Making Money with Dairy Farming

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Dairy farming is a class of animal husbandry or agricultural enterprise for the long-term production of milk from cows and also from goats, camels, and sheep. It is either processed on-site or transported to a factory in order to do processing and for eventual retail sale.

Hence dairy farms are farms where cows are raised to make milk and also the milk products like whipping cream, butter, ice cream and cheese.

Most of the dairy farms instead of rising non-milk-producing stock from the bull calf, sell their male calves born by their cows usually for veal production or for breeding depending on the quality of the bull calf. Many of the dairy farms grew their own feed which includes hay and corn, which is fed directly to the cows and or stored as silage in order to use it during the winter season.

It is an important source of subsidiary income for marginal and small farmers and also agricultural laborers. The manure which comes from the animals provides a very good source of organic matter in order to improve soil fertility and crop yields.

The gober gas which comes from the dung is also used as a fuel for some domestic purposes and also for running engines to draw water from well.

History Of Dairy Farming:
Importance and Scope for dairy farming:
Advantages of Dairy Farming:
Disadvantages of dairy farming:
How to Start a Dairy Farm
How Much Does a Dairy Farm Owner Make?
How Much Profit Does a Dairy Farm Make?
How Much Money do Dairy Farmers Make?
Dairy Farm Profit Per Cow
How Much we Can Earn From Dairy Farm in India
Dairy Farm Profit Calculator
10 Cow Dairy Farm Income
How to Earn Profit From a Dairy Farm
Best of The Best Cow Farming
Dairy Farm Business Plan
Are Dairy Farmers Making Money?
How Can a Dairy Farm Make Money?
How Much do You Earn From a Dairy Farm?
How Many Acres do You Need For a Dairy Farm?
How Much is a 500 Pound Calf Worth?
What Breed of Cattle is Most Profitable?
How Much is a Angus Calf Worth?
How Long Does it Take to Raise a Cow For Slaughter?
What is The Best Age to Sell Cattle?

History Of Dairy Farming:

Dairy farming is being a part of agriculture for thousands of years. It has been a part of diverse and small farms. A large scale of dairy farming is viable only where either there is a substantial market of people with cash for buying milk and not the cows of their own or there is a large amount of milk is required for the production of various durable dairy products such as butter cheese etc.

Hand Milking:
Centralized dairy farming is primarily developed around cities and villages, where most of the residents are unable to have their own cows due to the lack of grazing land. Thus the farmers used to make some extra money by the side by having some additional animals and selling some milk in the town. They used to fill the barrels with milk in the morning. Until the late 19^th century, the milking was done by hands. But as the need for the milk moves up an individual milkier was not able to milk more than a dozen of cows a day. Hence the smaller operations predominated.
Vacuum Bucket Milking:
The first milking machine is an extension for traditional milking pail. The milkier device fit on the top of a milk pail and sat on the floor under the cow. After each cow has being milked, the buckets are dumped into a holding tank. Before milking a cow, a huge leather strap which is called a surcingle was put around the cow and across the cow’s lower back. This innovation allowed the cow to move around naturally with the milking process rather than to stand still over a bucket on the floor.
Milking pipeline:
The next innovation introduced in automatic milking is the milk pipeline. This type uses a vacuum pipe and a permanent milk-return pipe which encircles the milking parlor or barn above the rows of the cows, with the quick seal entry ports on each cow. In order to eliminate the need of the milk container, this milking device shrunk in weight and size to the point where it can hang under the cow, held up only with the sucking force of the nipples of the milkier on the cow’s udder. This pipeline system heavily reduces the physical labor of milking. This pipeline allow barn length to keep on expanding and increasing, but after some point farmers started to milk in large groups, where filling the barn in one-half to one-third of the herd, then refilling and emptying the barn and milking the animals. As the herd sizes increased, this evolved into a more efficient milking parlor.
Milking Parlors:
Innovation in milking is emerged and focused on mechanizing the milking parlor which is commonly known as milking shed in Australia and New Zealand in order to maximize the number of cows per operator which streamlined the process of milking to permit cows to be milked as if on the assembly line and also to reduce the physical stresses on the farmer by putting the cows on the platform a slightly above the person milking the cows so that it eliminates the need of having to constantly bend over. Many of the older and smaller farms still have stanchion barns or tie-stall, but worldwide a majority of commercial farms have parlors.
Herringbone & Parallel Parlors:
In Parallel and herringbone parlors, the milkier generally used to milk one row at a time. Here the milkier will move a row of cows from the holding yard into the milking parlor, and then milk each cow in that row. Once most of or all the milking machines have been removed from the milked row, the milkier will release the cow to their feed. Then a new group of cows are loaded into the vacant parlor and this process repeats till all the cows are milked. Depending on the milking parlor size, which is normally in the bottleneck, these rows can range from four to sixty at a time.
Rotary Parlors:
Under this type, the cows are loaded one at a time in the platform as it slowly rotates. The milkier will stand near the entry to the parlor and then puts the cups on the cows as they move past. By the time the platform has completed a full rotation, another machine or milkier removes the cups and then the cow steps backwards off the platform and then it walks to its feed. These rotary parlors are commonly known as the Rotary cowsheds in New Zealand, which is started in the 1980’s and it is quite expensive compared to herringbone cowshed and is about 25% faster than a herringbone shed for the same number of cows.
Automatic Milkier Take-off:
This sort of milking can be harmful to an animal for it to be over-milked past the point and where the udder has been stopped releasing milk. Subsequently the milking process for this involves not just applying the milkier and it also monitors the process to determine when the animal has been milked out and the milkier should be removed. This parlor operations allows a farmer to milk more animals and also more quickly and it also increased the number of animals to be monitored simultaneously by the farmer. This automatic take-off was also developed to remove the milkier from the cow when the milk flow reaches a present level, which relieves the farmer from the duties of carefully watching over more animals being milked at the same time.
Fully Automated Milking:
During 1980s and 1990s, these robotic milking systems were developed and introduced. Thousands of these systems are in routine operation. In these types of systems the cow has a high degree of autonomy to choose her time of milking with-in the pre-defined windows.

