This article explores how farm size is related to economic benefits from diversification. Using a data set pertaining to Bavarian dairy farms (2000–2014), we estimate an input distance function (IDF) to derive cost complementarities between distinct outputs. A Bayesian estimation technique is used to improve the theoretical consistency of the IDF. The results show that small dairy farms are more likely to benefit from diversification between milk and livestock production, while larger farms tend to benefit from diversification between milk and crop production. Both managerial and policy implications are discussed.

中文翻译：

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奶牛养殖的多元化经济——来自德国的经验证据

本文探讨了农场规模与多样化的经济效益之间的关系。使用与巴伐利亚奶牛场（2000-2014 年）有关的数据集，我们估计了一个输入距离函数 (IDF)，以得出不同输出之间的成本互补性。贝叶斯估计技术用于提高 IDF 的理论一致性。结果表明，小型奶牛场更有可能从牛奶和牲畜生产之间的多样化中受益，而较大的奶牛场往往会从牛奶和作物生产之间的多样化中受益。讨论了管理和政策影响。