Abstract:
Crossbred cattle have become more popular for smallholder farmer in Indonesia due to their superior performance compare to local breeds. However, assessment on economic performance of crossbred relative to local breeds, especially Bali cattle, in a smallholder farming is still limited. This study aims to compare gross margins of raising Bali cattle and crossbred cattle in a smallholder farming in South Kalimantan. Data collection methods comprised group discussion and personal interview with farmers that practice cattle breeding or fattening farming production system of either breed. Gross margin analysis showed raising crossbred cattle was more profitable than Bali cattle for both production systems. For breeding, Bali cattle resulted in IDR 413,438/head/month in gross profit compared to IDR 729,750/head/month for crossbred. For fattening, the gross profit for Bali cattle was lower (IDR 468,958/head/month) compared to crossbred (IDR 714,558/head/month). In addition, this study showed for Bali cattle, fattening is more profitable while for crossbred, breeding was more profitable. It is concluded that in the short term, in an intensive production system of smallholder cattle farming, raising crossbred is more profitable than Bali cattle, especially for breeding purpose. However, from a policy perspective, issues associated with crossbreeding in longer term must be considered
