As the structure of the beef industry
changes, understanding its efficiency, cost, and
profitability relationships is important. This study
evaluates the relative efficiency of a sample of
Kansas farm backgrounding and
backgrounding/finishing operations for 1995-
1997. No commercial feeders were included.
On average, backgrounding operations were
71% technically efficient, 68% allocatively
efficient, 83% scale efficient, and 39% overall
efficient. The results suggest that Kansas
backgrounding operations could reduce their
cost by 61%, if all farms were producing at the
lowest possible cost. On average,
backgrounding/finishing operations were 84%
technically efficient, 79% allocatively efficient,
90% scale efficient, and 60% overall efficient,
suggesting that those operations could reduce
their cost by 40%, if all were producing at the
lowest possible cost. Given the average levels
of technical, allocative, and overall efficiencies,
significant room for improvement exists in technology
adoption, input usage, and size adjustment
for both backgrounding and
backgrounding/finishing operations.
