Characterization of livestock farming in Jacar dos Homens, Alagoas, Brazil

Dairy farming is one of the most significant activities for Brazilian agribusiness, especially for its diversity and breadth. This study aimed to analyze the characterization of dairy farming activity developed in the Baixas community, in the city of Jacare dos Homens-AL, Brazil, raising information about the production system adopted and considering the relevance of this activity to the locality. The research was conducted between September and October, 2011, through a questionnaire applied to 31 milk producers in the region. We used data tool software Microsoft Excel® 2010 and the results were analyzed in a descriptive statistical way, presented as absolute and relative frequency in charts. Conventional technique interviews were adopted. It can be concluded that despite the low level of school education, the majority of farmers are over 10 years in business and over half of them have incomes of less than 1 minimum wage. Despite the good production average 10 L/cow/day, the number of animals is small and for this reason, the income is low. Moreover, 45% of the producers do not have any type of economic and zootechnical control. However, barriers in the areas of management, nutrition, sanitation and genetics, combined with the implantation of technology and public policies focused on livestock, must be addressed so that this region can optimize its development.   Key words: Agribusiness, regional development, dairy farming.