Analysis of livestock farms in Nicaragua, a detailed study of costs and returns

The first emphasis was to give an overall perspective of costs and returns for the average farm (see Table 2). Comparisons of costs and returns were then made by: Size (5 groupings), region (5 groupings), type (3 groupings), and technology (2 groupings). A consideration was given to the physical labor requirements (Table 7). These data also were analyzed in the context of size, region, type and technology. Statistical tests of significance (Analysis of Variance) were made and are set forth in the Appendix Table 1. With respect to size, region, type and technology the following parameters were tested to ascertain significant differences: (1) gross income, (2) income ratio, (3) total labor, and (4) total cost. Coefficients of Variation (COV), F. values and levels of significance are presented and it is noted that about half of the variables were statistically significant at the 10% or less level of probability.