The effect of land fragmentation on the technical inefficiency of dairy farms
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Accepted version
Date
2020-11-14
Authors
Bradfield, Tracy
Butler, Robert
Dillon, Emma
Hennessy, Thia
Kilgarriff, Paul
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
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Abstract
Exploiting the link between land identification and farm accountancy data, we use a uniquely detailed database to conduct a robust analysis of land fragmentation and its effect on technical inefficiency on dairy farms in Ireland. Using a stochastic production frontier model, our results show that the number of parcels, the average distance between parcels and the main farm, and the portion of land separate from the main farm all increase technical inefficiency. Such inefficiency can be reduced through increased parcel area, reduced travel distances, advisory services contact, intensive practices and hired labour. Our findings support the need for policy to improve land and labour mobility, providing evidence to support incentives to promote the transfer and long-term leasing of agricultural land.
Description
Keywords
Agricultural policy , Dairy , Land fragmentation , Technical efficiency
Citation
Bradfield, T., Butler, R., Dillon, E., Hennessy, T. and Kilgarriff, P. (2021) ‘The effect of land fragmentation on the technical inefficiency of dairy farms’, Journal of Agricultural Economics, 72(2), pp. 486–499. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12413
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Copyright
© 2020 The Agricultural Economics Society. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Bradfield, T., Butler, R., Dillon, E., Hennessy, T. and Kilgarriff, P. (2021), The Effect of Land Fragmentation on the Technical Inefficiency of Dairy Farms. J Agric Econ, 72: 486-499, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12413. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.