23.07.2013 Views

Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

Feeding Systems with Legumes to Intensify Dairy Farms - cgiar

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Results and Discussion<br />

Collection of milk and prices paid. The average milk collected was<br />

about 6 times more in Honduras than in Nicaragua in both rainy (6,200<br />

kg/day vs. 1,100 kg/day) and dry season (3,600 kg/day vs. 520 kg/day)<br />

(Tables 1 and 2). Milk collected during the rainy season was 73% more than<br />

that collected during the dry season in Honduras and 111% more in<br />

Nicaragua. This fac<strong>to</strong>r disrupts any market and has significant impact on<br />

the price of milk that artisan cheese fac<strong>to</strong>ries are willing <strong>to</strong> pay. Therefore,<br />

the milk price during the rainy season compared <strong>with</strong> that paid during the<br />

dry season was 27% lower in Honduras and 38% lower in Nicaragua. In<br />

addition, the milk price paid by cheese fac<strong>to</strong>ries for raw material of a similar<br />

quality was 33% higher in Honduras than in Nicaragua during the rainy<br />

season (US$0.24/kg vs. US$0.18/kg) and 14% higher during the dry season<br />

(US$0.33/kg vs. US$0.29/kg).<br />

Types of cheeses and yields. Four types of cheese are produced in<br />

both countries by artisan fac<strong>to</strong>ries. They also sell cream as a by-product<br />

because most cheeses are made <strong>with</strong> skimmed milk. The sale of cream<br />

represents a net profit in both countries and each type of cheese has a<br />

different price. Therefore, the marketing strategy was similar, being<br />

segmented <strong>to</strong> four different types of cheese (tastes) associated <strong>with</strong> the<br />

purchasing power of consumers.<br />

Although all cheese types produced are fresh and have short shelf lifes,<br />

the difference between them is the amount of moisture they contain. To<br />

produce a cheese <strong>with</strong> low moisture content, a larger amount of fluid milk is<br />

required and, as a result, its price is higher (for example, dry cheese in<br />

Honduras and pure cheese in Nicaragua). This situation is demonstrated by<br />

the amount of fluid milk necessary <strong>to</strong> produce 1 kg of cheese, which, in<br />

turn, is directly related <strong>to</strong> sale price. The higher the moisture content of the<br />

cheese, the shorter its shelf life. Therefore, low-cost cheeses are also those<br />

<strong>with</strong> the shortest shelf life because they contain more whey.<br />

The amount of milk necessary <strong>to</strong> produce each type of cheese varies<br />

according <strong>to</strong> the season of the year. During the rainy season, milk<br />

production/cow is higher but its solid contents is lower and, as a result,<br />

more milk is required <strong>to</strong> produce the same amount of cheese. For example,<br />

in Honduras the artisan fac<strong>to</strong>ries required 7% more milk during the rainy<br />

season <strong>to</strong> produce 1 kg of “dry” cheese and up <strong>to</strong> 15% more milk <strong>to</strong> produce<br />

1 kg of string cheese or “quesillo”. In Nicaragua, artisan fac<strong>to</strong>ries required<br />

14% more milk during the rainy season <strong>to</strong> produce “pure” cheese and up <strong>to</strong><br />

19% more milk <strong>to</strong> produce 1 kg of cream cheese. This reduction in yield<br />

efficiency during the rainy season forces artisan fac<strong>to</strong>ries <strong>to</strong> pay a lower milk<br />

price <strong>to</strong> producers.<br />

137

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!