Expansion not always solution to upping dairy profits

If you aren’t making money out of your cows now, expanding your herd isn’t the solution to making more money in the future. That was the blunt message from Derbyshire dairy farmer and Nuffield Scholar, Andrew Mycock.

“You have to be making a good job of things now, to warrant getting bigger. And if you do believe expansion is the way forward you must benchmark your business against others to provide an essential comparison and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your herd management.”

Mr Mycock expanded his herd in 2005 from 240 to 360 cows in the firm belief that new investment in the business would enable him to attract higher calibre staff. But it didn’t and the business temporarily faltered.

Now back on track, Mr Mycock stressed the importance of adopting a new “mind set” when embarking on herd expansion. It was about far more than investing money and keeping more cows.

“To be successful it demands a total re-think in the way you have operated in the past. There needs to be a far more rigid and structured approach to the day to day running of the herd. In many cases we see herds increasing their cow numbers at a far faster rate then their management skills are increasing. The two are out of kilter and that’s when the problems start.”

Dairy farmers at the conference were told that creating staff protocols had become an essential part of Mr Mycock’s business. “We have a monthly work sheet and a weekly work sheet for each member of staff. I undertake all the feeding but my day is over by 8am – then it’s up to the staff, but they know precisely what’s expected of them.

“This sort of structure to staff employment has to become far more widespread in our industry,” he said.

He urged farmers heading for expansion to be prepared to spend more time sitting at a desk. “You can make more money managing the business from a desk with a computer. Use your skills for issues like time management and making the most efficient use of staff. These are the new challenges that have to be faced if herd size continues to increase.”

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