Dairy producers in small farms and different types (modern conventional, transitional and traditional) develop other activities besides milk, what can lead them to stay in the farm, due to the low income from milk. The use of the types of production allowed the analysis and evaluation of the farms involved in this study, with the aim of identifying differences in the technological patterns, market insertion, systemic organization and identification with the rationality of production among the different types, inside the same level of producers. The methodology was based on bibliography, the application of a semi-structured questionaire and the analysis of the variables that match the problematic proposed. The producers that are going from the traditional to the modern conventional type ( transitional ones, 55% of the interviewed farmers) are around 35 years old, invest in machinery and equipment as a group, did investments in substructure in the last decade, as opposed to the modern ones, that invested in the dairy activities in the 80’s and traditional farmers, who did not invested so far. The main conclusion from this study shows that the diversion of activities - as presented by all types - allows the RS dairy producers to stay in the activity and that the technological and market advances were a challenge to investiments in the last decade with the aim of increasing production and quality of milk; this trend is shown by the number of interviewed farmers in the traditional stage.
small farms; family dairy production; animal health; family unit production
