Technical and economic performance of dairy cattle farming in mountain areas in Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria

The aim of this study is to explore the technical and economic aspects of cattle farms in mountain areas and to identify their technical constraints and potentialities. One hundred dairy cattle farmers were surveyed for seven months. The results show that the average farm size is 13 dairy cows and shows considerable variability at the sample level. For one-third of the farms, stabling is almost permanent and feed concentrate used as supplement (on average 7 kg /cow/day). 85% of the factors of production (useful agricultural area and possession of tractor) are owned by 45% of the breeders. Cow productivity averages is around 10.5 kg / day with two milkings / day. In addition, the average self-consumption of milk is 6 kg / day, which represents 2.8% of milk production. Feed expenses represent 90% of production costs. Annual income range from 99 909 AD / livestock unit (LU) nearly 148 421 AD / livestock unit. This variation is a function of the endowment of production resources. Subsidies for milk production represent 58% of the average income of farmers, what shows the low yield of dairy cattle farms. Today, with the drastic reduction in financial resources, dairy production development policies should focus on strategies to improve cow productivity and profitability in those areas.