Efeito da idade de aquisição de fêmeas de reposição na rentabilidade da atividade leiteira

Abstract

The effect of age at acquisition of replacement females on the profitability of a milk production system was evaluated by simulation analysis using F1 Holstein x Gyr cows, from May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012. The cows were kept on pasture during the rainy season (summer) and in feedlots during the dry season using fresh sugar cane enriched with urea and ammonium sulfate. The zootechnical reference was the herd of the Felixlândia Experimental Farm (FEFX) of the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (EPAMIG), municipality of Felixlândia, Minas Gerais. For analysis of profitability, the inventory as well as costs, revenues and other data were registered using the Custo Bovino Leite 1.0 software. This software includes methods for total production cost (classical), which comprises fixed, variable and operational costs. The acquisition of the replacement female at 10 or 30 months of age is profitable for the milk production system analyzed. As a market alternative, the acquisition of the replacement female at 10 months of age was the worst option due to the high cost of acquisition and the need to acquire a larger number of females because of the high mortality rate.