Abstarct:Purpose: The main objective of this article was to determine the technical efficiency of Polish dairy farms in 2008-2017, taking into account the dependence on the herd size, the milk yield of cows and the effects of scale. Design/Methodology/Approach: The non-parametric DEA method based on the concept of border efficiency was used to assess technical efficiency. The research uses models assuming constant (CCR) and variable returns to scale (BCC). The source of the data was information collected by the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) in Poland. Data came from farms specializing dairying (type 45), with more than 15 cows. Findings: The results of the conducted research indicate a higher share of efficient farms using the model assuming variable returns to scale. The average efficiency ratio increased along with the increase in the size of the herd of cows and the improvement in the milk yields of cows. Practical Implications: The results of this study will be used to determine rationally the combination of inputs in dairy production. The result of these activities is an increase of efficiency and the use of economies of scale. The article clearly presents among which farm groups exists the lowest efficiency (cow herd size and milk yield). Originality/Value: The study fills a gap in approach methods to conducting research on dairy farm efficiency. On the one hand, the value of the article is built by the size of observation field, on the otherdairy farms classification by cow herd size and milk yield.

The aim of the article is to measure and evaluate the economic and technical efficiency as well as the total productivity of dairy farms in Poland. The research used data from the Polish FADN. The analysis covered the years 2008–2017. The study group consisted of 730 farms. An iteration-optimization method, k-means clustering, non-parametric DEA method, and aggregated Färe–Primont indexes were used to achieve the goal. The conducted research allowed for the distinction of four types of dairy farms with different levels of economic efficiency. We prove that the costs of labor, energy, maintenance of machines and buildings, fodder, depreciation, and overheads, as well as agricultural land, affect the technical efficiency and total productivity of dairy farms. We also prove that over the analyzed years, technical efficiency decreased in all groups of dairy farms, while the Färe–Primont index of total productivity changes slightly increased. The validity of these studies and their practical significance result from the need to improve the competitiveness of dairy farms and increase their profitability. Our research fills a gap in research on measuring and evaluating the efficiency and productivity of dairy farms, and at the same time represents an original approach to the studied phenomenon. Moreover, it allows for the explanation of differences in the effectiveness of different types of dairy farms, providing useful information for the design of effective targeted policy interventions to improve the competitiveness of the Polish dairy sector. There are opportunities to improve both the technical efficiency and productivity of dairy farms in Poland. This increase will be possible thanks to the improvement of agricultural advisory services and ensuring that farmers participate in training in proper nutrition, reproduction, milk marketing and other management skills.

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the objectives of the work were to check the possibility of obtaining data from the FaDN system for the EDF survey and to compare the economic results achieved by dairy farms from the selected EU countries in 2016. the additional objective was to determine the profitability threshold for milk production at the level of general and full costs. the average data was used for the analysis within EDF and the Polish group and their tercyl separated due to the total cost of milk production. the average national results within EDF in 2016 were also analyzed. Measures for the evaluation of the results was the level of agricultural income, and income from management and risks in the dairy industry. two break even points of producing 100 kg of milk expressed by total and full costs were also assessed. the lowest total cost of production was incurred by the farm with large scale production, expressed as the number of cows in the herd and milk yield per cow. in addition, these farms were characterised by greater participation of grassland than arable land in forage area, of which more than half was rented. Polish and irish farms were characterised by the lowest total costs in milk production out of the analyzed countries. Based on the results relying on opportunity costs of own factors in milk production, it should be noted that the Polish farm obtained the lowest entrepreneur income. apart from irish farms, milk production in the analyzed countries in 2016 was unprofitable.

The aim of the study was to determine the technical efficiency of farms specialising in milk production (type 45) using the DEA method. The research covered the period 2008-2017. Data for calculations were collected using the indirect observation method based the data from the Polish FADN Cfor2008-2017 as the source of actual data. 11055 dairy farms were included in the study. Dairy farms with fewer than 15 cows were excluded from the study. The DEA method uses an approach that minimizes inputs and the CCR and BCC models. In the description of the results, the surveyed farms were divided into three groups: effective farms for which the technical efficiency coefficient was 100%, farms close to effective, in which the technical efficiency coefficient was within <90<100% and ineffective farms, in which the analysed coefficient was smaller than 90%. In the analysis of the results of the given dairy farms, the farms were divided according to their economic size, cow herd size and milk yield.