An Economic Model to Evaluate the Contribution of Genetics to Milk Production

Antonio Alvarez and David Roibás ()

No 2006/02, Efficiency Series Papers from University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG)

Abstract: In this paper we focus on the role that genetic progress may play in improving milk quality. Despite important genetic advances in dairy, the absence of genetic records in farm management data bases has precluded empirical production models from explicitly accounting for differences in genetics across herds. Our objective is to analyze the contribution of genetics to milk production. Genetics are expected to affect the quantity of milk produced and to influence milk quality by affecting fat and protein content. We first estimate a dairy production function which includes a genetic index of milk quantity as one of the inputs. Next, we analyze the influence of genetics on milk composition, by splitting milk production into protein, fat and other components. The paper explores some modeling issues associated with the specification of the effect of genetics in this multi-output technology framework. In particular, we consider genetic indexes as allocable inputs and the remaining inputs as non-allocable.

Keywords: dairy farms; genetic; milk quality; multi-output technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33
Date: 2006
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