Typology and structural characterisation of suckler cow farming system in Central Macedonia, Greece

Figures & data

Table 1. The selected variables for the cluster analysis of the suckler cow farming system in Central Macedonia, Greece.

Topics	Variables	Mean$\pm$SD (Min–Max)	Farms’ classification	Formulation
Herd size	Livestock Units, LU	92.8$0\pm$76.90 (19.00–400.00)	Small (19.00–50.00) Medium (51.00–82.00) Large (≥82.00)	Number of suckler cows
	Total Livestock Units, TLU	148.1$0\pm$128.90 (31.80–737.80)	Small (31.80–81.20) Medium (81.30–130.60) Large (≥130.70)	Number of suckler cows LU + calves LU + heifers < 1 year LU
	Number of weaned calves/ number of suckler cows	0.62$\pm$0.12 (0.39–1.00)	Low (0.39–0.60) Moderate (0.61–0.81) High (≥0.82)	–
Labour input	Family Annual Work Units, fAWU	1.18$\pm$0.58 (0.00–3.00)	(TAWU) Low (0.00–0.55) Medium (0.56–1.11) High (≥1.12)	Total AWU(TAWU)=fAWU + hAWU
	Hired Annual Work Units, hAWU	0.47$\pm$0.73 (0.00–3.00)
	Exploitation of labour for suckler cows, LU/TAWU	56.7$\pm$33.60 (19.00–200.00)	Low (19.00–37.90) Moderate (38.00–56.80) High (≥56.90)	–
	Exploitation of labour for the total beef population, TLU/TAWU	87.45$\pm$47.04 (31.80–245.90)	Low (31.80–60.95) Moderate (60.96–90.10) High (≥90.11)	–
	Veterinary and zootechnical support	2.44$\pm$1.43 (1.00–4.00)	Good (1.00–1.81) Moderate (1.82–2.63) Poor (≥2.64)	1 (Veterinary), 2 (animal scientist), 3 (animal production technologist), 4 (None)
Characteristics of pastures	Pasture type	–	–	1 (Grassland), 2 (shrubland), 3 (phrygana), 4 (wooded grassland), 5 (mixed)
	Pasture area, ha based on grasslands	43.17$\pm$91.53 (0.00–500.00)	Small (0–14.39) Medium (14.40–28.78) Large (≥28.79)	–
	Stocking rate, SR, LU/ha	17.96$\pm$27.70 (0.22–116.90)	Low (0.22–6.21) Medium (6.22–12.20) High (≥12.21)	–
	Pastures’ safety	2.74$\pm$1.23 (1.00–5.00)	Very safe (1.00–1.55) Safe (1.56–2.11) Unsafe (2.12–2.67) Dangerous (2.68–3.23) Very dangerous (≥3.24)	1 (Very safe), 2 (safe), 3 (unsafe), 4 (dangerous), 5 (very dangerous)
Stable facilities	Total area surrounding, ha	2.07$\pm$3.15 (0.30–20.00)	Small (0.30–0.99) Medium (1.00–1.69) Large (≥1.70)	–
	Housing system	–	–	1 (Free), 2 (restricted), 3 (mixed)
	Mechanical equipment assessment ranging	2.71$\pm$1.21 (1.00–5.00)	Traditional (1.00–1.90) Semi-modernised (1.91–2.81) Modernised (≥2.82)	1 (Very low), 2 (low), 3 (moderate), 4 (good), 5 (very good)
	Specified facilities assessment ranging	2.89$\pm$1.12 (1.00–5.00)	Traditional (1.00–1.96) Semi-modernised (1.97–2.93) Modernised (≥2.94)	1 (Very low), 2 (low), 3 (moderate), 4 (good), 5 (very good)
Livestock	Cow breed	–	–	1 (Composite autochthonous cattle breed), 2 (foreign cattle breed), 3 (crossbreed)
Economics	Gross profit/LU, GP/LU, €	405.7$0\pm$687.80 (−833.80 to 3531.90)	–	–
	Gross profit without total subsidies/LU, GP-TSb/LU, €	36.6$0\pm$650.50 (−1123.80 to 2881.90)	–	–

LU: Suckler Cows Livestock Units; TLU: Total Livestock Units; TAWU: Total Annual Work Units; GP: Gross Profit; TSb: Total Subsidies.

Table 2. Characteristics of variables of suckler cow farming system in Central Macedonia, Greece according to farming type.

