The 13th year of the Dairy Farm Monitor Project in NSW was one in which strong milk prices managed to hold gross farm incomes relatively stable. Increases in operating costs reduced average Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) relative to the previous year, with the most noticeable impact coming from purchased feed costs.

On average, profits for the 36 NSW Dairy Farm Monitor Project (DFMP) participants remained strong at $2.12/kgMS and above the long-term average of $1.36/kgMS, for the fourth consecutive year. This translates to an average return on total assets of 4.5%.  This month I discuss the ups and downs of NSW DFMP relative to the previous year with my colleague Zita Ritchie, including some commentary on the GHG emissions profile of the group of farms.

NSW DFMP Annual Reports, Regional Infographics and Interactive Report

NSW DPIRD “NSW Dairy Industry Overview”

Previous podcasts related to economics of intensive dairies:

• Episode 27 “Intensive Dairies – Drivers of Adoption and Profitability”
• Episode 39 “Intensive Dairying – Profitability and Risk Insights”

This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit 

It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services

Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address [email protected]

Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include:

NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page

DPI Intensive Livestock Twitter feed

NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter

Transcript here

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The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.