Management and productivity of dairy sheep production systems in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

The Planning, Organisation, Direction and Control functions of dairy sheep breeders in the La Mancha natural region were evaluated by constructing composite indexes of their management. The studied farms, the majority of which were family-run, rely heavily on the use of arable land through sheep grazing. A close relationship between the Direction and Control functions was found, while the functions related to the Organisation and Control stand out as the most deficient. The incidence of management functions in productivity was studied through ANOVA (analysis of variance) and SCA (simple correspondence analysis). A medium-low level of managerial functions, coupled with a positive effect of these functions on the productivity of the systems was identified, leading to the conclusion that management can be improved when special attention is given to its more neglected features, and that this improvement could lead to an important increase in productivity. These measures are particularly important in this area of production where profitability and sustainability are currently being questioned.