEMAS OVINOS EXTENSIVOS
Escribano, M., A. Rodríguez de Ledesma, F.J. Mesías and F. Pulido
Escuela de Ingenierías Agrarias. Universidad de Extremadura. Ctra. de Cáceres, s/n. 06071 Badajoz.
España.
E-mail: mescriba@unex.es
ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS
PALABRAS CLAVE
Extensive system. Stocking rates. Sheep.
Economic analysis.
Sistemas extensivos. Cargas ganaderas. Ovino.
Análisis económico.
ADICIONALES
SUMMARY
The animal production systems in the SW of
the Iberian Peninsula are characterized by
extensive livestock farming. The data for the
present study were collected by survey in the
year 2000 from 96 dehesa sheep farms in
Extremadura. We studied the stocking rate effects
on a number of capital indicators for each farm.
The data were analysed for three stocking rate
levels: low (<0.25 UGM/ha), medium (0.25-0.5
UGM/ha), and high (0.5 UGM/ha). The differences
were compared by analysis of variance, following
the GLM procedure.
RESUMEN
Los sistemas de producción animal en el SO
de la península Ibérica, están caracterizados por
la ganadería extensiva. Los datos para este
estudio proceden de encuestas realizadas en el
año 2000 a 96 dehesas de ovino en Extremadura.
Se estudió el efecto de las cargas ganaderas en
una serie de indicadores de capital para cada
explotación. Los datos se analizaron con tres
niveles de cargas ganaderas: bajo, medio y alto.
Las diferencias se compararon por medio del
análisis de la varianza (procedimiento GLM).
INTRODUCTION
The sheep farming systems in
Extremadura are usually linked to the
exploitation of dehesa pastures,
whether woodland or treeless land.
The Merino is the most commond sheep
breed, which together with other
autochthonous livestock species is able
to utilise pastures in semi-arid zones.
The traditional system presents
distinctive characteristics with respect
to other systems, mainly in the
capability of high quality livestock
products. Dehesa systems should
mainly be oriented towards high quality
products, as this is becoming an
important consumer demand. These
Arch. Zootec. 51: 457-460. 2002.
ESCRIBANO, RODRÍGUEZ DE LEDESMA, MESÍAS AND PULIDO
systems must also provide a balance
between the animals and the grazing
resources.
We here study the economic
structure of dehesa systems by
analysing a number of indicators of
capital, production, and income for
sheep-farms in Extremadura. This
paper is part of the Research Project
Study of the CAP Reform Impact on
Extensive Livestock Farming in
Extremadura, financed by the Ist Regional R&D Program, and it is a
continuation of the authors' work of
case analysis in the EU Project
CAMAR CT90-0028.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The method we used consisted of a
survey following a random samplig
design for a confidence level of 95
percent and an error under 5 percent.
The survey was carried out in the first
semester of the year 2000, with the last
data corresponding to the year 1999.
The effects of stocking rate levels on
monetary incomes are analysed. We
used three stocking rate levels as a
classification variable: low (<0.25
UGM/ha UFS 1), medium (0.25-0.5
UGM/ha UFS) and high (0.5 UGM/ha
UFS). The differences between
stocking rate levels for each economic
indicator was determined by means of
an analysis of variance.
CAPITAL INDICATORS
In this sense, for the development
of the present work, we consider fixed
capital (KFt) to be the monetary value
1
Useful Farming Surface.
of the long-term goods of the system.
They were determined by inventories
for each type of capital in the analysed
farms. The fixed capital of an agrarian
system can be classified into four types:
land (KFti), infrastructure (KFib),
machinery (KFmm), and livestock
(KFg), in accordance with the following
formula2:
KFt = KFti + KFib + KFmm + KF g = KFte + Kex
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table I gives details of the fixed
capital of the analysed farms. The
mean value is 4250 euro/ha. It can be
observed that 91.9 percent is territorial
capital, with the mean land value being
71.4 percent of the total. Livestock
represents only 5 percent, and the farm
capital 8.1 percent. These data on the
fixed capital structure of Extremaduran
sheep farms are in consonance with
those found in other dehesa studies in
the 1980's and 1990's (Campos y
2
The fixed land capital consists of the value of
the fertile soil, together with the value of the
improvements that have been made into it. The
infrastructure capital consists of the goods and
investments which, being subject to the farm's
extension, do not constitute an increase in the
production of vegetation. The infrastructure
includes the installations, fencing, buildings,
watering points, and tracks and roadways. These
two types of capital are subject to the physical
area of the farm and constitute the territorial
capital (KFte).
