An assessment of dairy farm structure and characteristics of dairy production systems in Serbia

Abstract

In order to have a more precise description of dairy farm structure and characteristics of dairy production systems, as well as to assess possibilities for improving production and farming conditions in which milk production is organized, a survey based research was directed at a select group of farms across the Serbia. 1180 questionnaires have been mailed to farmers whose farms are registered for either cattle or mixed production. Questionnaire was divided into 6 sections: general information of the farm, agricultural and structural information, zootechnical information, sanitary and veterinarian information, information about education and extension, and information on the perspectives of future farming. About 59% of analyzed farms have size up to 20 ha, with average size of about 10 ha. On the other hand, about 55% farms raises up to 15 cows and heifers with average of 6 heads per farm, while 3% of farms have more than 200 cows and heifers. Over 86% of surveyed farmers intend to expand existing farm production, mainly by increasing the number of animals, stricter selection and improvement of the conditions for feeding, housing, care and milking. About 75% of farmers have expressed a positive expectation from future membership of Serbia in EU, although these expectations are not clearly defined.

U cilju preciznijeg opisa strukture mlečnih farmi i karakteristika sistema za proizvodnju mleka, kao i procene mogućnosti za unapređenje proizvodnje i farmskih uslova u kojima se proizvodnja mleka organizuje, sprovedena je anketa među poljoprivrednim proizvođačima (farmerima) širom Srbije. Ukupno je poslato 1180 anketa farmerima čije su farme registrovane za govedarsku ili mešovitu proizvodnju. Upitnik koji je poslat farmerima sastojao se iz 6 delova i obuhvatao je opšte informacije o farmi, poljoprivredne i strukturne informacije, zootehničke informacije, sanitarne i veterinarske aspekte proizvodnje, edukaciju i savetodavstvo, kao i perspektive budućeg poslovanja. Oko 59% analiziranih farmi ima veličinu do 20ha, sa prosekom od oko 10ha. Sa druge strane, na oko 55% farmi odgaja se do 15 krava i junica, sa prosekom od 6 grla po farmi. Preko 86% anketiranih farmera namerava da proširi postojeću proizvodnju i to uglavnom povećanjem broja životinja, strožijom selekcijom roditeljskih parova, kao i unapređenjem uslova ishrane, smeštaja i nege. Oko 75% anketiranih farmera izrazilo je pozitivna očekivanja od budućeg članstva Srbije u EU, iako ta očekivanja nisu uvek jasna ili precizno definisana.