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
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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 />
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