Comments about the Penn State Profitability Assessment Dairy Tool and its accompanying Drill-Down Tools
Producer Feedback:
“What I liked about using the Reproductive Drill-Down Tool is that, with so many areas in which you can get better, it points out what most affects the bottom line. It narrows down and pinpoints where to get the most return. Using the reproductive tool was like having a lot of consultants on the farm.”
Melinda Smith, producer, Woodbury, PA
“The (Drill-Down Tool) helped to take the variety of different records and tell a story. By identifying specific bottlenecks, we were able to focus our entire team on the effort to improve.”
Jan Itle, herd manager, Valewood Farms, Loretto, PA
“Working with Penn State faculty, staff and the PA Dairy Milk Quality Drill Down Tool allowed us to identify milk quality critical control points, capture approximately $1,000.00 per month in lost quality premiums and helped set the stage for a planned expansion.”
Brenda Irwin, producer, Centerville, PA
“The tool was able to specifically identify a problem that we thought was there, but could not necessarily identify ourselves. The information was useful for working with our advisory team. Because of the volume of information, the tool provided a much more comprehensive picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the operation than could be caught in a monthly advisory team meeting.”
Tim Forry, producer, Oregon Dairy, Lititz, PA
“The Reproductive Drill-Down Tool is pretty easy to use on a computer; it’s straight forward. It helps me by examining the broad spectrum of reproduction management so it points out what I may overlook when I’m just focusing on the overall, big picture.”
Jessica Slaymaker, herdsperson, Gorrel Dairy, Milan, PA
Consultant Feedback:
“The Penn State Profitability Assessment Dairy Tool lets us look at a producer’s overall situation. Using the tool eliminates the bias of just looking at things from one perspective. It helps us move beyond any pre-conceived assumptions to get a more complete view of what’s happening on the farm. I don’t think there is anything like the PA Dairy Tool. What makes the tool unique is the number of people who have had input into creating it. It’s not just one specialist’s tool. Many have put their expertise into it, and there are good resources behind all the information.”
Leslie Yoder, Vice President of Marketing, Homestead Nutrition Inc.
“The Penn State Profitability Assessment Dairy Tool offers several benefits. It gives you a more intimate knowledge of your producer’s operation and his or her thoughts about management – what’s important to him or her. Also, it helps to pinpoint the underlying problems causing financial difficulty on the dairy. Sometimes these aren’t obvious until you use the PA Dairy Tool. In one situation, we had a hunch what the problem was, and the tool confirmed it and then put a number to it, which we didn’t have. This really showed the extent to which it was a problem. In another situation the tool helped to uncover a problem that wasn’t obvious and the tool showed the farmer just how much money this problem was costing him.”
Tom Nauman, nutritionist, Hoober Feeds
“It is very useful in advisory team meetings, because it keeps the team focused on the barriers to profitability. I know of no other resource that works so effectively.”
Mike Hosterman, dairy lending specialist, Ag Choice Farm Credit
