Financial analysis for the implementation of a feedlot in a dairy cattle farm in Costa Rica

Abstract

Financial analysis for the implementation of a feedlot in a dairy cattlefarm in Costa Rica. The financial feasibilityfor the implementation of a feedlot in a dairyfarm was evaluated. The evaluation was madein the functional departments (production,marketing, human resources and finances) todetermine the technical situation before changingthe productive system. The reproductive andproductive records were used to map out thegrowing of the herd with the program Invest-GA®. Financial analysis was carried out bysearching for market information, estimating theborrowing capacity of the company and nominalcash flows made from financial records of theDairyProfit® program. The net present value(NPV) was obtained as a financial indicatorfrom the different projections. A sensitivityanalysis was made varying the production levelof the animals (one-dimensional), and a marginalanalysis was made by using the incremental NPVobtained in the projections versus the productivesystem without investments. The best projectionfor the dairy farm was the investment in a stable,a mixer and receiving a lower payment for theadditional milk delivered to the factory obtaining¢237.129.530,15 and ¢89.169.075,85 for the NPV and incremental NPV, respectively. The receivingof the product by the dairy factories is one ofthe main factors affecting the implementation ofmore intensive systems in the dairy farms of CostaRica. Productivity of dairy farms determines theircompetitiveness, because as the specialization indairy production systems grows, there are moreexternal factors that may affect performanceand, therefore, internal control systems must beaccurate to adapt to the current situation.