This is the beginning of a two part series on building a profitable dairy business. The articles have been written by Bradley J. Hilty, Senior Extension Associate, Dairy Alliance and have been adapted for the Dairy Alliance weekly feature. Dairy businesses are affected by both local and global events, many of which cannot be controlled.
Futures prices indicate a severe challenge to dairy profits in the year to come.
By focusing on ten key management practices dairymen can build a profitable business and insure they will survive the though times and prosper when times are good. Those ten keys are listed below, in reverse order. Some experts may argue that managing expenses should be at the top of the list. However, in most instances the costs of inputs are beyond our control, as is the price of milk. If an operation is not achieving this benchmark, evaluate the areas where improvement is needed to do so.