This paper explores the role of managerial ability in determining efficiency in New York dairy farms. Using an unbalanced panel of farm data from 1993 through 2004, we estimate output-oriented technical efficiencies using stochastic distance frontier functions. We find that both lagged net farm income and farmers’ own estimates of the value of their labor and management as proxies for managerial ability impact measured efficiency. Efficiency increases with operator education, farm size, and extended participation in a farm management program, but decreases with operator age.