Teagasc put the spotlight on costs and output projections for dairy farm enterprises in 2022 at a dairy open day at Ballyhaise Agricultural College yesterday (Wednesday).
At the event, the state agency acknowledged that farmers are facing price increases for many inputs this year.
Figures presented by the Dairy Research Programme in Ballyhaise show that excluding own labour, capital repayments, drawings and tax, the average cost of keeping a cow in 2021 was €1,478 for farms completing Profit Monitor in the Border, Midlands, and Western region.
Dairy Farm Costs 2022
Input costs, it says, are projected to increase by an average of 40% on these farms in 2022.
The state agency told farmers that this would bring the total cost of keeping a cow to €2,069 in the BMW region.
Feed and fertiliser costs are projected to increase by 56% and 127%, respectively.
Moreover, contractor costs are projected to increase by 22%, while all other costs are projected to increase by 23%.
In a statement, Teagasc said:
“This potentially could leave the cost per cow for 2022 at €2,069/cow. This is an increase of €591/cow from 2021, or €70,920 in a 120-cow herd.”
“This would require an increase in milk price of €1.18 per kg MS or 9.5–10.0c/l on average across the year to offset the increase in costs.”
“There will be large farm-to-farm variation in the relative effect of input cost increases. Herds that are more reliant on purchased feed and fertiliser inputs will be impacted to a greater extent.”
Cutting costs
Teagasc told farmers that feed and fertiliser will account for approximately 40% of your farm’s total running costs.
It says that practices that improve efficiency in these categories will have the most impact.
It advises against changes to inputs that result in “large” reductions in pasture growth and/or cow performance.
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