Abstract

The aim of this study was to carry out a diagnostic of the use and management of factors of production used in dairy farming in the Northwest region of Paraná, Brazil. Interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire were held with 19 of the region’s milk producers chosen at random. To evaluate the profiles of the producers and their farms in terms of characteristics of management and use, the data obtained was submitted to descriptive statistics analysis to characterize the region’s dairy industry and its rural producers. The results show that farmers exploit dairy farming in the traditional way (semi-extractive and familiar), few producers see the activity as a business, despite having higher productive results to the national average. It also appears that prices received are low and there is high dependence of the dairy industry and poor cooperation among producers. Thus, producers are not specialized and dairy farming is not really a business.

Key words: Production, management, milk.