Surviving Low Milk Prices

April 27, 2016

Here we go.  Another challenging year and an opportunity for you to challenge the ‘status quo’ and make sure you are running on all cylinders in the key areas that affect dairy profitability.   Taken from the archives of 2009, here is Dr. Greg Bethard’s* “Top 10 Keys to Making Money in the Dairy Business.”

1.  Keep a full barn
2. Healthy fresh cows
3. Offer a career change to unprofitable cows
4. Realize quality and component premiums
5. Maximize income over feed cost
6. Procure high quality forages
7. Generate pregnancies (heifer and cow)
8. Minimize replacement costs
9. Cut costs intelligently
10. Control labor costs

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*Dr. Greg Bethard presented “Surviving Low Milk Prices” at the Florida Dairy Production Conference in Gainsville, FL on April 28th, 2009.  He is currently serving as CFO of Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy and Dairy Dreams in Northeast Wisconsin.

Tags: bethard, Big Fat Ideas, economics, margins