Variables’ characteristics	Mean variable value	Clusters					F Value	p Value
		C1 (n = 23)	C2 (n = 24)	C3 (n = 5)	C4 (n = 12)	C5 (n = 2)
Total Livestock Units, TLU	148.000	123.950^a	116.250^a	425.060^b	139.350^a	165.100^a	9.814	.000
Livestock Units, LU	92.750	86.170^a	68.080^a	246.600^b	95.250^a	65.000^a	8.303	.000
Number of weaned calves/number of suckler cows	0.620	0.550^a	0.700^a	0.770^a,b	0.600^a	0.800^b	5.600	.001
Family Annual Work Units, fAWU	1.180	1.170^a	1.210^a	1.400^a	1.000^a	1.500^a	0.622	.648
Hired Annual Work Units, hAWU.	0.470	0.430^a	0.460^a	1.200^a	0.250^a	0.500^a	1.605	.185
Exploitation of Labour for TLU, TLU/TAWU	87.450	75.360^a	66.120^a	162.050^b	123.580^b	79.300^a,b	10.276	.000
Exploitation of Labour for LU, LU/TAWU	56.710	52.250^a	40.220^a	95.070^b	86.460^b	31.670^a,b	8.464	.000
Veterinary and zootechnical support (1–4)	2.440	1.430^a	3.460^b	2.000^a,b	2.750^b	1.000^a	10.654	.000
Pasture area, ha based on grasslands	48.140	46.870^a	23.190^a	282.000^b	5.210^a	35.000^a	24.480	.000
Stocking rate, LU/ha	17.960	10.670^a	8.730^a	15.660^a	53.640^b	4.400^a	3.896	.007
Pasture safety (1–5)	2.740	3.740^b	2.000^a	2.400^a,b	2.580^a	2.000^a,b	9.588	.000
Facilities of the surrounding area, ha	2.070	1.110^a	1.870^a	4.060^a	1.970^a	11.000^b	6.948	.000
Mechanical equipment assessment ranging (1–5)	2.710	2.390^a	2.580^a	3.200^a,b	3.000^a,b	5.000^b	2.935	.028
Specified facilities assessment ranging (1–5)	2.890	2.300^a	2.880^a,c	3.400^a,b,c	3.500^b	5.000^c	5.764	.001
Gross profit/LU, €	405.740	200.940^b	583.690^b,c	528.760^a	−59.060^b	3106.600^c	24.595	.000
Gross profit without total subsidies/LU, €	36.620	−154.750^a	112.470^b	304.740^b	−278.620^b,c	2548.270^c	26.618	.000

Clusters with a different letter in the same row differ significantly.

LU: Suckler Cows Livestock Units; TLU: Total Livestock Units; TAWU: Total Annual Work Units.

Table 3. Characteristics of categorical variables of suckler cow farming system in Central Macedonia, Greece according to farming type.

Variables’ characteristic		Total farms	Clusters
			C1	C2	C3	C4	C5
		%	%	%	%	%	%
*(1) Cow breed	Composite autochthonous breed	68.2	82.6	75.0	60.0	25.0	100.0
	Foreign cattle breed	19.7	8.7	12.5	40.0	50.0	0.0
	Crossbreeds	12.1	8.7	12.5	0.0	25.0	0.0
**(2) Pasture type	Grassland	25.8	30.4	16.7	60.0	25.0	0.0
	Shrubland	6.1	0.0	4.2	0.0	16.7	50.0
	Phrygana	24.2	17.4	29.2	0.0	33.3	50.0
	Wooded grassland	30.3	47.8	20.8	20.0	25.0	0.0
	Mixed	13.6	4.4	29.2	20.0	0.0	0.0
***(3) Housing system	Free	18.2	30.4	12.5	0.0	16.7	0.0
	Restricted	24.2	8.7	12.5	40.0	58.3	100.0
	Mixed	54.6	60.9	75.0	60.0	25.0	0.0

*(1) χ²(2) = 13.70, p = .008 < .05, **(2) χ²(4) = 12.94, p = .012 < .05, ***(3) χ²(2) = 17.82, p = .000 < .05.

Figure 1. Illustration of subsidies participation rate in the gross profit of the five clusters. n = number of farms.

LU: Suckler Cows Livestock Units; GP: Gross Profit; TSb: Total Subsidies.