Question

Dairy farm manager allocates maximum funds for which of the following expenditures?

• A. Feed & fodder
• B. Labour wages
• C. Water & electricity
• D. Medicines & vaccines

Hint:

Cultivating high-yielding green fodders (like berseem, lucerne, or hybrid Napier) on-farm can significantly reduce dependency on expensive commercial concentrates, lowering feed costs.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Effective dairy farm management requires analyzing operational costs to optimize input use and improve profitability.
Operating expenses include feeding, labor, utilities, healthcare, and repairs.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
In livestock production systems, especially intensive dairy farming, nutrition is the single largest operational cost.
Ruminants require large volumes of balanced feed, green fodder, dry fodder, and concentrate mixtures daily to sustain body maintenance, pregnancy, and high milk yields.
Statistical analyses of dairy farm budgets consistently show that feed and fodder expenses account for approximately \(60\%\) to \(70\%\) of the total cost of milk production.
In comparison, other operational costs are significantly lower:
- Labor wages typically account for \(10\%\) to \(15\%\).
- Utility costs (water and electricity) represent \(5\%\) to \(10\%\).
- Healthcare (medicines and vaccines) constitutes around \(3\%\) to \(5\%\) of the total budget.
Therefore, a farm manager must dedicate the largest portion of working capital to feed and fodder.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The dairy farm manager must allocate the maximum amount of funds to Feed & fodder.