A study on the effectiveness of breeding and support policies in Turkey's cattle sector

The proportion of Turkey's cattle that were from high-gene cattle breeds and their crosses has increased from 0.8% to 60.7% over the last four decades. While the total number of cattle declined by 1.65 million head, total milk and meat production increased by 298% and 428% to 8.91 million and 359,000 tons, respectively. At the same time, milk per cow and meat per head increased by 184% and 144% to 1688 kg and 171 kg, respectively. According to a three-stage least-square regression analysis, milk per cow and meat per head, support policies since 1972 and milk and meat prices had a significant positive impact on total milk and meat production, while feed prices had a significant and negative impact on milk and meat production. An increase in the proportion of high-gene cattle breeds and cross-breeds significantly increased milk per cow and meat per head. In contrast, the import of high-gene cattle since 1986 has not significantly affected milk per cow or meat per head.