THE FAMILY CATTLE FARMER: THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW SOCIAL CATEGORY IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to identify and characterize family farm livestock in Bagé, RS, Brazil, according to some criteria (land area, labor use and income). Direct interviews were conducted with family livestock farms during the months of May and June of 2007 in several locations: Palmas, Olhos D'Água, Coxilha do Haedo, Serrilhada and Santa Tecla, in a total of 40 interviews. Multivariate analysis was used to examine the data. The research showed that 80% of the families farmed areas of up to 200 hectares, 87,5% of the interviewees used exclusively family labor. As for the family monthly liquid income, 70% of the cases earned less than two minimum wages. The results also showed the importance of off-farm income compared to total income, particularly of the retirements and pensions as essential instruments of social maintenance of the families.