Posted: February 17, 2023 | Written By: Tim Kinches, Form-A-FeedDairy profit margins have tightened in the last 6 months. Dairy farms need to maximize income and squeeze every penny of efficiency they can find. The first tool a dairy manager or owner uses is often cutting cost. They quickly focus on cutting total feed cost, purchased feed, labor, putting off buying supplies or waiting on new equipment. These efforts can be successful in cutting operating cost and improving profitability. But I think most will agree this is a short-term fix with minimal long-term benefits. More likely it is a quick path to milk production loss, and overall productivity is reduced.One profitable alternative has been to milk more cows. There is often room for a few more cows and the parlor can usually handle it. Total pounds of milk shipped each day goes up and we are making the farm and parlor as efficient as possible. On parallel with choosing to milk more cows, we have to manage the inevitable months t...
