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Ohio dairy saw low financial returns in 2015

An Ohio State report shows Ohio dairy producers had the lowest financial returns in five years, in 2015.

Chris Zoller, an Ag Extension Educator with Ohio State University says researchers reviewed data for the latest Ohio Farm Business Analysis & Benchmarking Program report.

“In the most recent year for the analysis – 2015 – milk prices were not that good for dairy farms. Of the last five years this would be the lowest of the five years in terms of net return per cow,” says Zoller.

The report – published in December – says net returns in 2015 averaged $36.42 per cow – before labor and management charges – which was the lowest in five years. Looking ahead, dairy markets continue to remain low and Zoller tells Brownfield it’s too soon to tell if the markets will rebound any time soon.

“It depends on what future milk prices do. It depends on what grain prices do in terms of feed costs. For someone who’s buying grain to feed animals, these lower prices are favorable. But with milk prices, we’re just not sure what’s going to happen to those well into the future,” says Zoller.

The program collected data from more than 12,600 cows – about five-percent of Ohio’s dairy herd. It takes about a year to compile and analyze all of the data.

Zoller says farmers can use the benchmarking analysis to learn how their operation compares to other dairy farms throughout Ohio and can help them make financial decisions.

Click here to read the report

Audio: Chris Zoller, Ag Educator – Dairy Specialist, Ohio State University