Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T18:45:45.433Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Impact of policy-induced structural change on milk quality: evidence from the Flemish dairy sector

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

Bart Van der Straeten*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ghent
Jeroen Buysse
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ghent
Guido Van Huylenbroeck
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ghent
Ludwig Lauwers
Affiliation:
Department of Social Sciences, ILVO (Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research), Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ghent
*
*For correspondence; e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper uses a Markov chain model to analyse the dynamics in farm-size distribution among the Flemish dairy sector and the impact of quota policy regulation on such changes. The model predicts a decline of 24% in number of farms in 2014 compared with the current situation with a more liberal exchange policy and a decline of 18% with a restricted quota exchange policy. From these Markov chain model results, we analysed the impact of farm-size distribution on eight different milk quality parameters (total bacterial count, somatic cell count, coliform count, freezing point, urea-N, fat content and protein content and penalty-points). In general, larger farms produce higher quality milk than smaller farms, especially with respect to the microbiological parameters (total bacterial count, somatic cell count and coliform count). The change in farm-size distribution from a liberal quota exchange policy would decrease the average total bacterial count by 18·0%, the somatic cell count by 2·1% and the coliform count by 11·0%. The aggregate performance of the other parameters are smaller with improvements in all cases of <1%.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Al-Zenki, SF, Al-Mazeedi, HM, Al-Hooti, SN, Al-Atti, T, Al-Mutawah, Q, Alomirah, HF & Sidhu, JS 2007 Quality and safety characteristics of milk sold in the state of Kuwait. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 31 702713CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alvarez, A, Arias, C & Orea, L 2006 Explaining differences in milk quota values: the role of economic efficiency. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88 182193CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, TW & Goodman, LA 1957 Statistical inference about Markov chains. Annals of Mathematical Statistics 28 89110CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, A 2002 Dynamic effects of quota removal on dairy sector productivity and dairy farm employment. In: Phasing out milk quota in the EU (Ed. Coleman, D)Google Scholar
Berry, DP, O'Brien, B, O'Callaghan, EJ, Sullivan, KO & Meaney, WJ 2006 Temporal trends in bulk tank somatic cell count and total bacterial count in Irish dairy herds during the past decade. Journal of Dairy Science 89 40834093CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burvenich, C, Detilleux, JPM & Massart-Leen, AM 2000 Physiological and genetic factors that influence the cows resistance to mastitis, especially during early lactation. In: Proceedings of the 5th IDF Mastitis Congress–Symposium on Immunology of Ruminant Mammary Gland. Stresa, ItalyGoogle Scholar
Cazacioc, L & Cipu, EC 2005 Evaluation of the transition probabilities for daily precipitation time series using a Markov chain model. In: Proceedings of 3rd International Colloquium–Mathematics in Engineering and Numerical Physics Vol. 12 (Ed. Balan, V) pp. 8292. Bucharest, Romania: Balkan Society of Geometers, Geometry Balkan PressGoogle Scholar
Colman, D, Burton, M, Rigby, D & Franks, J 2002 Structural change and policy reform in the UK dairy sector. Journal of Agricultural Economics 53 645663CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craig, BA & Sendi, PP 2002 Estimation of the transition matrix of a discrete-time Markov chain. Health Economics 11 3342CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
EC 1992 Council directive 92/46/EEC of 16 June 1992 laying down the health rules for the production and placing on the market of raw milk, heat-treated milk and milk-based products (http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sfp/mr/mr03_en.pdf)Google Scholar
Facklam, RF, Martin, DR, Lovgren, M, Johnson, DR, Efstratiou, A, Thompson, TA, Gowan, S, Kriz, P, Tyrrell, GJ, Kaplan, E & Beall, B 2002 Extension of the Lancefield classification for group A streptococci by addition of 22 new M protein gene sequence types from clinical isolates: emm103 to emm124. Clinical Infectious Diseases 34 2838CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goddard, E, Weersink, A, Chen, K & Turvey, CG 1993 Economics of structural change in agriculture. Canadienne d'Economie Rurale 41 475489Google Scholar
Hallberg, MC 1969 Projecting the size distribution of agricultural firms – An application of a Markov process with non-stationary transition probabilities. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 51 289302CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hjort, NL & Varin, C 2008 ML, PL, QL in Markov chain models. Scandinavian Journal of Statistics 35 6482CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jespers, K, Campens, V, Bas, l & Elst, L 2006 [Evaluation and adaptations of the milk quota regulation in the period 2005–2006]. p. 38. Brussel: Vlaamse overheid: Beleidsdomein Landbouw en VisserijGoogle Scholar
Jonker, JS, Kohn, RA & High, J 2002a Dairy herd management practices that impact nitrogen utilization efficiency. Journal of Dairy Science 85 12181226CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jonker, JS, Kohn, RA & High, J 2002b Use of milk urea nitrogen to improve dairy cow diets. Journal of Dairy Science 85 939946CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kagkli, DM, Vancanneyt, M, Vandamme, P, Hill, C & Cogan, TM 2007 Contamination of milk by enterococci and coliforms from bovine faeces. Journal of Applied Microbiology 103 13931405CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, CS, Schluter, G, Schaible, G, Mishra, A & Hallahan, C 2005 A decomposed negative binomial model of structural change: a theoretical and empirical application to US agriculture. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 53 161176CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macmillan, J, Tung, FL & Tulloch, JR 1974 Migration analysis and farm number projection models – synthesis. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 56 292299CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mohapatra, S, Rozelle, S & Goodhue, R 2007 The rise of self-employment in rural China: development or distress? World Development 35 163181CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, YK, Koo, HC, Kim, SH, Hwang, SY, Jung, WK, Kim, JM, Shin, S, Kim, RT & Park, YH 2007 The analysis of milk components and pathogenic bacteria isolated from bovine raw milk in Korea. Journal of Dairy Science 90 54055414CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rattray, W & Jelen, P 1996 Freezing point and sensory quality of skim milk as affected by addition of ultrafiltration permeates for protein standardization. International Dairy Journal 6 569579CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reneau, JK, Seykora, AJ, Heins, BJ, Endres, MI, Farnsworth, RJ & Bey, RF 2005 Association between hygiene scores and somatic cell scores in dairy cattle. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 227 12971301CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rysanek, D & Babak, V 2005 Bulk tank milk somatic cell count as an indicator of the hygiene status of primary milk production. Journal of Dairy Research 72 400405CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weersink, A & Tauer, LW 1991 Causality between dairy farm size and productivity. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 73 11381145CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, CR 1999 Farm growth and survival: econometric evidence for individual farms in upper Austria. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 81 103116CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenz, JR, Jensen, SM, Lombard, JE, Wagner, BA & Dinsmore, RP 2007 Herd management practices and their association with bulk tank somatic cell count on united states dairy operations. Journal of Dairy Science 90 36523659CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, JZ, Wang, YM, Zhang, XC & Xu, Y 2007 Study on quality detection of milk powder based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIR). Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis 27 17351738Google Scholar
Zepeda, L 1995a Asymmetry and nonstationarity in the farm size distribution of Wisconsin milk producers: an aggregate analysis. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 77 837852CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zepeda, L 1995b Technical change and the structure of production: a non-stationary Markov analysis. European Review of Agricultural Economics 22 4160CrossRefGoogle Scholar