Tipología de explotaciones ovinas en la sierra norte del estado de Puebla Typology of sheep farms in the Sierra Norte Region

Based on feed resources, productive parameters and economic indicators, a typology was developed for sheep production systems and sheep farms in the Sierra Norte region of Puebla State, Mexico. A questionnaire was designed to collect quantitative data on productive parameters and calculate relevant economic indicators. Interviews were done of a sample of 100 sheep producers and responses validated by monitoring 30 sheep farms for a one-year period. Data was collected on labor, grazing areas and practices, use of crop residues, flocks of sheep, income resources, production costs and income. Descriptive statistics were estimated for productive and economic variables and the farms classified with a multivariate analysis. Factor analysis helped to identify ewe sale price, flock size and family labor as possible competitive advantages, and production costs and lamb sale price as possible disadvantages. Productive and economical aspects had variable significance among the farms (P<0.05). Cluster analysis classified the farms mainly as subsistence (44 %), transitional (38%) and extensive (15 %). Extensive farms had the highest (P<0.05) ewe sale price (US $140.7±17.4) and the highest (P<0.05) gross income from sale of animals (US $1,156.5±47.9). Including labor costs in the balance always produced a negative net return.