Minnesota/Wisconsin Engineering Notes

February 2004 Postharvest and Alternative Energy Info on Web Your Farm Doesn’t Have to Smell that Bad Science-based Information on Manure Management Issues Competitive Milking? Bedded Pack Housing For Dairy Cows Livestock Ventilation Design—Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality Concerns EDEN – Extension Disaster Education Network Workshops on Food System Terrorist Threats Irrigated Acres Update New Book and Companion CD Focus on Dairy Replacements Resources Calendar

Competitive Milking? Douglas J. Reinemann, Wisconsin Extension Engineer Perhaps if we invoke the pride and competitive spirit of midwestern dairymen, we can close the milking performance gap with Western dairy states. Some interesting comparisons between major dairy regions of the United States emerge from the results of the 2003 Dairy Wage Survey conducted by Gregorio Billikopf and reported in the November issue of Agribusiness Dairyman. Highlights of the survey are:   West Midwest Southeast Northeast Avg. wage $/hr $10 $8.60 $9.30 $8.70 Avg. yrs worked 5.8 3.5 3.9 3.6 Foreign born 81% 49% 34% 22% Female 8% 15% 8% 30% Avg. cows milked 1001 437 536 444 Avg. hrs/shift 7.6 6.4 5.6 4.8 Avg. Milkers/shift 2.3 2.2 1.6 2 Several interesting points emerge from these numbers. Milking parlors in the Midwest are “overpopulated” compared with other regions (particularly the southeast and northeast) The efficiency of our milking parlors is way behind every other region in the country. The Midwest lags behind other regions in the wages we pay our milkers. Labor efficiency can be expressed as the cows milked per person per hour while economic efficiency can be expressed as the cost of milking each cow. Using the results of the labor survey these efficiencies can be calculated for the four dairy regions of the United States.   West Midwest Southeast Northeast Whole Parlor Avg. Cows milked /hr 132 68 96 93 Per person Avg Cows milked /hr 57 31 60 46 Avg. labor cost to run parlor $/hr $23 $19 $15 $17 Labor cost Cents/cow milked 2.3 4.3 2.8 3.9 The productivity of labor in the Midwest is only about half of that in the western and southeastern regions and two thirds of that in the Northeast. The cost of milking a cow in the Midwest is the highest of all regions and almost double that of the western region. The Midwest has a lot of catching up to do if we want to stay in the ball game. There are three very simple solutions to this problem. Don’t put the extra person in the pit. Adding a second or third milker to a milking parlor smaller than a double 12 or so is never a good economic move. The cows milked per hour never increases proportionately to the added labor cost. Build reasonably sized parlors. The economic optimum for herds up to about 600 cows is a double eight. Pay good workers a decent wage. Inspire excellence and reward it. It pays. How about a milker’s Olympics? References 2003 Dairy Wage Survey Results. Agribusiness Dairyman, 22(12)12-13, November 2003, Gregorio Billikopf, UC labor management farm advisor, gebillikopf@ucdavis.edu Visit the UW milking lab web page for tools to help make you milking parlor more efficient. www.uwex.edu/uwmril

The information given in this publication is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement is implied.