The objective of this study was to identify and quantify benchmarks of milk production systems in the region of Extremo Sul da Bahia. Technological profile and indicators of size, livestock productivity and economy of nine farms were analyzed. It were also determined the correlation coefficients between these indicators and the rate of retun. Indicators with significant correlation were regressed on rate of return in order to quantify the benchmarks with the following rates of return: 4, 6, 8 and 10% per year. Data for the four rates of return were, respectively: daily milk yield (456, 538, 621 and 703 L/day); land productivity (733, 1.008, 1284 and 1559 L/ha/year); stocking rate (0.37, 0.45, 0.54 and 0.62 cows/ha); productivity per total of cows (3.01, 3.52, 4.03 and 4.54 L/cow/day); labor productivity (111, 124, 137 and 150 L/man/day); proportion of the total effective operational cost in the gross revenue (60, 57, 54 and 51%); proportion of the total operational cost in the gross revenue (72, 66, 60 and 54%); labor cost to milk gross revenue ratio (31, 27, 22 and 18%); and capital invested to daily milk production ratio (2093, 1508, 924 and 339 R$/L-day). Identification of benchmarks, mainly those highly correlated with economic efficiency is an important tool for applying on farm management because help producers to better understand the economic viability of their dairy production systems.
benchmark; production cost; administration; profitability
