The aim of the research was to study the profitability of dairy business of milk production systems in Lavras region (MG), by surveying the influence of the type of breeding system upon the production cost of milk. In addition, the identification of the components that most influenced the final costs of the business and of the breakeven point were intended. The data utilized came from 16 production systems allocated in one of three types of breeding systems (grazing regimen, semi-feedlot and feedlot) situated in Lavras region, being monthly collected from January 2002 to June 2003. The electronic data processing as well as the profitability analysis were accomplished by the "Custo Bovino Leite" software. The analyses of costs and profitability were performed by taking into consideration gross margin, net margin and the result (profit or loss) as indicators of economical efficiency. The type of breeding system influenced the "weights'' of the component items of the effective operational cost of dairy business, these being different in each of the three levels studied. Managerial and technological efforts should be made in order to increase the daily average yield, which is very far from the breakeven point. In the economical analysis, for presenting positive net margin and negative result, in the three types of breeding systems, the conclusion is that milk farmers have conditions to produce in the middle-term. In the long-term, however, milk farmers have been losing money.
Profitability analysis; dairy cattle; production cost; breeding system; breakeven point
