The effect of intensification on dairy farm efficiency

This study analyzes the differences on production cost associated with the intensification of production for a sample of dairy farms in Asturias. In doing so, we account for two methodological issues which are not usually considered in the empirical literature. On the one hand, we allow for different technologies within the sample. On the other hand, we estimate ex ante cost functions, which use 'planned output' instead of the traditional ex post approach which uses the 'observed output'. Our results show a positive relation between intensification and efficiency.