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Short agrofood chains are organizational and commercialized types for the approach of producers and consumers. Theoretical foregrounding is necessary to investigate higher economic performance. Current paper proposes a study method on short chains by employing the Economy of Transaction Costs, Measuring Costs Economy, Resources-based View and Entrepreneurship Theory. The method was then applied to the study of milk sheep-breeding in Brazil. The agroindustrial system of sheep milk in Brazil is organized vertically to avoid high transaction costs in incipient and poorly structured markets. Probably this is not a transitory factor since the links between agents are prone to be strengthened. Efforts are also needed for improvements and innovations in processes and products due to the fledging condition of the chain. Results show that the study model analyzes a short agroindustrial chain and characterizes it to provide strategies in management and coordination to improve the system for sustainable competitive advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lamb production in Brazil has the state of São Paulo as its largest consumer market, but due to competition for area with other agricultural activities, sheep farming in São Paulo underwent an intensification of the production system to achieve better economic profitability. This intensification can compromise the sustainability of the system. There is no research concerning about emergy evaluation on lamb production systems applied in Brazil, so this is the first paper to discuss the sustainability of lamb production systems using this method. Therefore, this article proposes to discuss the importance of considering environmental aspects in the economic analysis of production systems, aiming at the sustainable development of the sector. This study assessed the economic and emergy performance of three different sheep farms in Brazil managed under different levels of technology: Intensive, Semi-intensive, and Feedlot. Results show that from an economic perspective, the Feedlot system is more attractive (9,800 US$/yr for net profit) than Intensive and Semi-intensive ones, while emergy synthesis show that Semi-intensive system (30% for renewability) should be prioritized. On the other hand, when emergy is analyzed from an economic perspective based on Emdollars (Em$, with an 'm'), the economic advantage regarding the production cost of Feedlot on the Semi-intensive system becomes less evident. The Intensive system obtained the worst performance for economic, and emergy indicators. More than contributing to the discussions about the importance in considering a systemic perspective when quantifying the economic performance of production systems, this study also (i) establishes the most sustainable sheep farm system that could be supported in Brazil, and (ii) make available new unit emergy values that would enrich the existing emergy databases. • The synthesis emergy together with the economic assessment are performed for three sheep production systems with different levels of technology. • Intensive systems (Intensive and Feedlot) are economically profitable, but generate greater pressure on the environment. • Semi-intensive systems present less pressure on the environment, but are not economically viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil stands as a prominent beef producer and exporter, witnessing major transformations and expansions in its production chain over the past 20 years. These changes have prompted concerns regarding waste generation and environmental pressure. This study employs material flow analysis (MFA) to quantify nitrogen flows throughout the cattle slaughter process and subsequent beef consumption in Brazil, spanning from 2011 to 2021. The analysis encompasses co-production streams like leather, tallow, viscera, and blood. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and the nitrogen cascade indicator (NCI) were used to evaluate efficiency and nitrogen accumulation in the production chain. Nitrogen inputs in the system increased by 8.47 %, while beef production rose by 7.29 %. In contrast, per capita beef consumption decreased by 1.29 kg, despite an overall consumption increase of 2.84 %, attributed to population growth in Brazil. Beef exports witnessed a notable surge of 86.03 %. Conversely, human excreta and food waste losses experienced increments of 10.88 % and 2.84 %, respectively. Examining NUE reveals the highest values during the slaughter phase (90 %), followed by processing, transportation, and storage stages (79-88 %). The consumption phase exhibited the lowest NUE values (29-34 %). Regarding the cumulative nitrogen effect, the NCI varied between 77 % and 82 % throughout the study period. This highlights opportunities for enhancing nitrogen use efficiency, particularly by addressing food waste at the consumer level. Notably, the study observes nitrogen accumulation across the Brazilian beef production chain, potentially contributing to the nitrogen cascade effect and heightening environmental pressure. Recognizing these dynamics provides avenues for targeted improvements, emphasizing the need to address nitrogen-related challenges and enhance sustainability in the beef production and consumption landscape., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)