1998 Michigan Preliminary Dairy Farm Business Analysis Averages

The following tables are presented as an early draft indicating what Michigan Dairy Farmers in the Telfarm accounting system achieved in terms of financial returns during 1998. Page 6 is for doing comparative business analysis on a cost per unit basis. These tables were developed using the Finansum software from the University of Minnesota. The format is nearly identical to that used for individual farms using Finpack's Finan to do their 1998 year end business analysis. A farm was included if 50 % or more of gross sales came from milk plus dairy livestock. The 47 farms averaged together in this report came from the following Michigan counties. Barry 2; Branch, 5; Calhoun 4; Eaton, 2; Hillsdale, 7; Jackson, 2; Kalamazoo, 2; Allegan, 5; Mason, 3; Mecosta, 3; Newaygo, 2; Osceola, 2; Ottawa, 2; and one each in Gladwin, Ingham, Ionia, Montcalm, Muskegon, and St. Joseph. These locations favor the South and West of Michigan. My thanks for early analyses submitted by Roger Betz and Vincent Greiner plus the MSUE agents who worked with them. These farms were not randomly selected. The are among the larger and better managed dairy farms in Michigan. A later paper will present dairy averages from nearly three times as many farms and they will come from more counties throughout the state.