The objectives of this study were to analyze the economic viability of meat lamb production systems and identify the components with greatest influence on production cost. The study was carried out in two stages. Stage 1: comparison of finishing lamb production systems: (1) lambs weaned at 60 days and finished on pasture; (2) lambs with mother on pasture; (3) lambs with mother on pasture plus concentrate (1% BW/day) in creep feeding; and (4) lambs weaned at 60 days and feedlot. Stage 2: a module of 150 ewes on 9 ha of pasture cropped in the pasture systems and 7 ha in feedlot was proposed after the economic assessment experiment, considering the sale of finished lamb or slaughter and sale of meat, and the sale of animals for reproduction. The fixed cost (depreciation), variable cost (materials, labour, transport, slaughter, interest, conservation, general expenses), total cost (fixed+variable), profitability, economic return, present net worth, intern return rate and benefit:cost ratio were calculated. The highest total cost was observed on feedlot and the lowest in lamb finished with dams on pasture. The net margin of lamb sale was negative in all systems. Meat sale showed negative net margin only for lambs on feedlot. Internal rate of return for meat sale was: 1.4% for lambs with mother on pasture; 4.3% for no weaning on pasture; 2.1% for lambs in creep feeding; and -2.3% for lambs in feedlot. Items of total operational cost with the greatest influence on systems in pasture, in decreasing order, were labour and feeding. Sale of meat was more profitable than sale of live lambs with greatest value in the system where lambs had been kept with mother on pasture.
economic result of sheep production; lamb sale income; sheep production cost; sheep production profitability; sheep meat sale
