ChileanJAR

Economic analysis of the beef cattle and the sheep production system tried in the Ñuble Andean foot-hills were performed. The two systems were analyzedfor three farm sizes (65, 90 and 500 ha). lnputs price leveis correspond to December 1983 and the prices for meat were those payed te producers during the corresponding 1983 months in which the animals were sold (March for beef cattle, and December, for sheep), all adjusted tothe value of the Chilean currency in December 1983. Annual interest rate was considered to be 8% for the fixed capital and 14% for the operational capital. Gross income, average cost per kilogram of live weight and rentability of capital were calculated. Feeding had the major incidence (52.4%) in the total cost of production of the beef cattle system, followed by interest to invested capital (31.4%); in the sheep production system, these items had an incidence of 61.2 and 21.3%, respectively. Rentability figures obtained for both systems, at any of the three farm sizes, were lower than the interest rate used in the analysis (14%). An increment of 37.4% in the price of sheep (live weight) would make the system profitable, at any of the three sizes considered. In contrast, an increment of 60.3% in the price of beef would only make the rentability of the system similar to the interest considered in the study.