dman
FFA member
Posts: 63
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Post by dman on Jan 12, 2012 22:18:05 GMT -5
Does a dairy start losing money on higher production??? 100#/cow, 90#/cow on a tank average?? I realize that a lot depends on what you feed. But it takes a lot of extra dollars to get that 100#/cow right now and is it worth it??? Or is a guy better off with lower production, if he can have lower feed bills AND still maintain a good ration and health of the cows???
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Post by jrtheoriginal on Jan 13, 2012 7:58:58 GMT -5
Lots of discussion about that. AI guy says 65 to 75 seems to be the sweet spot. ALways deppends on if you grow your own feed or if you are buying that milk. In the end it is all about Income over Feed costs. I am Currently running about 58 puonds with a 4.1 test. that puts me at 67 pounds on a 3.5 test.
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dman
FFA member
Posts: 63
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Post by dman on Jan 13, 2012 8:28:23 GMT -5
But realistically how much profitability can or should we put into IOFC? Yes, it is a benchmark, and a tool to use. BUT, just because you have a high IOFC does not equate to more profit, nor does haing a low IOFC equate to unprofitabilty. Also with IOFC, people can cheat on the price of their homegrown forages and corn. To make it look like they have a better IOFC then they do.
I agree with you on the "buying milk" thing. How many times, do we read articles or have people tells us we need to feed "x" product, it will get us 1.5 lbs of milk. Yet it takes a lb to of milk to pay for the product, so really we have only gained, 1/2 lb of milk.
Currently make 80 on 4.1 and 3.3.....well ok, that was until a couple of days ago......seem to have dysentry going thru right now...... grrrrrrrrrrrr.
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Post by Dave-ECIA on Jan 13, 2012 8:51:54 GMT -5
Interesting discussion guys.
First, I'm no dairyman. Small beef guy here. You touched on a point that gets tossed around alot in livestock circles. Value of home grown feeds.
How do you price feed ingredients when you put it in a ration?? Cost of production, price at local buyer, what it would cost to replace?
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Post by Hobbyfarmer on Jan 13, 2012 10:25:43 GMT -5
Some of this discussion touches on the equivalent to coffee shop bragging. When you first put this up I wanted to throw in my two cents worth and say something to the effect ...
You are worrying about gross when net is what is important. Why spend $1 to get $1 back or less? or maybe run those 'ol girls flat out and shorten their productive careers early.
I am not a dairy person but used to be a feed salesman and had a few dairy customers. I liked your first comment that you made yours with dairy cows. DO NOT worry about the other guy or the fancy facilities in the trade publications. Worry about things you can control.
I am not a big farmer, I do not have big hp tractors, I do not get some of the big yields some others brag about, I just found my sweet spot and have done very well (my definition only). I like my milk and milk products and am glad people like yourself do what you do ...most times for very few pats on the back.
When I grew up in the Sandhills of Neb I had a cold bedroom and had to milk the one or two cows for the family milk on the table. Two of my four goals in life was to do well enough to have a warm bedroom and be able to live close enough to town and have enough money to buy my milk.
I thank you for helping making one of those things possible.
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dman
FFA member
Posts: 63
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Post by dman on Jan 13, 2012 14:26:03 GMT -5
hobbyfarmer, I just have to ask..............where is south podunk country, Ioway? Is that north of I-80? North of Hwy 3? East of I-35? West of 71??
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Post by Hobbyfarmer on Jan 13, 2012 15:14:17 GMT -5
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Post by Hobbyfarmer on Jan 13, 2012 15:20:46 GMT -5
ms; now it's your turn
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dman
FFA member
Posts: 63
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Post by dman on Jan 13, 2012 22:55:36 GMT -5
well hobbyfarmer, I'm west of the river. South of 94. North of 90. And East of 35. Not to far from the home of 2 famous doctors.
BTW, I like Mayo on my ham and CHEESE sandwiches.
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Post by jrtheoriginal on Jan 13, 2012 23:01:43 GMT -5
My/Our theory is that you should get as many lactations outa the ole girl as possible. That means you don't burn em up. It also means constantly pushing for quick rebreeding which means less time at peak milk. We have found our sweet spot. been higher before found that to be to costly. and your name in the paper don't pay any bills.
Dave I price my feed at what I could sell it for. I guess that tells me the true value. Yet at the same time I do not let that value tell me that I should just be grain farming either. This is a life time investment. A rough decade or two ain't no big deal!
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dman
FFA member
Posts: 63
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Post by dman on Jan 13, 2012 23:03:23 GMT -5
I guess, here is what I am getting at........lets say milk is $20. D
Dairy "A" makes 100#/cow/day and has a IOFC of $8/cwt.....but there other production costs are another $7/cwt.
Dairy "B" makes 80#/cow/day and has a IOFC of $6/cwt......but there other costs are $4/cwt.
So Dairy "B" is more profitable...even with lower production.
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Post by jrtheoriginal on Jan 14, 2012 7:45:29 GMT -5
MIlkshake you are right in your example. IOFC isn't the whole picture. In fact there are very few whole pictures.
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2+2, MN
Hired Hand
Resident grawlix expert
New Ulm, MN
Posts: 104
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Post by 2+2, MN on Jan 14, 2012 15:20:59 GMT -5
i thought your sopossed to milk a few hundred cows in a parlor freestall and take the High producers out and buy more high producers at sales and milk them as a seprate herd in a tie stall pushing them hard to yu can have the High Milk award for DHIA in the state of MN.
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Post by pldairy on Jan 15, 2012 9:46:44 GMT -5
pushed cows =no money!
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Post by Sofakingwhat on Jan 15, 2012 11:47:30 GMT -5
The rationalization of IOFC makes me laugh. What reason would one have to cheat on the number of what it cost to grow their own feed? Sure wouldn't help a cash cropper, and that's really all you are as a producer, 'cept not selling to the co-op, selling to yourself. Here, the cows went down the road in November 2003 and were replaced by calves grown to sale as feeders, then finally said screw it and finished them out. Replaced them with hogs. As in the Harley kind. On the crop production side, though, nothing has changed other than hay is gone from rotation. Same care is taken to raise good clean crops with minimal cash inputs.
I know most on here will not believe, but one CAN attain a 29000 RHA with very low SCC and 3.8F&P running almost all your feed through the chopper. Used to drop a few gallons of urea laced molasses in each TMR mix, along with long cut haylage, short cut corn silage, and fine chopped snaplage. Pretty easy mix if you ask me.
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