Household-level farming and marketing practices determining body condition score and economic value of cattle in Cambodia

Abstract

Cattle with higher BCS achieved higher prices. Marketing factors such as access to price information didn't affect prices, although farmers perceived they had lack of appropriate price information during HS outbreaks and prices were lower where outbreaks had occurred. Farms that kept cattle for draught or for fattening had higher BCSs and, therefore, prices. Older male crossbred cattle achieved the highest prices. Wealthier households used a combination of early weaning and castration to achieve greater returns. The body condition had a significantly positive relationship with cattle price received by smallholders. Therefore, BCS is an indicator for determining the price of cattle. The value of the unstandardised coefficient between BCS and selling price was 0.913. This coefficient indicates that as BCS increases by 1 (on a scale from 1 to 5) the average price of cattle will increase by $US91.30. Smallholders now have the opportunity to produce animals for domestic and international markets, and it is important to maximise quality and marketability of the cattle.