Daily
*1 m f ft. i ft
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' By
; Glenn A. Shirk
Extension
HI Dairy
Wk\ Agent
Whether or not the whole herd
buyout program will be effective
remains to be seen, but one thing it
did do was catch people’s at
tention. It forced them to think
about the future and to evaluate
their own situation as they prepare
to meet that future.
A lot of people did a lot of soul
searching and a lot of pencil
pushing. I was pleased at the
number of dairymen who took the
time to calculate their costs. That
is something all of need to do as we
prepare to meet our future.
In the dairy business, we need to
know how much it costs us to
produce milk, the nature of these
costs, and how to change these
costs or improve income if we
don’t like what we see.
On most farms, the single
largest item of expense is feed.
However, just because feed is the
largest item of expense, we have to
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be careful that we don’t focus our
attention on feed alone; other costs
also deserve our serious-attention.
Nevertheless this article will focus
on feed costs.
As we attempt to determine our
feed costs, we need to look beyond
just the cost of purchasing feeds.
We need to be concerned about our
total, actual feed and feed-related
costs, including those which
pertain to the heifers, and to any
feed that is wasted or spoiled.
To do this, we can’t simply rely
on market values. Instead, we
need to consider all costs that are
associated with the growing,
harvesting, storing and handling of
feed crops.
This includes a share of the
mortgage, rent, real estate taxes,
insurance, depreciation, interest,
fuel, labor, repairs, utilities, etc.
Reducing Costs
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Determining Costs
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There are numerous things we
can do to reduce feed costs per cwt
of milk produced.
1. Maximize the use of high
quality, home-grown forages.
Concentrates are necessary for
supporting high levels of
production, but so are high quality
forages. Of the two, I’m most
concerned about forage intake.
Our goal is to maintain a normal
rumen that functions at peak ef
ficiency 24 hours a day. We also
want to preserve dry matter in
take. That requires a lot of high
quality forage, such as young
alfalfa, a balanced ration, and
proper feeding techniques - mßre
on that later.
2. Reducing feed purchases. In
addition to helping maintain a
more efficient rumen, one that
produces more milk per pound of
feed fed, the liberal use of good
quality forages may also enable
you to reduce feed purchases.
However, be careful not to carry
this concept too far; you don’t want
to short change the herd - and
yourself - in the long run for the
sake of saving a few dollars now.
Purchase what is necessary to
balance the ration, and to maintain
herd health and reasonable levels
of production.
3. Feed for reasonably high
levels of efficient production. The
precise level to shoot for will vary
from farm to farm. Generally
speaking, higher producing cows
convert feed to milk more ef
ficiently. The trick is to ac
complish this while holding feed
costs in line.
4. Cull low producers, avoid long
dry periods and feed no more
heifers than necessary. Low
producers and non-producers run
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5. Raise only those heifers that
have the genetit potential for
improving your herd, and raise
them in such a manner that will
enable them to be growthy enough
to calve at 23-24 months of age,
weighing 1200 pounds (Holsteins).
This requires a good heifer
management program. It’s better
to do a good job with fewer heifers
than to do a poor job with more.
This accomplishes several
things. Larger heifers will calve
with less stress and will produce
more in their first lactation, and
possibly in succeeding lactations.
By calving earlier and producing
more, heifers start making a profit
much sooner in their life, they’ll
probably be in the herd longer, and
they’ll have greater returns over
feed costs.
6. Balanced rations and feeding
techniques also affect feed ef
ficiency. Test forages frequently
enough to pick up changes in
quality, including moisture. Every
dairyman should have.his own
moisture tester so he can adjust
rations and control DM intakes.
A balanced ration and a
recommended feed program is of
little value unless the cows con
sume what is prescribed. And, the
manner in which feeds are
presented to the cow is very im
portant to the rumen. TMR’s have
helped many dairymen overcome
the inconveniences of keeping a
mixture of fresh forages in front of
the cows most of the day, and of
offering concentrates to cows at
frequent intervals.
As forage quality increases,
fiber content decreases. So, as we
feed high quality, finely chopped,
ensiled forages, we may need to
feed more of it to ensure adequate
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fiber intake, or else add more fiber
to the gram mix.
Feeding poorer quality, higher
fiber forages to good milking, low
testing cows isn’t the answer. The
fiber is less digestible. DM intake
will be less and production will fall.
Save the best quality feed for the
best producing cows; that’s where
it will generate the most returns.
7. Reduce the cost of purchased
feeds by taking advantage of
“good buys,” bulk discounts, early
payment discounts, etc. However,
be careful not to forsake quality for
price.
Consider the use of lower-cost
by-products, as appropriate, and
consult the services of a qualified
nutritionist to advise you on how to
use these products in your dairy
ration.
1. Strive for reasonably high
crop yields while also attempting
to control production costs. Higher
yields and longer-lived stands help
to spread the overhead costs of
land, crop establishment, and
machinery over more tonage.
2. Reduce fertilizer expenditure
by making full use of available
manure.
3. Keep a lid on machinery costs.
Consider leasing machinery or
hiring custom operators, if ap
propriate, as an alternative to
owning and operating your own
machinery.
4. Evaluate the economics of
leasing or farming a lot of acreage
to harvest grain that might be
cheaper to purchase.
5. Evaluate carefully, the costs
and returns of new storge
facilities. Are present facilities
being used to their fullest poten-
GROUP CONTROL
Reducing Production and
Storage Costs
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