This report presents the results of an ACIAR-funded research project that provides a comparative analysis of the beef supply chain through benchmarking to inform future activities in the beef sector. It covers the supply chain of beef products from on-farm cattle production to the consumer in four regions of eastern Indonesia (East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and East Java) and Jakarta.

In this article, Cahyadi et al. present the findings of a study on herd dynamics of smallholder cattle producers in the two major agro-ecosystems (irrigated lowland and rain-fed upland) in East Java. The research aims to better understand the capacity of smallholder cattle producers in order to increase their production and income in line with government targets. A total of 184 farmers participated in the study in 2010. Their cattle were monitored on a monthly basis to record vital statistics, as well as transfer and sales-related data.