Importance and Scope for dairy farming:

The total of milk production in our country was estimated about 84.6 million metric tones for the year 2001-02. At this production, the per capita availability was 225grams per day against the minimum requirement of 250grams per day as recommended by ICMR.

Thus, it shows that there is tremendous potential and scope for increasing the milk production. The state and central governments are giving considerable financial assistance in creating infrastructure facilities for milk production. 9^th plan outlay on Animal Husbandry and Dairying was about Rs.2345 cores.

Advantages of Dairy Farming:

Dairy farming is more relevant in most parts of the world. In these lands, animals especially cows are raised so that their milk can be sold. In other words, we can say if you have no dairy farms then milk, which is the main source for minerals and calcium for humans would be difficult to get. These days, dairy industry is one of the most promising industries all over the world.

Where no other business can guarantee such returns as does the dairy farming. Usually tested cows which are tried to produce large amount of milk are raised in these lands. Examples are: Ayrshire, Brown Swiss and Milking shorthorn. If these businesses are done with a proper scientific management then you can earn 25-32% returns of the investment.

Major benefits of dairy farming include:
·         Since this dairy farming business is not dependent on the rainfall, production is possible even if the weather is very dry and hot.
·         The rate of the milk which is sold in the market has never gone down. Even when the supply increases the demand it has been noticed that the price has remained the same.
·         The demand curve for the milk is always increasing which means the demand keeps on increasing and the consumption of dairy products is on the top by both non-vegetarians and vegetarians.
·         Compared to the products of the other industries, marketing of milk is so easy. There is no need for special shops and the expenses for marketing are also very low for any of the dairy products.
·         Dairy farming industry is the only one where you have a guaranteed income for every month.

Disadvantages of dairy farming:

When we just look into our history of our dairy farming, we know that centralized type of farming existed in most of the cities and villages. Most of the residents had enough land to keep cows and sell milk to their neighbors. However, in this modern world, only very few people have cows due to the lack of space for the cows to graze on.

Even though people have enough money in order to buy milk, they don’t have place or time to rear cows. Only based on the location, people today prefer to tame cows and have a farm for their own. Say for examples: in New Hampshire about 70% of the farm land is completely associated with dairy farming. Hardly there are only 126 dairy farms left in the state today.

New England has lost about 150 farms in the past 2 years and has only 2000 farms in the state. This is due to the reason that the farmers are being paid less for milk they produce. It is rightly said that during the recession the hardest hit is the daily farms.

Like any other mammals, cows give birth to young ones and produce milk to nurture them. Normally a gestation period for a cow is about 9 months and it would nurse then from 7 months to one year. Like any other mammals it feeds the baby 9 to 12 times a day. The dairy farm does not allow this to happen as they want to extract most of the milk and to be sent to the market.

By this process the dairy farms separate the young ones from their mothers which cause a great distress. While the male calves are often killed and sent to slaughter houses for beef or veal. The female calves become dairy cows like their mothers.

The frequent replacement of herd members is very essential because the death rate of dairy cows is high. The average number of years which a cow lives is 20years. But in a dairy, a cow usually lives only for 3 to 4 years due to the frequent disease and constant location.

The last few decades are the wonderful period for the dairy farming and this experienced a sudden growth in the southern US. The climatic conditions in this US area are very different from that of places like New England which is fully filled with grasslands. The dairy cattle here are housed in unpaved dry lots or dirt lots.

