Bioeconomic Simulation of the Cash Flow of Rural Beef Cattle Properties with Productive, Reproductive, and Sanitary Activities

Abstract

This simulation study compares the technical-economic efficiency and cash flow of pasture recovery and maintenance activities, as well as improvements in mortality rate and birth rate, in different beef production systems. Three production systems were elaborated for the Cerrado biome, characterized as extensive, semi-intensive 1, and semi-intensive 2, with respective annual pasture recovery and maintenance rates of 0% and 25% for the extensive system, 5% and 25% for semi-intensive system 1, and 7% and 33% for semi-intensive system 2. Mortality rates at weaning are 6% for the extensive system and 3% for semi-intensive systems 1 and 2. The extensive system's gross profit was lower at US$ 40471.00, followed by US$ 41830.00 and US$ 148669.00 for semi-intensive systems 1 and 2, respectively. Cash flow differences point to increases in the cost of forage and other nutritional inputs in semi-intensive systems 1 and 2. Economic efficiency was observed with intensification, showing that the production costs of intensive systems increased, but that these were more profitable than the extensive system with cash balance values of: extensive system US$ 323.149; semi-intensive system 1 US$ 405.740, semi-intensive system 2 US$ 1213.224. Expenditure on pasture recovery and maintenance was high, but led to an increase in profitability; similarly, the improvement of mortality rates in semi-intensive systems 1 and 2 facilitated the economic viability of these systems.