The use of controlling in agricultural enterprises and their competitiveness

The article aims at the evaluation and comparison of the structure of costs linked to the milk production in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The paper focuses on the potential of the cost controlling in agricultural production. The analysis is based on data from the comparable sample surveys of costs and yields of agricultural commodities carried out by the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information, Prague, and the Research Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics, Bratislava, in the period 2007-2012. The authors apply the contribution margin calculation and the gross margin calculation. Using target costing, the upper limits of variable and fixed costs are set to reach the break-even point. One of the main finding is that the average costs per litre of milk are by 15.3% higher in Slovakia than in the Czech Republic. It is caused by a significantly lower milk yield in Slovakia. Cost controlling based on the knowledge about the structure of the average costs of milk production can help farmers to better manage their business.