With so many value-added options available to dairy producers, it can be overwhelming to evaluate each possibility and determine how to move forward. At the 2020 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit, Ginger Fenton and Sarah Cornelisse from Penn State Extension led a breakout session about feasibility analysis frameworks.

Subsistence farming, by dictionary definition, is “a system of farming that produces a minimum and often inadequate return to the farmer.” This is common practice in developing countries, but could that definition also be used to describe how many dairies in the U.S. have operated for the past several years? It’s as if we are in a first-world country that expects dairy farmers to survive on a third-world business model.

As a CPA who survived last year’s difficult tax season due to implementing the expansive changes that were enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCGA), I have taken a step back and revisited some of the less-publicized and -known provisions of the new tax law.

Genske, Mulder & Co. has produced, for decades, what is referred to as cost studies for our dairy clients. These show the averages of our clients’ profit and loss statements from about 14 states, which provide an array of useful information.

Breaking up is hard to do but, as the risk manager for your farm, you should be prepared for the day when you and your lender may have to go your separate ways.

With all the challenges going on in the dairy industry right now, most are finding themselves in crisis mode 24-7. This leaves little time to sit back and think about what got us here, how it can be solved and what we can do so future generations don’t have to go through the same thing.