How can dairies maximize their profits and properly remunerate their dairy farmers?

Scientia Agricola

Rafael Cedric Möller Meneghini¹  Laerte Dagher Cassoli¹  João Gomes Martines Filho¹  Carlos Eduardo Osório Xavier¹  Marcos Veiga Dos Santos¹  José Vicente Caixeta Filho¹  Andressa Santanna Natel¹  Paulo Fernando Machado¹ 

关键词: contribution margin;    dairy products;    linear programming;    milk components;    milk pricing;   

DOI  :  10.1590/0103-9016-2014-0261

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT The current pricing process of raw milk in Brazil discourages producers from improving milk composition, which affects both yield and quality of dairy products. Furthermore, small and medium-sized dairies face great difficulties when it comes to planning production. Thus, a linear programming model was developed to price the raw milk and determine the optimal mix (combination of quantities) of dairy products that maximizes total contribution margin (TCM) under daily scenarios of high (January) and low (July) raw milk supplies (summer and winter, respectively) by comparing optimal solutions with actual results. The TCM of optimal and actual mixes were higher in January due to the greater availability of raw material. Packaging was a limiting factor in the production of cheese in optimal mixes. The relationship between unit contribution margin (UCM) and the required amount of raw materials per product unit and resource availability is crucial to defining the mix of dairy products and TCM of the dairy. Casein and raw milk volume showed shadow prices. Under both scenarios, the calculated prices of raw milk were higher than the prices charged by the dairy and were higher in January. The proposed model remunerates the producers based on the quantity and quality of raw milk. The dairy can maximize its TCM by better planning its mix of products with the use of linear programming.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
 All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License