Comparative assessment of methods used to record working-time requirements in suckler farming
2004
Schrade, S. | Keck, M. | Schick, M.(Agroscope FAT Taenikon, Eidgenoessische Forschungsanstalt fuer Agrarwirtschaft und Landtechnik, Ettenhausen (Switzerland))
In Switzerland, no up-to-date figures are available on the working-time requirements of techni-cal procedures and housing systems currently used in suckler farming. The present study com-pares different methods of work-data acquisition: work journal, structured interview and indi-vidual time measurement. On twelve farms, work journals were kept to document daily and non-daily work with suckler cattle. The work journal implies several weaknesses, however: the high amount of time spent by the farm manager on record keepingqualitative differences in record keepingand difficulty in allocating work processes to a specific number of animals. A structured interview carried out on 24 farms provides a general overview, enabling time re-quirements to be quantified and influencing factors to be identified, and unrealistic statements to be clarified immediately. Individual time measurements proved to be very precisehowever, they are not suited for recording every sort of work process and involve very high time and or-ganizational requirements for the person carrying out the observation.
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