Comparison of Conventional and Modern Cattle Farms' Agricultural Structure and Mechanization Properties: An Example of Çankırı Province

Abstract

Cattle breeding farms differ in many aspects, especially the use of scale and technology in Turkey. Considering the studies conducted, no study has been found to compare the mechanization characteristics of traditional and modern cattle breeding farms. This study aims to compare the agricultural structure and mechanization properties of the traditional and modern cattle farms in Çankırı province. The data were obtained using a face to face questionnaire carried out with a total of 99 traditional and 11 modern cattle farms. The findings obtained in this study showed that traditional farm owners had 29.8 years of experience, while this value was 2.6 years for modern farm owners. All cattle farms were engaged in plant cultivation activities together with livestock breeding. The average agricultural area per farm was 28.1 ha/farm and 40.4 ha/farm for conventional and modern farms, respectively. The average number of cattle was found as 30 unit/farm for traditional farm; this value was 220 unit/farm for those of modern. It has been determined that dairy cattle breeding was more common in traditional farms and meat cattle breeding was more common in modern farms. Concerning mechanization indicators, modern farms had higher values than traditional farms. Mechanization