2011 Special Issue
Special Edition 2011 Kentucky Dairy Notes
Contents of This Issue: This issue contains articles related to the high feed costs.
Managing Business in Lean Times
A Business Management Look at Higher Feed Costs
Higher feed costs are a reality faced by dairy producers today regardless of the size of their dairy farm business. As managers of dairy farm businesses how do they deal with this reality? While there are no simple answers to this situation there are some decisions to be made.
Building Resilient Dairy Farms
What is farm resilience? Webster’s dictionary defines resilience as “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” It’s easy to see how this concept can apply to a dairy farm, given that dairy farms are constantly changing, complex businesses.
If anybody should know what change is like it should be our dairy farm families. In just three short years dairy farmers have seen their milk price go from $13 to $21 and back down again.
Kentucky dairy producers are facing a horrible set of circumstances – falling milk prices and higher input costs. What options do they have to try to have a profitable dairy farm business?
The Power of Partial Budgeting in Dairy Decision Making
While more sophisticated decision making tools and techniques are on the horizon, let's examine the power of a very simple technique called partial budgeting.
Dealing with High Commodity Prices
Dairy Feeding Programs for Lean Economic Times
With the recent dramatic drop in milk prices coupled with above average prices for feed, fertilizer, and seed, many are questioning or rethinking if they have the most economical feeding program or if there are places where they can cut feed-related costs.
8 "Controllables" During Hard Times in the Dairy Business
During these tough economic times it is best to look at the things we can control in the dairy business to make these times as profitable as possible.
Feeding Do’s and Don’ts With High Feed Prices
Escalating feed costs are changing how we feed dairy cows and heifers or at least they are making us step back and reevaluate feeding programs. The bottom line is – what can be done to maximize your profit margin. This article covers some of the do’s and don’t s to consider when re-evaluating or modifying your feeding program.
What Does It Cost You to Feed Your Cows?
In recent years, feed costs have represented more than 60% of the cost of producing milk when corn and soybean meal prices have been high. Thus, this begs the question—what can I do to keep feed costs down in the upcoming year.