The machinery fixed capital consists of the
vehicles, motors, sheepfolds, implements and
tools which in the period (t) are considered as
presenting a monetary value. The livestock fixed
capital consists of the breeding stock. These two
types of capital are readily modulated by
management decisions, and constitute the
exploitation capital (KFex).
Archivos de zootecnia vol. 51, núm. 196, p. 458.
STOCKING RATE AND CAPITAL INDICATORS IN EXTENSIVE SHEEP FARMS
Table I. Fixed capital as a function of stocking rate levels. (Capital fijo en función de los niveles
de carga ganadera).
Stocking rate levels (Euro/ha total surface area)
Indicators High
Medium
Low
Total
Sig
(n=26)
(n=43)
(n=27)
(n=96)
High
KFti
KFib
KFte
KFg
KFmm
KFex
KFt
63.8
24.5
88.3
7.4
4.3
11.7
100.0
3013.5
1155.7a
4169.8
348.6a
204.3a
5529.3
4722.8
3062.2
866.1ab
3928.2
191.7b
111.2b
302.9
4231.1
3011.1
610.0b
3620.5
117.2c
87.7b
204.3
3825.4
3034.5
872.7
3907.2
213.4
129.8
343.2
4250.4
NS
*
***
**
-
percent of KFt
Medium
Low
72.4
20.5
92.8
4.5
2.6
7.2
100.0
78.7
15.9
94.7
3.1
2.3
5.3
100.0
Total
71.4
20.5
91.9
5.0
3.1
8.1
100.0
KFti= land fixed capital; KFib= infrastructure fixed capital; KFte= territorial fixed capital; KFg= livestock
fixed capital; KFmm= machinery fixed capital; KFex= farm fixed capital; KFt= total fixed capital.
NS= differences not significant; *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001. Different letters in the superscripts of
a given row indicate significant differences between groups.
Naredo, 1989; Coelho, 1994; Pulido et
al., 1998; Prieto, 1994).
The farm capital is seen to be very
low with respect to the territorial capital, so that the effects of management
have little influence on the overall capital structure or on the income indices
that are generated. This structure is,
however, greatly affected by variations
in land prices.
Comparing the different stocking
rate levels, it can be concluded that
those farms with higher levels of
stocking rate present greater overall
values of fixed capital due to the
infrastructure, the machinery, and the
breeding stock.
As the levels of stocking rate
decrease, there is an increase in the
percentage of the total capital corresponding to land capital. Thus farms with
high levels of stocking rate, which a
priori would correspond to those with a
smaller territorial basis, modulate their
fixed capital structure by management
decisions aimed at achieving competitive
levels of income, in an attempt to palliate
or minimize the weight of the land value.
It may be assumed that the great
weight of the land capital item in the
total fixed capital structure in these
dehesa sheep farming systems has led,
since the 1980's, to major capital gains
deriving from the increase in land prices
and, consequently, to very high rates of
current profitability (Pulido y Escribano, 1994).
CONCLUSION
In the sheep farms analysed, it was
found that 91.9 percent of the fixed
capital is territorial capital, with the
mean value of the land fixed capital
being 71.4 percent of the total. Farms
Archivos de zootecnia vol. 51, núm. 196, p. 459.
ESCRIBANO, RODRÍGUEZ DE LEDESMA, MESÍAS AND PULIDO
with high levels of stocking rate have
lower surface and high overall values
of fixed capital due to infrastructure,
machinery, and breeding stock. Farm
capital is very low with respect to
territorial capital. Business management practices hence have a low impact
on the overall capital structure, which
is highly conditioned by price variations
of the land.
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Recibido: 10-1-02. Aceptado: 14-2-02.
Archivos de zootecnia vol. 51, núm. 196, p. 460.