Driving profitability per hectare!

Abstract

Summary • A resilient dairy business will be sustainable to survive milk price drops while being very profitable when milk price is high, while being sustainable across all of the sustainability indicators. • The term resilient means able to “recover, respond, deal, withstand” different internal and external challenges that may manifest themselves within the farm business from time to time. • There is significant potential to increase efficiency and productivity at farm level when compared with the average farm nationally. • The focus at farm level must be about increasing grass growth and utilisation and converting that feed to milk solids sales in as low a cost as possible. • Increasing labour efficiency by operating more streamlined work practices, using contractors and contract rearing of heifers will have a major impact on labour cost – farm labour requirements, ultimately affecting the efficiency of the overall business