Change in the production efficiency of European specialized milk farming

摘要

The aim of the article is to identify the key structural, yield and economic determinants of the change in regional efficiency of specialized milk farms over the period 2007 to 2011. The following quantitative methods were applied on the regional FADN data (panel data of 100 regions): the Malmquist productivity index, the Welsh two-sample t-test, and the linear regression analysis. The article put emphasis on the investment activity and investment subsidies allocated in the sample of regions. The results reveal that regions with a positive change in the production efficiency have a significantly higher average milk yield, maize yield, long-term debt ratio, income level, and investment activity than the regions with a negative change in the production efficiency. On the contrary, investment subsidies per livestock unit do not significantly differ between the progressive and other regions. Investment subsidies are slightly higher in the regions with a negative change in the production efficiency and continuously help them to mitigate the drop in technical efficiency.