: i U U//7\ Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 8, 1998-A33
dollar' Many times vou do not have to feed expensive feed to get this milk just more ot what
XO the eow ls already getting, assuming the ration is properly balanced
Kera mm \
■ jjjHHjl j r_ - The point of diminishing returns At some point in time, the milk response to the added feed
■ y —.. p C may start to diminish, not because of the cow, but because the ration is too low in fiber and too
I - - —I “rich" for the rumen, the feed may be of inferior quality, or maybe we are incapable of
I managomg high producing cows So, monitor milk weights, feed intakes, body flesh, cow
health, etc to determine where this cutoff point is for you
f ~ N DAIRY FARM v \ 3 Feed profitable cows only
V V \ - Don't waste scarce and expensive feeds on unprofitable cows
, » s| J. A. - Don’t short change profitable cows, even when feed is expensive (see Table 1) Push the
g __ . \ \ pencil and compare incremental responses to incremental costs
i \ ' - Stretch available feed supplies by culling unprofitable cows, by drying low producers off
/ \ early, by not raising excess heifers, by contracting heifers or buying replacements
I A Farm Management Course by \ 4 Yo ung stock _
Glenn A. Shirk - Young Stock are your cows of tomorrow, and tomorrow's cows wil never be any better than
_ _ „ the young stock you raise or purchase
* Penn State Extension Agent w . , .
° . - Manage your heifers, and your cows, to protect their lungs, their gut linings, their feet and
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania legs, and their udders so you do not seriously nor permanently impair their future performance
and your profits Give them a chance to get into the profit zone
5 Cost control measures and herd management practices that will help keep the herd in the profit zone
Herd Management Strategies and Budgets - Article 10 Some of these areas of management are listed below, and will be addressed in future articles
- Feeding and nutrition
Plan to succeed, then manage to succeed . Cow comfort and housing
- Reproduction and genetics
As you develop a budget for your dairy, use realistic and conservative figures Make sure your plan cash . Herd health
flows, even when purchased feed costs or interest rates go up or milk prices drop If it doesn’t cash flow, . Culling and merchandising cattle
don't fool yourself by simply changing the numbers to make them look good on paper, search for more - Herd replacements
profitable alternatives - The use of records to monitor herd situations and your progress
When the numbers cash flow well enough to meet your needs, put the plan into action and make it work Table 1 Incremental Costs and Returns
in real life If you have a good plan and used realistic numbers, if you keep your focus and pursue the
plan with dogged determination, staying on course and meeUng all the timetables, and if you make the i in lb Fxtra costs include REDUCED
figures work as planned, you will succeed (Tib DM) feed for additional milk mcrementT
( produces ) - Costlier feeds & health care - maybe profits
As you think about managing your herd, keep some of these basic thoughts m mind ( j. 2 lb Milk) - Increased culling - maybe
1 Your dairy herd is a big investment. Cows are living, working assets They are yeur primary
source of income You depend upon them as you go about your business of converting feed to milk Next 10?? lb CHEAPEST MILK TO MAKE " BEST
So, protect your investment Protect your income base Manage your cows so they can do the job ( Ilb DM ) ’ Basic costs have already been covered incremental
you expect of them and reward you with a decent profit. (produces) About the onlv extra cost is profits
2 Produce the maximum amount of the cheapest increment of milk possible (2-2 5 lb Milk) - Additional feed for additional milk
- Stall costs Every stall in your bam has a cost, whether filled or not We refer to these as the
DIRTIS costs of deprecation, interest, repairs, taxes and insurance See Table 1 _ Feed for the first mllk (t 0 sreak even) NO PROFIT
- Basic cow costs Once you put a cow in the stalk you incur another group of costs that are
somewhat fixed They remain about the same, no matter how much milk the cow gives Some _ „ ~ , , . .
of these costs are later, herd replacements, breeding, testing, veterinary and medical costs. f B Feed for maintenance and pregnancy m ' fTt milk
dairy supplies and feed for that cow's maintenance and pregnancy if she is carrying a calf * Vet medicine is needed to
It takes a certain amount of milk to cover these basic cow costs The amount required will vary s i Herd replacements cover all basic
from farm to farm and from year to year, depending on milk prices and production costs Then t c Breeding, testing costs - - just
you have the cost of feeding the cow to produce this first amount of break-even milk, and all Supplies to break even
we've done so far is just break even -
- Least cost, maximum profit increment The next 10, 20, 30 or more lb of milk is THE M C Depreciation or Rent The amount of
CHEAPEST MILK YOU WILL EVER PRODUCE GO FOR IT' About the only cost i o Interest (mortgage) or Rent milk needed to
associated with this additional increment of producUon is the extra feed needed to produce the | s Repairs or Rent do this vanes
extra milk, all the other costs have already been paid for' One lb of feed dry matter has the k t Taxes or Rent with prices and
capability of producing about 2-2 5 lb of milk, that ts, IF the cow is given the opportunity to s Insurance or Rent production costs
do it This increment of milk production can provide a VERY GOOD RETURN on the feed
TWO Aleiy
# o^ aCnS
Ag Progress Days •*%
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