Financial efficiency in the confinement system for beef cattle

ABSTRACT The beef cattle breeding system in Brazil has been growing more and more in the history of animal production, leading the country to fit into the world scenario as the main exporter of beef. Seeking to increase this efficiency, the objective of this paper is to evaluate factors that affect the confinement of beef cattle, influencing the Profitability and Return of the system, to define values that maximize them. To do so, a database was used. It consisted of the observation of 1961 animals, collected in the commercial confinement of Fazenda Bragança, in the city of Lucas do Rio Verde - MT. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression models, in which the financial gain, Profitability and Return variables were explained by the variables: race, entry weight and days in confinement, selected by the stepwise method. Based on the results, there is greater financial efficiency for animals that enter the feedlot with greater weight and that remain for 163 days. It is concluded that the entry weight and days in confinement significantly influence the financial efficiency, allowing the adjusted equations to help producers in making decisions regarding the formation of lots and, mainly, in the purchase of animals.