Milk Producer - May 2010 - (Page 30)

FARMBUSINESS By Dan Woolley Profit bottlenecks By paying attention to small details, you can eliminate barriers to a better bottom line A chieving optimal results from all factors and variables in herd management can add thousands of dollars to a Canadian dairy farm’s bottom line. A 50-cow herd not performing up to its potential, could be missing out on as much as $70,000 year, estimates dairy nutritionist and respected consultant Mario LeClerc. The way to reach your farm’s income potential is to pay attention to details, he told his Maritime producer audience at the annual Dairy Focus conference in Greenwich, Nova Scotia: “All details count ... they count at the end of the year.” He used the eye-popping $70,000 figure for a 50-cow herd to spark discussion and make farmers realize how small details can make a big difference to their bottom lines. “In this presentation, I was talking about a few areas on the dairy farm where we can improve and how much money these changes represent,” he later explained. “I totalled these changes to make producers realize that a few dollars here and there can make lots of money at the end. The numbers in this presentation were there only to create discussion.” LeClerc, who grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Casselman, Ont., co-founded Agtrek Nutrition, a dairy management consulting business, in 1997. Based in Embrun, Ont., the company has numerous clients in western Quebec and eastern Ontario, The number of heifers on hand can reduce the amount of milk that goes into your bulk tank. and developed what it calls “Full Circle Management.” It uses practical systems and tools, based on leading research and technologies, to improve individual farm profit margins. Some of the numbers he presented in Nova Scotia showed how industry margins have been squeezed from 1995 to 2009. Quota prices increased to $25,000 per kilogram from $15,000, 48 per cent soyameal shot up to $600 per tonne from 30 | May 2010 | MilkPRODUCER

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milk Producer - May 2010

Milk Producer - May 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
DFO Chair's Message
Provincial Perspectives
Dairy Update
National Policy
Farm Finance
Retailers Spotlight
DFC Promotion
The Future Arrives
Farm Business
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Markets
New 'N" Noted
Back Forty

Milk Producer - May 2010