Being a successful dairy producer in the U.S. requires optimizing your marginal milk production. What is marginal milk production? It is the additional milk you produce per cow by fine-tuning your ration. Here is an example: A group of cows produces 80 pounds of milk on 52 pounds of dry matter intake and then the ration is fine-tuned – and now this group of cows is making 84 pounds of milk on 54 pounds of dry matter intake. Did feed costs go up? Yes, because the cows ate 2 pounds more dry matter. Did profit go up? Yes, because milk is worth more than feed.