Technical and allocative efficiency analysis for cattle fattening on Argentina Pampas

Management systems for cattle fattening in winter ('wintering') on Pampas r egion are studied. After analyzing 136 management records throughout 3 year s, simulation models using linear programming were developed to optimize be ef production according to the following decision criteria: minimum cost un der energy and time constraints; and maximum yield under energy and time co nstraints. These simulation models, which represent the production frontier s that these enterprises may achieve, are later compared to the management results obtained; this allows us to analyze the technical and allocative ef ficiency of farms, simulate management proposals and establish production p ossibilities for different scenarios. The results obtained in the actual sc enarios indicate that production may be fourfolded by modifying feeding str ategy, increasing profits of around 140% if a criterion of maximum yield is adopted and the allocative efficiency is improved. (C) 2000 Published by E lsevier Science Ltd.