This undeveloped surface of such lots causes frequent lameness and it is hard on the cows. And also the heavy rains create layers of mud and manures several inches thick. This makes even more impossible or difficult for the cows to lie down or to walk on a dry surface.

Thus a dairy farmers work hard each and every day to bring you great tasting, fresh, wholesome milk products. Almost all the dairies are family-owned and they are as active members of their communities, farms families take pride in maintaining natural resources and feeding our country.

It means they preserve the land where they work and live, protect the water and air and they share with the neighbors, as they provide the best care for their cows- the lifeblood for their business.

How to Start a Dairy Farm

It is important to remember that a dairy farm is a business. Development of a detailed business plan and a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) of your plan and the resources you have available will be critical to the success of your business.

How many cows will you milk? Where will you market your milk? Will you hire employees? How much money do you need to live on after the dairy bills are all paid? Your business plan should include a cash flow plan that will help you set reasonable expectations for your expenses and cost of production.

Consult the Experts

Even if you grew up on a dairy and learned how to feed and milk cows from your parents and grandparents it is important to consult experts in the dairy industry as you develop your business plan and design your management system. Other dairy producers are great resources.

Attend field days and open houses on dairy farms in your area and other parts of the state or country. When visiting other farms find out what has worked well on those farms and what has not worked, but keep in mind that just because something worked on one farm does not mean it will work for you on your farm.

In addition to farmers, talk to veterinarians, nutritionists, agronomists, bankers, extension educators, and others that can provide different perspectives on the management of your dairy.

Create a Cropping and Feeding Program

Whether you are going to feed a TMR (total mixed ration), graze your cattle, or some combination of both; dairy cattle require a certain set of nutrients to support themselves, produce milk, and grow a calf. Work with a nutritionist to develop rations for your lactating cows and dry cows and heifers if these animals are to be raised on the farm.

Many dairy farms in Pennsylvania produce most if not all their own forages and many of their concentrate (grain) needs. Raising all your own feed takes land and time, not to mention equipment for planting and harvesting the crops.

Hiring custom operators to plant and harvest crops, or making arrangements with neighbors to share equipment and labor can reduce your capital investment as you get started with your dairy business and are building capital. Double cropping systems, with small grain crops following corn silage, are used successfully on many Pennsylvania farms.

Create a Waste Management Plan

Dairy cattle produce a lot of manure. While this manure is often referred to as waste, if managed and used properly it can be a great resource on the farm. Manure management will be tied closely to your cropping and feeding program. If you are able to use a double-cropping system on your farm it will not only allow you to produce more feed but will also allow you to apply more manure to your land.

Alternatives to direct land application of manure include composting and anaerobic digestion of manure, while these options may provide additional revenue and other benefits to your dairy they will also increase the capital investment required to get your dairy started.

Every farm will need a manure management plan, but depending on the size of your farm a nutrient management plan may also be required. Check with your county Conservation District or local Extension office for more information.

Build Your Equity Over Time

Dairy farming requires a large capital investment. Land, buildings, equipment, and cows are expensive and few new dairy farmers will have the capital required to purchase everything when they get started in business. Many beginning farmers begin by purchasing their cows first and renting the farm and land. These initial animals are your farms equity.

Dairy Farming is a Biological System

The dairy farm is dependent on the cow’s ability to live a healthy life, produce milk, and have calves that can become the next generation of the farm. Dairy farming requires detailed programs for herd health, reproduction and calf care in addition to the nutrition and financial aspects on the farm. Working with your veterinarian, genetics representatives and extension agents can help you develop comprehensive farm plans to create a positive future.

One Size Does Not Fit All

All dairy farms are different based on the producer’s wishes, resource requirements, market needs and more. Multiple systems exist and can be profitable. Some producers contract out their replacements to a custom heifer raiser while others diversify by selling crops, raising steers or creating a home-bottling plant. How you farm will depend on your desires, resources, and drive.

You are a Manager First

All these previous items are just pieces of the puzzle. In order to succeed you will need to combine each aspect of management into a whole farm plan. However, you don’t need to do it all. Work with trusted consultants to help you build a plan, and stick with your strengths.

If you love milking cows but hate planting corn, find someone to work with who does, or contract that work out to a third party. Consider creating a farm management team or profit team that engages your consultants to be active participants in the farm’s progress.

How Much Does a Dairy Farm Owner Make?

The average annual pay for a Dairy Farm Owner in the United States is $43,828 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $21.07 an hour. This is the equivalent of $843/week or $3,652/month.

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $114,500 and as low as $15,500, the majority of Dairy Farm Owner salaries currently range between $24,500 (25th percentile) to $45,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $80,000 annually across the United States.

