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Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Michael R. Langemeier / This thesis will determine if economies of size are present in production agriculture or the farming sector and if convergence or divergence is occurring. Change in the farming sector was analyzed using five-year moving averages from 1973 to 2007. Six key variables were analyzed; value of farm production, total acres, economic total expense ratio, operating profit margin ratio, asset turnover ratio, and percent of livestock income. Data from the Kansas Farm Management Association were used in this study. To be included in the study, a farm had to have five years of continuous, usable data for a five-year period between 1973 and 2007. Moving five-year averages were calculated for the farms that met this qualification. Data were sorted by value of farm production and broken down by quartiles and deciles. Trend regressions were used to calculate growth rates of the key variables and the difference between the top and bottom quartiles of the variables. Results suggested that acreage per farm is increasing, farms are doing better at covering their total economic costs, profit margin per farm has decreased, farms are utilizing their assets better, and the percent of livestock income per farm has decreased. When regressing the difference between the top and bottom quartiles to determine growth rates, it was evident that the gaps between the top and bottom quartiles of five of the six variables have widened. The differences in the percent of livestock income between farm quartiles and deciles were not significant. Convergence analysis confirmed the results of the trend regressions and suggested that divergence is evident in the Kansas farming sector. Graphical representation supports the findings of this thesis.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T16:24:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PGCA15MA173.pdf: 751760 bytes, checksum: 23f614e28b7b6a81f91e72de196f5cb7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Milk production is an important income for family farmers, but to act competitively in the market the dairy sector needs to raise the quality of its raw material. The study aimed to evaluate the factors that influence water quality and milk quality and unstable non-acid milk (UNAM) occurrence in family farms of Planalto Norte of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The study also aimed to assess the influence of water quality used in farm on the milk quality, and to establish relation between bacterial contamination and concentration of CMP in milk. The farms were characterized by a semi-structured questionnaire guide. Samples were collected for analysis of milk composition, somatic cell count (SCC), total bacterial count (TBC) and psychrotrophic bacterial count (PBC). It carried out the alcohol test, titratable acidity and pH, and CMP index was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Analyzes performed in water were CBP, Escherichia coli, coliforms at 35ºC and mesophilic aerobic. The food offered to animals also were analyzed. Data were subject to factor and cluster analysis, and broken-line model analysis using SAS statistical package. The most appropriate strategies of animal feed, with consequent improvement of animal productivity and increase of lactose content in milk were related to a lower occurrence of UNAM, which had little relation with farm structure and with season. The farm structure also had little influence on milk microbiological quality. Already the milking management influenced the bacterial contamination, and these were related to CMP concentration in milk. The water quality used in dairy farms was not related to milk quality. Rainfall and water source affected the microbiological contamination in water / A produção de leite é uma importante fonte de renda para agricultura familiar, mas para atuar de modo competitivo no mercado o setor lácteo precisa elevar a qualidade da sua matéria-prima. O estudo objetivou avaliar os fatores que influenciam na qualidade da água e do leite e na ocorrência de leite instável não ácido (LINA) em propriedades de agricultura familiar do Planalto Norte de Santa Catarina. O trabalho também objetivou verificar a influência da qualidade da água utilizada na propriedade sobre a qualidade do leite produzido, além de estabelecer a relação entre a contaminação bacteriana e a concentração de caseinomacropeptídeo (CMP) no leite. As propriedades foram caracterizadas por meio de um questionário guia semi-estruturado. Foram coletadas amostras de leite para analisar sua composição, contagem de células somáticas (CCS), contagem bacteriana total (CBT), e contagem de bactérias psicrotróficas (CBP). Realizou-se o teste do álcool, análises de acidez titulável e pH, e determinou-se o índice CMP por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência. Na água, foram realizadas análises de CBP, Escherichia coli, coliformes a 35ºC e aeróbios mesófilos. Também foram analisados os alimentos oferecidos aos animais. Os dados foram submetidos à análise fatorial e de agrupamento, e regressão segmentada (broken-line) utilizando o pacote estatístico SAS. As estratégias mais adequadas de alimentação animal, com consequente melhoria da produtividade e aumento do teor de lactose no leite, tiveram influência na menor ocorrência de LINA, que por sua vez apresentou pouca relação com a infra-estrutura das propriedades e com as estações do ano. A infra-estrutura das propriedades também teve pouca relação com a qualidade microbiológica do leite. Já o manejo de ordenha mostrou influência na contaminação bacteriana, que relacionou-se com a concentração de CMP no leite. A qualidade da água utilizada nas propriedades leiteiras não apresentou relação com a qualidade do leite. A precipitação pluviométrica e a origem da água afetaram a sua contaminação microbiológica