Facts and figures: What does it really cost to switch to dairy farming in 2023
Detailed analysis shows dairy remains the most profitable farming sector – but new entrants need land, loans and training
Costs and benefits: Setting up a new dairy enterprise based on 120 cows will require a minimum average milk price in the first three years of around 48c/L to sustain a balanced cashflow based on a borrowing need in the region of €440,000
Back in 2016 I wrote a piece examining the feasibility of establishing a 120-cow dairy enterprise. I concluded that dairying, apart from some very large beef or tillage units, was the only mainstream farm enterprise that could support a viable business model that offers the farmer a comfortable living from full time farming.
In the intervening seven years, if anything, the situation has gotten worse, as I analyse the prospects for a similar dairy start-up in 2023.
