Socio-Economic Characteristics of Dairy Farms and Use Level of Feedstuff in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the socio-economic structures of dairy cattle farms and feed usage in dairy cattle sector in the Mediterranean Region provinces (Adana, Osmaniye, Mersin, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş) of Turkey. According to the results of the research, it was determined that the family sourced labour force was used at a higher rate than the foreign labour force during dairy cattle production activities. It was found that forage crops were produced in 62% of the farms where silage maize, alfalfa, barley and vetch covered the highest acreages, respectively. A large proportion of the enterprises was possessor of milking machines (85.81%). It was determined that, as the size of the farm increases, the roughage usage increases compared to concentrate feed.