D A I R Y I n i t i a t i v e s N E W S L E T T E R
V o l u m e 8 I s s u e 1 S p r i n g 1 9 9 9

Value of a Diagnostic (Advisory) Team

by DAVID WEINAND
Dairy Specialist, South Dakota State University

Remember building a snowman when you were in grade school? As you rolled the base of the snowman, it got bigger and bigger and more and more difficult to push until you couldn't roll it any more. But if your neighbor and brother or sister came to help you, and if you worked together, you could push that snowball so much farther.

That is what an advisory team can do for you. Since the price of milk has fallen earlier this year, many producers have looked at either tightening their belts or doing something different. Going into unfamiliar territory can be a little scary -- just ask anyone who has doubled their herd size in the past 10 years. An advisory team can help you get that ball rolling and keep it rolling. It can help you over the top of that hurdle that is holding you back. It can help you break through that wall that you have been banging your head against for the past year.

Here are some things an advisory team can do for you:

ť Open lines of communication. Imagine that you go to your doctor with a bad headache, but no one in the doctor's office speaks English. You need someone to help you communicate to get the treatment you need to get better. An advisory team will accomplish the same principle. Communication between your veterinarian and the feed sales representative who balances your ration can allow you to adjust situations in your operation before they become serious. It also allows you and your veterinarian to solve problems, and not just treat symptoms.

ť Bring your experts together to work more effectively for you. The individuals you work with on a regular basis have their individual areas of expertise (agronomy, nutrition, herd health, financial). Only talking to one person about an issue may leave others out of the loop as to what is happening with you and your operation. Have you ever been out of the information loop? How did that make you feel?

ť Save you money. Farms that have adopted recommendations of advisory teams have seen a minimum of a $2 return for every $1 invested. For example:

Investing in routine forage sampling and incorporating those results into a balanced ration could easily save $.10 to $.20/cow/day on your feed costs. If the average 60-cow herd tested forages routinely, these tests could be paid for in the first week, not to mention the potential improvement in production.

Reducing your SCC from 350,000 to 150,000 will increase the amount of milk you get from your cows. Decreasing your SCC by 200,000 will result in a gain of 200 pounds per lactation for first-lactation animals and 400 pounds per lactation for older animals. Decreasing your SCC will also decrease the possibility of having a clinical case of mastitis, which costs approximately $107 in lost milk, medication and veterinary expenses. Also, even just a $.05/cwt premium bonus with a rolling herd average of 18,000 pounds of milk will return you $9/cow.

ť Make you more competitive. An advisory team can help you understand your costs to produce corn, forages, meat, or milk. This will make you more cost competitive in the long run. It will help you answer questions such as: "Can I justify the purchase of a new piece of equipment, or will this purchase put my operation in a difficult financial position?" and "Can I buy hay or corn cheaper than raising it myself?"

In summary, a dairy advisory team can add value to your operation and make you more competitive in the year 2000 and beyond.

Editor's note: This information was adapted from http://www.ansci.umn.edu/dairy/tools/impact-mgmt.html

For information on how you can establish an Advisory Team for your farm, contact Katy Kulesa, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 651/215-3946.

D A I R Y I n i t i a t i v e s N E W S L E T T E R
Volume 8 Issue 1 Spring 1999

Dairy Initiatives

Dairy

Department of Animal Science