Labor Management Strategies in Facing the Economic Crisis. Evidence From Greek Livestock Farms

Ragkos, Athanasios; Koutsou, Stavriani; Theodoridis, Alexandros; Manousidis, T.; Lagka, Vasiliki

doi:10.30682/nm1801f

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In this SC, the involvement of middlemen (dairies, retailers, restaurants) is rare. Cheese makers are usually women, who have traditional know-how from older family members [70,71], but lately young members of transhumant families have started to follow cheese-making courses in public or private schools in order to undertake on-farm cheese-making in a more systematic and professional way.…”

Section: Profile Of the Three Supply Chainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative Approaches of Summer Milk Sales from Transhumant Sheep and Goat Farms: A Case Study from Northern Greece

Ragkos¹,

Theodoridis

Arsenos

2019

Sustainability

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Sheep and goat transhumance provides a wide range of ecosystem services (ES). Transhumance-specific dairy products could function as a nexus between the system and the public, incorporating ES which are not remunerated in markets, but in Greece, there are actually no such dairy products. Within this context, the objective of this paper was to present a case study regarding a comparative assessment of three different approaches (supply chains) in milk sales from transhumant farms. The first involved production of cheese on-farm and direct sales to consumers. In the second approach, farmers sold their milk to the same industry throughout the year, where it was mixed with milk from non-transhumant farms. The third approach concerned cheese produced solely from milk of transhumant flocks in a small dairy in the highlands. An assessment framework was developed examining the perceived quality; economic performance of farms; compatibility and; representativeness and contribution of each approach. Based on five in-depth interviews with farmers and dairies, it was found that a combination of the three approaches would be beneficial for farms—to decrease risks—and for the system as a whole, in order to convey the ‘agro-pastoral message’ to wider audiences and to increase the recognisability of transhumance. In addition, the analysis showed that the economic performance of each approach was related more to managerial issues and organizational requirements rather than to the achievement of higher prices and more added value in the first and third approach.

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Section: Profile Of the Three Supply Chainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative Approaches of Summer Milk Sales from Transhumant Sheep and Goat Farms: A Case Study from Northern Greece

Ragkos¹,

Theodoridis

Arsenos

2019

Sustainability

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“…It is true that major expenses in goat farms occur from feeding expenses [20][21][22]. Moreover, last year, grazing was supplemented more with purchased forage and feed [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic and Financial Sustainability Dependency on Subsidies: The Case of Goat Farms in Greece

et al. 2021

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Goat farming is an important production sector not only for Greece, but also for other Mediterranean countries, as it contributes to the family economy in rural areas. Despite the importance of goat farming, this sector has experienced economic difficulties due to poor management and increased production costs. The aim of our research is to determine goat farm profitability by surveying goat farmers for revenues, variable costs, and fixed costs of their farms. With the use of Principal Component Analysis, all economic factors contributing to overall production costs are examined, as well as their specific impacts on cost formulation. According to our results, goat farms in Greece are not profitable and they cannot survive without government subsidies. Farm economics and agricultural policies could be leveraged to improve community and environmental outcomes in order for farms to be economically and financially sustainable.

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“…However, increased economic performance does not always accrue with intensification, for instance Basset-Mens et al [18] underlined that higher product prices and lower prices of basic feedstuff are more profitable for intensive farms, while extensive farms benefit more in times when the contrary occurs. In Greece, this was witnessed during the economic crisis, as intensive farms were significantly more affected than those which grazed more [15,19,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Contribution of Pastures on the Economic Sustainability of Small Ruminant Farms in a Typical Greek Area

Papadopoulou

Ragkos²,

Theodoridis

et al. 2020

Agronomy

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Small ruminant production is predominantly linked to the use of natural pastures; however the intensification process in past decades has led to a gradual abandonment of grazing and the prevalence of intensive patterns. This paper contributes to the discussion about the economic performance of small ruminant farms relative to the use of pastures. Using data from a sample of Greek sheep and goat farms it is shown that grazing does not necessarily increase economic performance. If not organized carefully, farms which graze more do not reduce their feeding costs or they counterbalance this reduction with increases labor expenses. An efficiency analysis of the sample using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) shows that farms which graze less are generally more efficient than the ones which graze more. Furthermore, the input-oriented DEA model reveals that the same level of output could be achieved with less a reduction of hours grazing by 12.5% and 11.9%, respectively for farms which graze less than 1800 h and more than 1800 respectively. It is concluded that a higher level of organization is required to render grazing a practice with positive economic impact on farms, including infrastructure for better accessibility of pastures, more efficient rations and training. This applies also to the framework for pasture use in Greece, as the delivery of Integrated Grazing Management Plans is expected to provide guidance and stability to small ruminant farmers.

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Labor Management Strategies in Facing the Economic Crisis. Evidence From Greek Livestock Farms

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 15 publications

References 21 publications

Alternative Approaches of Summer Milk Sales from Transhumant Sheep and Goat Farms: A Case Study from Northern Greece

Alternative Approaches of Summer Milk Sales from Transhumant Sheep and Goat Farms: A Case Study from Northern Greece

Economic and Financial Sustainability Dependency on Subsidies: The Case of Goat Farms in Greece

Evaluation of the Contribution of Pastures on the Economic Sustainability of Small Ruminant Farms in a Typical Greek Area

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