Table 5.
Production and commercial characteristics of the value-creating strategies.
| Variables | K–W Test | Ecological (1) | Single-Product (2) | Innovative (3) | Traditional (4) | Dunn’s Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production characteristics | ||||||
| Venture age (years) | ** | 5.0 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 10.0 | **: 2–4 |
| Total litres produced in the farm | *** | 150,000 | 820,000 | 196,000 | 350,000 | **: 1–2 |
| Processed litres per venture | 62,857 | 170,000 | 139,400 | 126,500 | ||
| Sales of dairy products (EUR) | 129,340 | 166,908 | 249,756 | 196,620 | ||
| Number of workers per venture | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | ||
| Investment (EUR) | 179,180 | 244,736 | 262,918 | 176,574 | ||
| % Workers in processing a | ** | 65.5 | 39.4 | 65.5 | 61.0 | **: 1–2/*:2–3, 2–4 |
| % Investment in processing a | *** | 87.8 | 40.6 | 78.7 | 82.0 | ***: 1–2, 2–4/*:2–3 |
| % Fixed costs of processing divided by total fixed costs a | *** | 69.0 | 37.6 | 66.3 | 64.8 | ***: 1–2, 2–4/**:2–3 |
| % University-educated workers | 23.9 | 5.6 | 12.2 | 14.2 | ||
| % Family workers | 71.5 | 45.6 | 72.7 | 53.3 | ||
| % Cow’s milk in products | 91.0 | 100.0 | 77.7 | 83.4 | ||
| % of farms with all Friesian breed cows (dummy) | 60.0 | 88.9 | 80.0 | 56.3 | ||
| % Female manager (dummy) | 54.5 | 11.1 | 12.5 | 28.6 | ||
| Manager age (years) | 42.0 | 47.0 | 39.5 | 45.0 | ||
| % Manager with university education (dummy) | 54.5 | 11.1 | 12.5 | 28.6 | ||
| Commercial characteristics | ||||||
| Direct sales b (%) | ** | 41.4 | 57.1 | 26.1 | 26.0 | **: 2–4 |
| Hospitality sales b (%) | ** | 11.8 | 29.1 | 31.4 | 18.4 | *: 1–2, 1–3 |
| Shop sales b (%) | 37.9 | 13.7 | 31.5 | 32.2 | ||
| Large-scale distribution sales b (%) | ** | 9.0 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 23.3 | **: 2–4 |
| Sales of yogurt c (%) | ** | 23.8 | 2.5 | 15.8 | 6.8 | **: 1–4/*: 1–2 |
| Sales of cheese c (%) | *** | 36.5 | 2.1 | 61.1 | 83.0 | ***: 2–4/**: 1–4 |
| Sales of fresh milk c (%) | *** | 15.1 | 95.4 | 5.2 | 1.7 | ***: 1–2, 2–3, 2–4 |
| Sales of other products c (%) | 24.6 | 0.0 | 17.9 | 8.5 | ||
| Number of products | ** | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | ***: 1–4 |
| Number of references per product | *** | 3.0 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 4.0 | ***: 1–3, 2–3/*: 3–4 |
| Sales outside the region (%) | ** | 24.1 | 1.1 | 13.1 | 15.2 | **: 2–4 |
| Relational diversification d (%) (dummy) | ** | 63.6 | 0.0 | 25.0 | 33.3 | ***: 1–2/*:1–3, 1–4 |
Notes: for the values expressed in percentages the mean is shown and the median for the rest. ***, **,*, indicate statistical significance at the 1%, 5%, and 10% level, respectively. a Workers, investments, and fixed costs were classified according to the transformation and marketing activities. The weights corresponding to transformation activities are shown, the rest being up to 100% relative to commercialisation. b Four sales channels are considered: direct to final consumers, hospitality, shops, and large-scale distribution. c Products are classified in four broad categories: fresh milk, yogurt, cheese, and others. d Relational diversification: dummy variable with a value of 1 when the farm undertakes initiatives that favour direct communication with the customer (agro-tourism, farm interpretation centres, guided tours to farms, museums, shops on the farm, etc.) and 0 in other cases.