Business and economics

By Stacy Nichols | Because feed represents more than 50% of the cost of milk production, dairy producers often ask how their feed costs compare to those of other farms.  As markets change, it’s important to regularly evaluate feed costs, ask whether you’re getting acceptable returns on your farm’s feed additives and dietary strategies, and explore whether you have opportunities to save on feed costs or invest in milk production for a greater return. With these questions in mind, Vita Plus dairy nutritionists recently conducted a benchmarking analysis survey of income over feed cost (IOFC) with 35 Holstein dairy herds in Michigan and Indiana.

Dairy producers and industry peers gathered together June 15 and 16, 2022, in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, to network and gain practical insight from agricultural leaders. This e-news provides summary articles from the event sessions.

The ping-pong game of Washington politics creates uncertainty as well as direct and indirect consequences for farmers across the U.S. During her presentation at the Vita Plus Midwest Dairy Conference, Constance Cullman, president and CEO of the American Feed Industry Association, highlighted some of the issues likely to affect dairy producers in the upcoming months.

“One of the things we do especially well in the dairy industry is volatility,” said Phil Plourd, president of Blimling and Associates, Inc. and host of The Dairy Download podcast, during his presentation at the Vita Plus Midwest Dairy Conference. Overall, Plourd said the outlook for U.S. dairy is mostly positive.

Tim Kerfeld, J Hall, and Rebecca Davis own and/or manage vastly different operations, but all are intensely focused on the long-term success of their farming businesses. They compared their management strategies during a producer panel at the Vita Plus Midwest Dairy Conference.

McComish Farms' succession plan, industry price swings, the future of the industry and consumer trends, and building for their growing family's future all influenced Amber and Joe McComish's diversification goals.

Heather Jauquet is passionate about sharing her dairy story with the local community and beyond. During her presentation at the Vita Plus Midwest Dairy Conference, Jauquet shared examples of leveraging her networks and finding effective ways to share her farm’s story.

Luke Laufenberg has joined his father and uncle full-time on the family farm and “technology implementer” is one of his many roles. Laufenberg shared the benefits of AMS his family has seen during his presentation at the Vita Plus Midwest Dairy Conference.

Randall Greenfield, Vita Plus vice president sales and business development, recently came across an article in which a farm owner said he was focused on “avoiding any catastrophic mistakes.” During his presentation at the Vita Plus Midwest Dairy Conference, Greenfield shared five things to watch to avoid catastrophes in a dairy farm business.

By Jon Rasmussen, Vita Plus dairy technology specialist Renewing or adopting feed management technology on your farm does not have to have to be a stressful process.  These nine steps can help simplify the process, clarify your goals and determine what system best meets your needs.

You’ve likely been told “variety A will produce more milk than variety B” when choosing your forage crop varieties. However, it usually doesn’t work exactly that way in the real world.

By Dr. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian
Not all bacterial strains with the same name behave the same, and not all inoculants will provide the same level of quality and effectiveness.  Price will always be a consideration when purchasing a forage inoculant, but, before you purchase inoculant based on price alone, take a moment to understand the amount of research and money that goes into creating and marketing a viable forage inoculant.

By Mark Case
Every dairy farm has opportunities to improve efficiency and profitability.  One way to do this is to harness and make sense of your farm’s data.  By diving into the data behind each of these six factors, we can determine what management steps can have the biggest effects on efficiency and profitability.

By Dr. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian
Warmer temperatures create the perfect environment for spoilage in your forages. In this video, I explain how a forage inoculant with L. buchneri 40788 can help prevent spoilage, as well as the circumstances in which it's best not to use it.