Tools to Magnify the Bottom Line
Dairy Farmers have always had to watch the bottom line. Today’s fluctuating feed prices and rising labor costs have made it much harder to control.
“To stay competitive, and to increase our cash flow, we need to have the bottom line magnified” said Ed Leyendekker, owner of Rocky Road Dairy, Dinuba Ca.
Ed and Tosha have milked their large herd in a flat barn for over 15 years. Recently, Performance Dairy Service remodeled the milking barn to a 72 cow PR3100HD DeLaval rotary barn. The Delaval MM27 milk meter with Delpro Herd Management Software, and Sort Gate system are tools that Ed uses daily to make pin point decisions on his dairy. “As a dairyman, the more you know the better you are” says Ed, “and what you know can help you make a profit”.
Ed’s main objective for his remodel was to increase profitability, labor efficiency, better working conditions, and cow comfort. Due to the information from the daily milk weights, and the speed of the rotary, Ed is currently milking less cows with more milk in the tank.