Farm report: Herd expansion not always the answer for profits

Many dairy farmers believe they need more cows in their herd in order to achieve a profitable income but sometimes a closer look at the farm accounts could tell a different story. More often than not the availability of land is the dominant restriction to any dairy farm expansion and there are other factors to consider such as quotas on levels of nitrates and phosphates enforced in some countries to protect the environment. When milk prices dip, as they currently have done in the Covid-19 era,