The average pay range for a Dairy Farm Owner varies greatly (by as much as $20,500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.

How Much Profit Does a Dairy Farm Make?

If you are a beginner and you dream about small dairy farming and basing your income on milk sales, better do not do it. In most cases, this business is highly unprofitable with a herd of less than 100 cows. According to University of Minnesota data from 2019 dairy farms with 40 – 60 cows bring big losses.

Dairy farms with about 150 cows stop being lossy and begin to bring small profits. Dairy business begins to pay off and brings bigger profits with herds of 300 to 600 cows and larger.

This is due to the fact that larger farms are usually better organized, buy cheaper feed, antibiotics and other necessary items at wholesale prices, and are much more efficient than small farms.

A good example of why small dairy farms can’t face large farms is the overall cost of production (including labor and management). It’s median was $17.86 per hundredweight (cwt) of milk in 2019.

For small dairy farms with 40 cows, the average production cost was as much as $28,10 per cwt of milk. The same production basket for large farms with an average of 673 cows was only $14.78 per cwt. It is not difficult to notice that the smallest farms had two times higher production cost than large farms.

How Much Money do Dairy Farmers Make?

Farmers and ranchers in the United States earned an average salary of $60,750, which equates to an hourly wage of $29.21, according to a 2011 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data includes wage information for both dairy farmers and people who operate or manage other types of farms.

Between 2010, and 2020, the bureau expects jobs in the farm sector to decrease by 8 percent. In contrast, employment levels across the economy as a whole are expected to increase by 14 percent over the same decade.

Dairy Farm Profit Per Cow

It’s long been assumed that large dairies enjoy economies of scale that allow them to have lower costs, be both more competitive and more profitable than their smaller neighbors who milk fewer cows and farm fewer acres.

But analysis of farm financial records of dairies that participate in the University of Minnesota’s (U of M) Center for Farm Financial Management shows that’s not always true, says Jim Salfer, a U of M Extension dairy specialist.

“Herds over 500 cows on average tend to be more profitable, but profit is much more variable on large farms,” he says. Averages of farm financial records from 2015 through 2018 show that large farms can be in the lowest 20% of profitability and in the top 20%.

“I think some of these farms just can’t handle expansion very well or are just too far in debt,” Salfer says.

Still, on average, large farms show the most profit per cow at about $275 per cow. Farms with less than 200 cows have profits of about $160 per cow. Herds with 200 to 500 cows are seeing profits of just $84 per cow.

“The challenging size are the 200- to 500-cow farms,” he says. “They tend to be too big to be primarily family managed and too small to take real advantage of the scale of size.”

How Much we Can Earn From Dairy Farm in India

This varies from state to state and the breed. A dairy farmer with 50 cows in North India will earn much more than his Southern counterparts because he has few things in his favor – weather, milk culture (i.e. people willing to pay a premium for good milk).

Now we will look at from the perspective of a dairy farmer with 50 cows in Tamil Nadu:

He will be considered as a big dairy farmer because we do not really have many farms of that size.
He must have 5–6 acres of land to grow fodder. Buying fodder is a poor option in TN because we have 89% fodder shortage in the state.
Selling milk to the cooperatives is not at all a problem in TN. You will not get great price (but still better than Gujarat), but you can still sell what you produce (Rs. 35 per liter for cow milk, Rs. 45 for buffalo milk, of course this depends on fat percentage, I have seen people averaging Rs. 28 only for cow milk because it does not have good fat percentage, buffalo milk is a rarity in TN).
Great quality cows are expensive, easily 1 lakh (buffaloes are 2 lakhs). If he was a smart farmer, he would have started off with 10 cows and grew it to 50 over a period of 5 years. If he was a dumb farmer with more money than sense, he would have bought all 50 cows and likely set himself up for huge failure.
A smart dairy farmer would have done real research about market conditions and not trust YouTube cowangelists.

Dairy Farm Profit Calculator

A sample Income statement is given below. Following assumptions have been made:

Assumptions

6-7 in-milk cows which give 150 liters of milk everyday
Revenue of Rs. 3,000 to 5,000 by sale of cow dung manure every month
Sale of cow or calves – one or two times every year
Labor cost is limited to Rs.10,000 per month
Depreciation – We have considered animals worth 5 lakh, cattle shed worth 1 lakh, machinery and milking machine worth 1 lakh. Totaling to Rs. 7 lakh, which would be used for a period of 10 years. Resulting into yearly depreciation expenditure of Rs. 70,000. Thus, we have considered Rs. 6000 per month as depreciation expense.
Rent of the space – Even though the space is self-owned. We have considered Rs. 8000 per month as the rental cost of the land. The rent may be considered zero as well. Depreciation of the land is not considered as generally, the land prices don’t fall.
Animal fodder and feed, mineral mixture is considered approximately 70% of all expenses. When the fodder is grown on your own farm, the expense can be calculated by considering its revenue if you would have sold the fodder to someone else. It would be even better if you could actually record the expenditure incurred on cultivation of fodder and use that as fodder cost.
Maintenance cost, medical cost, electricity & water cost is considered Rs. 500 rupees per month

We have made a simple Profit and Loss Calculator for Dairy Farming Business.

