PR - Labour Productivity – Effects Of Scale, Capital Investment And Adoption Of Novel Technology

Bernadette O'Brien, Laurence Shalloo, Shane O'Donnell, Anne Marie Butler, David Gleeson and Kevin O'Donovan

No 345404, 16th Congress, Cork, Ireland, July 15-20, 2007 from International Farm Management Association

Abstract: This study investigated interrelationships among labour-use, scale of dairy enterprise, replacement of labour with capital investment, introduction of alternative management technologies and net farm profitability on a sample of Irish dairy farms. Farm labour input data were collected from 171 full-time dairy farmers, over a 2-year period. The farms were grouped into three categories; < 50 cows (small), 50-80 cows (medium) and > 80 cows (large). Financial analysis of the farms was carried out using the Moorepark Dairy Systems Model. Milking labour input data was recorded for both conventional and rotary parlours and a cost benefit analysis was conducted. The effect of altering milking frequency from twice a day (TAD) to once a day (OAD) over a full lactation was also examined from both productive and economic viewpoints. Small, medium and large farms had an average dairy labour input of 49.7, 42.2 and 29.3 h/cow/yr. Benefits of larger scale were reflected in terms of a reduced portion of total costs represented by labour (31%, 29% and 24%). Partial replacement of milking labour with a rotary milking parlour was economically viable for a herd size of 350 cows and OAD milking which reduced labour considerably reduced income by just €4,500. Thus, there is a critical need to accelerate a scale increase in dairy operations from the current average of 51 cows and to introduce investments and technology that would improve labour efficiency.

Keywords: Labor; and; Human; Capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 11
Date: 2007
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:ifma07:345404

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.345404

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