The Impact of Livestock Supports on Production and Income of the Beef Cattle Farms: A Case of Samsun Province, Turkey

Although the beef cattle sector has been considerably supported during the last two decades, Turkey could not get its self-sufficiency yet. The objective of this case study was to examine the impacts of livestock supports on production and income of beef cattle farms. The survey data was collected from randomly selected 171 cattle farms in Samsun province of Turkey. The Treatment Effect Model was used to measure the impacts of livestock supports on beef meat production and gross profit of the farms. The results indicate that the farmers, who have larger land and herd, higher education level, keeping farm records, are mechanized and specialized in beef cattle breeding were more likely to benefit from livestock supports than their counterparts. The Treatment Effect Model highlights that livestock support has a statistically significant effect on the amount of beef meat produced whereas it has no statistically significant effect on the gross profits of the farms. The research recommended that the livestock supports are necessary for the sustainability of beef cattle farms. The farms should be encouraged to get records via Farm Accountancy Data Network and the record keeping farms should be supported by higher amounts.