There has been little ‘net’ benefit to the finances of Dairy Farmers across the UK even with the record high milk prices as they have increased at the same rate as input costs. Analysis by AHDB shows that the inputs have tracked the increase in milk price.
Dairy Farmers are seeing price increases of more than 10ppl on average since the start of the year, but the levy board says it has not yet seen any significant improvement in production. Generally, the trend is that as milk price increases so does milk production. The massive price increases of inputs in 2021 – 22 has meant that Dairy Farmers have been more reluctant to invest in increasing output and its actually lagging behind levels earlier in the year.
Where will it stop? A question not just dairy farmers are asking but every consumer in the UK and beyond. Inflation is seemingly ever increasing and with a potential recession looming the outlook does look rather gloomy.
Focus on keeping efficiencies as good as they can be, must be a priority for all farmers across the land. Choice of crops to grow, methods of harvest and feedout, investment in future projects all need to be reviewed and analysed.
Farmers will be the same as many of us, as prices increase, they will look to cut costs, but you need to think about what you are cutting out before deciding to actually do it.
Fats, Yeasts, Inoculants and Oxygen Barrier Films all deemed ‘expensive inputs’ and often some of the first products to go when things are tight. BUT often this is a false economy as these products can lead to better optimisation of the ration/forage and will return a lot more than the cost of purchase, so it then becomes uneconomical to remove them.
We are in unknown times but there are plenty of people available to discuss and help so never be afraid to pick up the phone to your local adviser to ask for more information and guidance. The Team at Silostop are always available to discuss the advantages of our product range and the small increase in the cost of an HOB film will provide a great return on investment on all your home-grown forage.