Profits on Teagasc Dairy Profit Monitor farms fell by 25%/ha between 2015 and 2016, according to the 2016 Dairy Profit Monitor report.

The report found that a matched sample of over 270 spring milk producers recorded a drop of €420 or 25% in net profit per ha between 2015 and 2016. Most of the fall in net profit/ha was due to a drop in gross output, primarily driven by lower milk price.

Despite the average herd size increasing by 8%, milk production per ha only increased by 1%, most likely due to a poor start to the grazing season. The net profit per ha for the 1,500 spring and winter/liquid milk producers in the report averaged €1,043 and €1,164/ha respectively.

Over two-thirds of farmers recorded the hours of unpaid own and family labour worked on their farms in 2016.

When charged to the dairy enterprise at €15/hour, own-labour costs of €927 and €878 per ha were calculated on spring and winter/liquid milk herds respectively.

Farmers on spring and winter/liquid milk farms worked 33.2 hours and 32.2 hours per cow respectively.

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