Articles and Publications
Are you considering exiting the dairy business, but feel you have no way out? Although it might look like you have no options, never give up and for goodness sake, don’t bury your head in the sand! Follow these recommendations and you might just find that you have more choices than you think.
That old saying, “What goes up must come down,” has been proven to be true yet again. After two years of record high milk prices, the inevitable drop has come. Focusing your efforts on the factors you can control will help minimize losses and ensure that you will survive. Consider these 10 keys to surviving this downturn in milk prices.
- Analyzing Your Dairy Business: A Systematic Approach to Using Benchmarks
One key to operating a successful and competitive dairy business is to monitor business performance and make the necessary adjustments to correct any bottlenecks that may adversely affect profitability. Benchmarks can be useful tools in helping dairy producers evaluate their business. - Developing a Strategic Business Plan
Many business owners are so caught up in the day-to-day operation of their business that they fail to consider their destination or how they are going to get there. A strategic business plan can serve as a road map to help business owners achieve their goals and reach their destinations. - Evaluating Expansion Plans
The key to a successful dairy expansion is to anticipate, reduce and control risks. Developing a strategic business plan can help producers and their advisors accomplish this. - Interpreting Your DHIA Records
Having a systematic approach to analyzing DHIA data can greatly improve dairy producers' understanding of dairy records and will increase their use of these records in making management decisions. - Making Decisions in Tight Times
In a challenging business environment, such as the one dairy producers are currently facing, many dairy business owners make decisions based on emotions, rather than facts, due to a lack of information. Armed with adequate and accurate information and the tools to analyze it, producers can make the decisions that will position them to survive and thrive in the future. - Managing Information from Data to Decisions
As dairy businesses become larger and more complex decision-making becomes increasingly important. Information is the foundation of sound decisions. - Milk Production Costs of Pennsylvania Dairy Farms
"If you don't measure it, you can't control it". Producers must first determine their costs if they are to gain control over them. - Specialization and Alternative Enterprises: Opportunities for Improved Profits
In an effort to improve the competitive position of their businesses, progressive dairy producers are closely scrutinizing the idea that a dairy business must produce the majority of the inputs needed to produce milk. - Top 10 Keys to Building a Profitable Dairy Business
Managing your expenses is not the same as cutting expenses. The key is to know the difference between productive and unproductive expenses. Some experts may argue that managing expenses should be at the top of this list, but in most instances the costs of inputs, such as feed, are beyond your control. The most profitable improvements can be achieved by addressing the items at the top of this list. - To Cull or Not to Cull
In light of the current dairy business environment, much attention has been given to a different approach to dealing with low milk prices through culling. Culling decisions should seldom be made on the production results of a single test. There are many reasons for culling animals. - The Cost of Harvesting Forage
Information gathered for dairy enterprise analysis may not be inadequate to provide sufficient detail on the various functions involved in raising the forages. Managerial accounting can provide the information needed to examine the efficiency of different functions within a business. One example is determining the cost of harvesting a ton of forage. - Using Milking Center Information with Key Benchmarks
If producers employed the managerial cost accounting practices utilized in corporate America, the milking center would be considered a cost center. In a dairy business the milking herd is the main, and sometimes the only, profit center.
