In recent years, Brazil –one of the world’s main suppliers of agricultural products- has been raising beef productivity and exports. In Brazil, large farm land availability, ample feedstuffs supplies, a large domestic consumer market, and liberalization of trade barriers have allowed large firms to achieve economies of size that have made the country a major, growing source of meat production. Major differences exist between the modern and the traditional segments of the beef-cattle sub-sector. To assess competitive strength of Brazil's livestock operations, we estimate non-parametrically the efficiency and scale elasticity of 450 cattle operations. Our hypothesis is that large-size specialized farms exhibit cost economies and higher efficiency levels than other beef production operations.