Economic and environmental indicators of Mertolenga beef cattle and Serpentina goat farms in Montado areas

Abstract

Economic and environmental indicators of Mertolenga beef cattle and Serpentina goat farms in Montado areas L Fernandes, M Rosado, F Marques, A Cachatra, J Pais, N Henriques, P Gomes, F Agostinho and P Horta The present study is based upon technical and economic data collected, in the years 2010-2011, in several farms joining the ACBM (Mertolengos Cattle Breeders) and APCRS (Serpentina Goats Breeders) associations. It considers data sets collected at four farms of each of the above mentioned species, all farms sharing 'Montado' as a food resource. The identification, technical characterization and economic evaluation of the resources used in the Mertolenga and Serpentina production farms, as well as their income (livestock sales, subsidies and other supports, etc,) allowed for assessing the economic and environmental farm indicators. Several economic results are accounted namely gross value added, gross and net income, entrepreneurial income, profit and, additionally, land income, capital income and labor income. For environmental impacts it is accounted the energy intensity in animal husbandry namely on suckler cows farms and goats farms is essential to assess environmental impact of farms agricultural systems and to provide recommendations for sustainable agricultural practices. The determination of energy intensity for suckler cows farms and goats farms includes direct and indirect energy inputs by using a methodology integrating the whole farming process, considering all energetic aspects within animal husbandry and plant production. Direct energy is used in the form of fuel oil, e.g., diesel fuel and electricity. The indirect energy includes the energy input for resources, manufacturing machines and technical equipment (e.g., fertilizer, feed-mixer wagons) and animal housing and storage facilities.