Characterization of the dual-purpose bovine system in northwest Mexico: producers, resources and problematic

ABSTRACT Objective. The present study consisted in characterizing the dual-purpose cattle system and the factors that limit the productivity of this system in northern Sinaloa, Mexico. Material and Methods. We applied a survey to 214 producers and we analyzed the data with analyses of factors and conglomerate. Results. The analysis of factors identified five components: resources level, productivity, technological level, livestock management and socioeconomic aspects and these components explain 70.5% of the total cumulative variance. The conglomerate analysis identified three clusters: cluster 1 (52.5%, 105 producers) defined as a system focused on milk production. Cluster 2 (41.5%, 83 producers) defined as traditional farms of meat and milk production and Cluster 3 (6%; 12 producers) defined as farms focused on meat production. The three clusters present similar livestock management (p>0.05). The producers base their feeding strategies on grazing rangeland with seasonal supplementation of silage and commercial concentrate; however, each cluster differed (p