If you have rough or accurate figures of your daily/monthly expenditure and projected or actual income from Dairy Farm, then go to Dairy Farming Calculator to calculate approximate profit using simple questions.

10 Cow Dairy Farm Income

Let’s assume you have the initial amount to set up a cow dairy farm. Which might not be big if you own some farmland already.
Total expense for cow dairy :
food: minimum 200*10 = 2000 rupees.
We need minimum two people to take care of them: 2*350 = 700 rupees in wages.
Total expense per day: 2700 rupees.
Total expense in year = 985000

Income:
On an average cow can yield 15 ltr milk. So total income = 15*35*10 = 5250.
Now note that typically cow can give milk for 300 days out of 365 days.
Total income in year = 5250 * 300 = 1575000.

Total profit in year = 1575000 – 985000 = 590000.

Keep in mind that we have ignored lot of other potential expenses such as medical treatment, loss due to death of cow etc.

How to Earn Profit From a Dairy Farm

There are many dairy farmers that are facing loses after opening their dairy farms. Sometimes losses are so huge that they have to close down the business. On the other hand, there are some very successful dairy farmers that are earning good money and have a good customer base to sell their farm products.

We are going to talk about here some basic but important things to keep your dairy farm running. These steps will help you to earn good money and be a long term player in this game of dairy farming.

1. The Right Way to Utilize Milk For Profits

The main product of every dairy farm is milk. If your farm’s milk will not get sold then you will face losses and cannot survive. So the main objective should be to identify the potential markets and customers to sell your milk. Do some research and identify the potential markets such as urban cities, societies, potential customers.

Make sure to always provide best quality of milk and never do any mixing or tempering with it. This is the mistake that many dairies do these days. Customers nowadays are very smart and if they find out that you are doing such practices they will stop purchasing from you. You can charge little extra from your customers but always provide them with pure milk. They will surely be happy & will be with you for a very long time.

A dairy farm requires hard work to be a successful business. Never rely on your farm workers completely. This is like any other business rule: Always be present in your farm to do work. This will give you experience and in case your worker leaves for better opportunity or any other reason, you will be able to manage the work.

You will be left with some milk after selling majority of it. You can freeze it make curd from it. Always store curd in clay pots, it will add better taste to the curd and the curd will last longer. You can then sell curd also for additional income.

You can also make desi ghee from extra milk. Make sure to separate buffalo milk ghee and cow milk ghee. Then sell it as per the demands of the customer.

2. Cow and Buffalo Dung: Source of Amazing Additional Income

There will be ample amount of cow and buffalo dung that you will be left with always. Well there are many profitable ways to use it to make more money out of your farm.

You can sell dung to Farmers, Plant nurseries, Home gardeners etc. You can sell it in so many ways & it will give you good income. Make sure to sell pure dung without mixing sand in it. This will help you to gain trust of people you are selling to & they will be with you for very long time.

Another amazing use of dung is to make “Vermi Compost”. The other names of this are ‘Earthworm Manure’ OR ‘Kechua Khad’. The demand of Vermi Compost is huge nowadays and not many people are making it. There are so many farmers who are looking and want to buy Vermi Compost.

3. Start with Less Animals

It’s best to start a dairy farm with less number of animals. It will give you an idea about how much can you manage and how much milk can you sell. A dairy farm is best to start when the person is willing to take care of the animals himself and don’t rely completely on the workers.

4. Take Care of Cow & Buffalo Calf

You must take good care of Cow and Buffalo Calf’s. You can also do breeding. There are many injections that are in the market for Cow and Buffalo to produce female calves. You can opt for this practice. It will be beneficial for the future as you will have more cows and buffaloes for your farm. You can also earn money by selling female calf. If you don’t want to sell, even then you have an extra cow or buffalo for your farm for the future.

5. Do Insurance

Always make sure to do INSURANCE for your farm animals. There are various govt. policies for this. If in any case your animal dies, you will get the insurance money that will save you from suffering loses.

Best of The Best Cow Farming

There are numerous dairy cow breeds available throughout the world. You can choose any depending on your area, local facilities and your production purpose.

Some famous and popular dairy cow breeds are Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Gir, Holstein Friesian, Jersey, Milking Shorthorn, Red Sindhi, Sahiwal, Tharparkar etc.

Consider your weather, local facilities and market demand of dairy products while selecting breeds for your dairy cow farming business.

