August 2021
Patrick Hooker is the 2021 recipient of the PRO-DAIRY Agriservice Award presented today by Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY Director Tom Overton during the virtual Dairy Day Recognition and Awards ceremony at the Great New York State Fair. This award is given in appreciation and recognition of outstanding contributions to NYS agriculture through support of PRO-DAIRY.
July 2021
The cost to operate a dairy business is a critical component associated with generating profit. Profits are determined by quantity and quality of output, the prices received for output, and capital invested along with the costs to produce output. With many external factors impacting dairy farm financial performance in 2020 because of the pandemic, such as direct government payments, Class III and Class IV price variations, and milk production limitations from processors, understanding the costs to produce milk is important. Many of the different areas of cost are influenced internally and are under a higher degree of control of management, so the ability for a dairy to be successful in meeting goals over time is not solely dictated by external forces.
June 2021
39 dairy farms have completed the Dairy Profit Monitor (DPM) program from April 2020 through March 2021. The trend graphs prepared by the DPM provide a snapshot of how key performance measures changed on these farms over the last 12 months. The COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on milk price throughout the 12 month period. The average net milk price for these 39 farms ranged from $12.57 in May to $19.06 in November, which is a $6.50 range over the course of those six months.
Total lactating feed cost per cwt and cost per pound of dry matter also steadily increased from April to March reflecting the rising feed costs. Net Milk Income over Total Feed Costs per cow (NMIOTFC) using the actual milk price followed the same pattern throughout the course of the 12 months as the net milk price; taking a large hit in May, increasing drastically through July, and steadily decreasing from November on. If we analyze the NMIOTFC per cow using a fixed milk price, the cost per cow per day stays fairly consistent over the course of the 12 month period. Since producers cannot control the milk price they receive, analyzing the NMIOTFC with a fixed milk price allows us to analyze the performance of the management changes that were made on the farm during that time. The NMIOTFC per cow using a fixed milk price stayed relatively unchanged throughout the 12 months with the increase in pounds of components produced per cow over the period, offsetting the feed cost increase.
Milk sold per worker and labor efficiency on these 39 farms has slightly increased over the 12 month period. Given the changing labor regulations in New York State, this will continue to be an important management goal on farms.
April 2021
Forage quality is important. It is hard to attend a meeting or read an agricultural publication without hearing this point, and while there is a risk of becoming numb to the message, this spring presents yet another reminder of how critical this can be to control production cost on a dairy. In this article Joe Lawrence, Cornell PRO-DAIRY, focuses on high forage diets to combat higher commodity cost. This information can also help plan what commodities may be needed in the new diet. Regardless of price trends, watch markets for relative deals on these inputs throughout the late summer and early fall to lock in favorable prices for the period when this silage will be fed.
March 2021
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is a well-documented and extremely dangerous gas that can be found in manure storages and is a byproduct of bacterial breakdown of organic compounds inside a manure storage. It is heavier than air and can concentrate low to the ground or in confined spaces. Any extra source of sulfur on farm has the potential to increase H2S gas production once it reaches the manure storage. Farms that use gypsum based bedding and anti-slip agents have increased risk of H2S gas production. A significant amount of work was performed by the Yates County Soil and Water Conservation District and Town of Benton Fire Department to study the levels of H2S gas around manure storages. Results showed that farms using gypsum products almost always carried higher levels of deadly H2S gas during manure storage agitation and pump-out. Studies also showed deep bedded packs can carry high levels of H2S gas.
An incident occurred on a gypsum-using farm in the Finger Lakes region in late fall 2020. A dairy farmer was flushing out gravity flow gutters inside the barn, using recycled manure from the storage. The farm owner was holding the hose at the top end of the gutters while two small children were playing in the barn. Unknown to the farm owner, the children were at the bottom end of the gravity gutters, where H2S gas was concentrating. One of the children told their father her friend was sleeping and wouldn’t wake up. The farm owner quickly realized the danger of the situation and picked up the limp child to take her to fresh air. Luckily the child revived and is well, so a good ending to what was very close to a lethal situation.
Dairy Environmental Systems issues fact sheets
January 2021
Advanced manure treatment and antibiotic resistance
For those thinking about exploring advanced manure treatment, a four-part fact sheet series is available:
A fact sheet describing basic manure characteristics, including composition and phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium characteristics, has also been posted.
A new case study is available that describes the persistence and decay of antibiotic residuals and antibiotic resistance genes through a dairy manure treatment system consisting of a solid-liquid separator and a rotary drum composter/BRU (bedding recovery unit).
