Traps and Opportunities of Czech Small-Scale Beef Cattle Farming

Igor Krejčí, Pavel Moulis, Jana Pitrová, Ivana Tichá, Ladislav Pilař and Jan Rydval
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Igor Krejčí: Department of Systems Engineering, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
Pavel Moulis: Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
Jana Pitrová: Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
Ivana Tichá: Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
Ladislav Pilař: Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
Jan Rydval: Department of Systems Engineering, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21 Prague, Czech Republic

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 15, 1-26

Abstract: Small farmers represent a majority of the European Union (EU) farming sector and are considered the cornerstone of both the current and future sustainable EU agriculture. The dynamic complexity of livestock systems hinders the understanding of its behaviour, as well as recognizing the causes of problems and sources of resistance to applied policies and strategies. Livestock system behaviour needs to be understood in order to find leverage points and identify efficient solutions. The presented study depicts issues of small-scale beef cattle farmers in the market environment from a systemic perspective. The common complexity of managing a company increases with biological processes characterized by very long time periods, especially in the case of beef cattle farming. The scenarios analysed by the computer simulation model presented in the study evaluate the benefits of basic diversification into meat processing and a farm-to-table approach. The direct contact of the farmer with the final consumers represents increased demand and requirements on farmers’ entrepreneurship; nevertheless, such a strategy is a significant growth driver that allows faster maximisation of the farm’s output, accelerates the return of the investments, strengthens the market position of the farmer, and increases the farm’s sustainability.

Keywords: beef; computer simulation; direct supply to final consumers; farm management; sustainable growth strategies; system dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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