000126554 001__ 126554 000126554 005__ 20210122072330.0 000126554 0247_ $$aISSN 1442-6951$$2Other 000126554 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.22004/ag.econ.126554 000126554 037__ $$a1673-2016-136800 000126554 037__ $$a1673-2016-136973 000126554 041__ $$aeng 000126554 084__ $$aISSN 1442-6951 000126554 245__ $$aProductivity and the Dairy Industry 000126554 260__ $$c2005 000126554 269__ $$a2005 000126554 336__ $$aJournal Article 000126554 490__ $$aVolume 13 000126554 490__ $$aPaper 18 000126554 520__ $$aProductivity measurement is useful in some circumstances but not others. Measured productivity is poor for the Australian dairy industry as a whole. This finding is consistent across a range of studies and is confirmed by other information and analysis.It is useful to explore reasons for this poor performance because some public policy questions are related to overall industry performance. In particular, productivity measurement concentrates attention on industry-based research and extension programs.Production (and exports) have increased rapidly in the dairy industry but input use has increased faster. The major change has been increased grain feeding. Both increased purchases of grain and a higher proportion of exports exacerbate the financial risks of dairy farming. Recent drought and associated water shortages in irrigated dairying areas have compounded these systematic changes. By definition, estimates of average productivity in the whole dairy industry have little to say about what is happening on individual farms. Moreover, productivity is measured using annual data on inputs and outputs. While day-to-day technical and management skills are important, many of the crucial economic decisions by farmers are long-term. Aggregate productivity analysis is a useful first step in analysing industry performance. A next step is disaggregating the data to identify inputs, regions or time periods of particular interest. The time path of prices, policy changes and the weather continue to have most effect on the dairy industry. A conclusion that follows from recent experience is that the change to increased grain feeding has not been well understood in its scientific dimension, nor well executed at the farm level. Furthermore, expected gains from specialisation in manufacturing milk production following deregulation have not been realised for technical reasons, presumably related to poor reproductive performance. In particular, it appears that farmers have been given poor information on the difference between the marginal costs and marginal benefits of concentrate feeding in different time periods and circumstances. Nor have the financial consequences been properly considered in advice that has been given to farmers. Production is not the same as productivity. Increased production and exports should not be promoted as such by dairy companie 000126554 650__ $$aAgribusiness 000126554 650__ $$aAgricultural and Food Policy 000126554 650__ $$aFarm Management 000126554 650__ $$aLivestock Production/Industries 000126554 650__ $$aProductivity Analysis 000126554 6531_ $$aProductivity 000126554 6531_ $$adairy industry 000126554 6531_ $$aAustralia 000126554 6531_ $$apublic policy 000126554 6531_ $$acost 000126554 700__ $$aWatson, Alistair S. 000126554 720__ $$aMalcolm, Bill$$eeditor 000126554 720__ $$aWright, Vic$$eeditor 000126554 773__ $$tAustralasian Agribusiness Review$$j13$$d2005 000126554 8564_ $$95ac55240-880a-48b0-883a-a668aa41ac4e$$s121375$$uhttps://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/126554/files/Watson2.pdf 000126554 887__ $$ahttp://purl.umn.edu/126554 000126554 909CO $$ooai:ageconsearch.umn.edu:126554$$pGLOBAL_SET 000126554 912__ $$nSubmitted by Orietta Surace (omsurace@unimelb.edu.au) on 2012-06-29T05:32:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Watson2.pdf: 121375 bytes, checksum: fe0f7ca19e05a04d3adaf8a23ef63873 (MD5) 000126554 912__ $$nMade available in DSpace on 2012-06-29T05:32:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Watson2.pdf: 121375 bytes, checksum: fe0f7ca19e05a04d3adaf8a23ef63873 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 000126554 913__ $$aLicense granted by Orietta Surace (omsurace@unimelb.edu.au) on 2012-06-29T05:27:03Z (GMT): <center> <h2> Deposit Agreement </h2> </center> I represent that I am the creator of the digital material identified herein (&ldquo;Work&rdquo;). I represent that the work is original and that I either own all rights of copyright or have the right to deposit the copy in a digital archive such as AgEcon Search. I represent that in regard to any non-original material included in the Work I have secured written permission of the copyright owner (s) for this use or believe this use is allowed by law. I further represent that I have included all appropriate credits and attributions. I hereby grant the Regents of the University of Minnesota (&ldquo;University&rdquo;), through AgEcon Search, a non-exclusive right to access, reproduce, and distribute the Work, in whole or in part, for the purposes of security, preservation, and perpetual access. I grant the University a limited, non-exclusive right to make derivative works for the purpose of migrating the Work to other media or formats in order to preserve access to the Work. I do not transfer or intend to transfer any right of copyright or other intellectual property to the University. If the Deposit Agreement is executed by the Author�s Representative, the Representative shall separately execute the following representation: I represent that I am authorized by the Author to execute this Deposit Agreement on behalf of the Author. 000126554 980__ $$a1673 000126554 982__ $$gAustralasian Agribusiness Review>Volume 13, 2005