Housing

For keeping your cows healthy, productive and diseases free, good housing is very important. Provide your cows required space inside the house depending on the breeds. Usually 80 square feet open space and 40 square feet space inside the house is required per cow.

Although it may vary depending on the size of the breed. Make proper ventilation system, and ensure sufficient flow of fresh air and light inside the house. Concrete house is very suitable for the cows.

Feeding

Good foods ensure good health and maximum production. So always try to provide your cows adequate amount of high quality and nutritious foods to ensure proper growth and good health.

Forages, which refer especially to hay or straw, are the most common type of feed used for raising dairy cows.

For fulfilling energy demands, add cereal grains to the dairy cow’s feed. Greens help to maximize milk production. So add greens as much as possible to their regular foods.

Greens also help to reduce feeding costs. Alfalfa, timothy, clover etc. are considered as good greens for dairy cows.

For fulfilling energy demands, add cereal grains to the dairy cow’s feed. Greens help to maximize milk production. So add greens as much as possible to their regular foods.Greens also help to reduce feeding costs. Alfalfa, timothy, clover etc. are considered as good greens for dairy cows.

If possible, make a grazing place or pasture for your cows. Along with adequate nutritious foods, ensure availability of adequate amount of clean and fresh water. Dairy cows require more water than any other animals.

Because they are mainly raised for their milk production, and their milk contain a large amount of water. Usually a dairy cow require about 5 liters of water for producing 1 liter milk. So provide them sufficient amount of water according to their demand.

Care & Management

Taking good care and proper management is the main step to be successful in any animal husbandry business. So always try to take good care of your cows. Feed them nutritious food and provide sufficient amount of clean and fresh water.

Vaccinate them timely, so that you can keep them free from all types of diseases or illness. If possible, always stock some necessary drugs. Keep their house clean and wash the cow regularly.

Milking

Select a calm and quiet place for milking your cows. It will be better, if you can manage a separate room for the cow for milking.

You can both hand milk the cows and use machines for milking. Ensure you have good practices to make your cows as comfortable as possible during the time you are milking them.

Marketing

It will be better, if you set your marketing strategies before starting this business. Although dairy products have a huge demand throughout the world. There are many companies also available in many areas. You can try your local market.

Every business has some advantages and disadvantages. Commercial dairy cow farming business is not an exception. As dairy farming business is an old business idea, so it has many advantages compared to it’s disadvantages.

But no doubt it’s a profitable business. For running a successful dairy cow farming business, always take good care of your animals.

Dairy Farm Business Plan

We all take in dairy foods on a regular basis; in fact there isn’t any home that doesn’t consume dairy foods. This primarily is one of the reasons why those who have built a business around the dairy industry are making a great deal of income on a daily basis. One of the businesses that revolved around the diary trade is starting a dairy farm.

It pays that one does all that needs to be done in order to start with the right footing. As such one, one can undertake a thorough and exhaustive research. Thereafter think towards getting a firsthand knowledge of the industry by sitting under the tutelage of someone who has a firsthand experience and d3ealing with the trade.

You will also be required to write a business plan. One of the good things about business plans is that they serve as a great guide and blueprint to fly with. There are plenty business plan experts out there; to save you the troubles and fees that you will have to pay.

Industry Overview
Executive Summary
Our Products and Services
Our Mission and Vision Statement
Job Roles and Responsibilities
SWOT Analysis
MARKET ANALYSIS
Our Target Market
Our competitive advantage
SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
Sales Forecast
Publicity and Advertising Strategy
Our Pricing Strategy
Startup Expenditure (Budget)
Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Are Dairy Farmers Making Money?

Dairy farms are an essential part of agriculture in the United States. They make more than just milk, with many dairy farmers producing and selling cheese, yogurt, and butter with their cow’s milk, and eventually even meat from the retired cows.

Dairy farmers can make anywhere from $15,000 to $120,000+ a year, with an average of about $43,000 yearly. To understand how much dairy farmers make in a year, it’s important to compare the costs of running the dairy farm with the profit of selling products. This allows for a widespread of income across dairy farmers.

The amount of money that a dairy farmer makes will vary widely based on several factors. The industry average for a dairy farm owner in the United States is around $43,000 per year. This equates to a little over $21 per hour.

However, according to ZipRecruiter, most dairy farmers (59%) make between $24,500 and $43,000 annually.

As a first-time farmer, you may not make the median. Mistakes may set you back, and you may not be prepared for everything. You can easily have natural disasters or other mishaps that will put you back both in production and financially.

Some dairy farmers can make around fifty thousand dollars or a little more. It can be less, depending on your investments and the cost of living wherever your farm is located.

This number can vary based on many factors, some of which include:

Grade of milk produced

Type of Cows used

Size of the farm

As with all businesses, the income is what’s left of money from your product after you’ve paid overhead and other associated costs.

Money is made on the milk product and also the cows themselves. Expenses range from feed and transport to veterinary care and maintaining equipment while paying workers.

How Can a Dairy Farm Make Money?

Self sufficiency is the only way to achieve profit in dairy. I have seen some farmers who start big in dairy and end up horrible because of these reasons.

Pure foreign breeds. These breeds even they give lot milk they fell ill even in slightest change in weather and feeding habit.
Reliant on artificial or packed feeds . These feeds perform well only for certain years on a cow later they make cow weak as they are rich in hormones and poor in calcium and other nutrients, which make cows incapable of breeding.
Marketing milk in conventional methods. Supplying milk to private or co-operative milk unions won’t fetch you profit. So marketing directly to customers in suburban or urban household is good idea. (Some ventures in Karnataka are doing it already)
Lack of experienced veterinarian

Yes, Dairy farming is supposed to be a profitable business.

You must be able to sell your milk directly to the consumer, So you get financial freedom to take care of animals. Remember as a dairy farmer “You are Delivering Health and Wellness not just MILK alone”
Obtaining optimal calving intervals (One calf once in every 13 months), Animals will do their best when we do your best in giving care
Reduced Mortality rate ( Calf won’t die easily when adult animal is healthy)
Concentrating on breeding.
Then slowly move on to the integrated farming once you acquire enough customer base for your quality produce.

How Much do You Earn From a Dairy Farm?

Larger dairies with more cows produce more milk, bringing in a more considerable income. Conversely, the smallest dairies also bring in a better income. Wisconsin State Farmer explains how this can be the case.

In dairies with 500 cows, the average net profit annually per cow is $275.

For dairies with herds of well over 500 cows, this number remains the same.

For dairy herds of 200-500 cows, the profit per cow is much smaller, around $84 per cow annually.

Herds of cows under 200 increase to about $160 per cow.

This discrepancy is because, in the 200-500 range, companies need to start mechanizing more and hiring more workers, which detracts from their profit. The smaller herds require less workforce and remain profitable, while the large herds produce enough to offset the costs of increased workers and other overhead.

The “in-between” size dairy farms generally struggle more than large- or small-scale operations.

How Many Acres do You Need For a Dairy Farm?

Dairy operations need to be “custom tailored” to the resources available as there is no cookie cutter approach to managing the business. However, regardless of the dairy’s herd size, there is one key theme that applies to everyone, a land base that matches the number of cows and heifers in the herd.

Examining cash flows from 2019, dairies ranging in size from 40 to 1200 milking cows were struggling with inadequate forage inventory. The acreage owned and rented does not match the forage needs of the herd.

The result is excessive feed costs from purchased forage and grain and breakeven costs exceeding $22.00/cwt for the dairy enterprise. To be competitive in today’s economy requires a land base right-sized for the dairy herd including cows and heifers.

A rule of thumb for dairy operations is 1.5 to 2.0 acres per cow, which includes the youngstock. Even on herds utilizing custom heifer raisers, acreage may still be limited for the cows and the reduced heifer numbers raised on the home farm.

Animal units compared to acreage harvested for crops (owned and rented land) for an Amish producer.

Animal	Number	Bodyweight, lbs.	Animal unit¹
Milk cows	44	1300	44.0
Dry cows	7	1350	7.3
Calves < 6 months	5	250	1.0
Heifers 7 to 12 months	5	600	2.3
Heifers >12 months	10	900	6.9
Horses/mules	12	1100	10.0
Total animal units			71.5

Total animal units: 71.5

Total harvestable acres: 57.0

Acres per animal: 1.25²

How Much is a 500 Pound Calf Worth?

The cost of beef heifers is around $2,500 to $3,000 individually with an average cost of $2,800 per cow. The cost of the calf will generally be based on its weight. The unit of measurement used to put prices on cows is CWT which stands for 100 pounds. For a beef cow, CWT is between $135 and $165. It is an average of $140 per 100 pounds. A calf that weighs 500 pounds costs around $700.

As compared to a heifer, bred heifer costs more. A bred heifer can cost around $1,300. Whereas matured cows can cost around $4,000 to $5,000 each. A matured cow can weigh around 2,200 pounds i.e. $1.85 cwt.

What Breed of Cattle is Most Profitable?

In the United States of America, the most famous breed is the Black Angus. This breed requires extra maintenance and care during the calving season. There are more breeds of beef cows that are great providers of beef such as:

Charolais: This breed is heavier in weight and in winters their coat thickens.
Hereford: They mature early and their fattening abilities are great. They are docile and are efficient at milk-producing.
Simmental: Easy to work with during the calving season. They too have good fattening abilities.
Red Angus: They are docile and have good fat marbling.
Texas Longhorn: These are survival cows and they have longhorns.
Highlands: They have thick coats, they can easily survive in colder weather. Their meat is lean and marbled.

What Are Some Best Dairy Cows To Buy?

Jersey: They are smaller in size and they are great milk providers.
Brown Swiss: They are gentle and one of the older dairy animals.
Dexters: They are smaller in size but they are also used for meat.
Guernseys: They are smaller in size.
Hereford: They mature early. They are docile and great providers of milk.
Holstein: They are efficient milk providers and are used for beef also.

How Much is a Angus Calf Worth?

The cost will depend on the age, gender, the size, where it’s being purchased from and geographical location. On average, plan on spending anywhere from $800 to as much as $3,000+ per, with bulls being 50 to 70 percent more than a cow. An open Angus heifer calf, for example, can cost anywhere from $1,400 to as much as $1,800, while a full grown Hereford bull can cost upwards of $3,400.

CattleRange.com, at the time of this writing, has hundreds of listings from farms located primarily in Texas and the surrounding regions. Glancing at a few of these ads, most farmers were selling their black angus cows for about $800 to $1,800. Some farmers would sell the cows individually, but some required a minimum order.

Another classified website, Ranch World Ads, had about 30 to 40 listings, with prices ranging from $1,100 to $2,100.

Type	Average Price
Angus Bred Heifers	$1,400 to $1,800
Bulls	$2,500 to $5,000
Cows	$1,200 to $1,500
Cows w/calves	$1,300 to $3,000
Show-quality Bull	$3,500 to $5,500

How Long Does it Take to Raise a Cow For Slaughter?

Different types of cow are slaughtered at different ages. As a baseline, regular beef cattle which are raised from calf for beef are slaughtered at around 32 to 42 months of age according to the USDA.

According to Angus cattle specialists South Fork Angus, angus cattle reach their full size bodyweight at around two years old.

Since Angus cattle are the most widely raised beef cattle in the US, this makes sense and ties in with the USDA figures above, allowing some time for calving and muscle growth before slaughter.

Although regular beef is slaughtered at between two and three years on average, there are many other situations in which cattle may be slaughtered much younger or much older than this.

Dairy cows are more profitable to the farmer for producing dairy than they are being sold for meat, so dairy cows are only sent for meat once they can no longer produce milk.

As dairy cows get older, they can no longer reliably become pregnant and their milk production decreases.

When the dwindling milk production means it is no longer economically viable for the farmer to keep feeding them, dairy cows are sent for slaughter.

Dairy cows are typically sent for slaughter when their milk production and fertility starts to drop off at around six to eight years old.

What is The Best Age to Sell Cattle?

Slaughtering beef cattle at 12 months could help raise the profitability of the UK beef industry by millions of pounds every year, according to scientists.

Researchers at SRUC in Edinburgh found that reducing the slaughter age of beef cattle – regardless of breed – would improve farm profits thanks to reduced feed, bedding and labour costs associated with each animal.

It would also increase the turnover of cattle on on beef units, helping farmers increase production and potentially add significant sums to their bottom lines.

A study found that while the peak carcass value for Holstein-Friesian cattle was 730 days, the difference in slaughter value between 365 and 730 days was just £135, making them most profitable at 12 months.

Meanwhile Limousin cattle had a peak carcass value between 400 and 430 days, making them most profitable between 365 and 430 days (12-14 months).

Limousin-Holstein-Friesian crossbred cattle reached their peak carcass value at 800 days, although the difference between 365 and 800 days was just £80, making 12 months the most profitable age of slaughter.

Final Words

The key to maximizing profits is the quality of the dairy animals feed. If its quality is not adequate, cows will not reach their milk production potential and such a dairy farm will have a higher cost of production per cwt.
Cows raised for dairy are usually removed from dairy herd around age six and marked for beef. Cows between 5 and 10 years of age begin to give much less milk, which is why it pays to turn them into meat.
When you don’t have much experience, it’s better to start dairy business with stackers than with cow calfs. Cow calfs need more work, more problems to solve and more care. It’s better to start with stackers that won’t require so much work at first.
Starting dairy farming without proper knowledge can lead to huge losses. The death of one cow is even a waste of several thousand dollars.
Temperature extremes and heat stress can decrease cattle’s fertility and milk production.
Dairy products come not only from high producing dairy cows but also from goats, sheeps, camels and even donkeys, yaks and horses. It is worth analyzing the possibilities of the dairy business associated with, for example, camel milk (which is even 20-30 times more expensive than cow’s milk), and with other animals. While competition on the cow’s milk market is often not easy, the market for milk from other animals can create many profitable opportunities for good niche business.