Building a resilient dairy business

More than 700 dairy farmers attended our summer roadshow to hear how Rodney and Dorothy Elliott built their successful family business, Drumgoon Dairy. Their story showed that while every farm is different, the principles behind a resilient dairy business are relevant at any scale.

As dairy businesses face tighter margins, labour shortages and greater market volatility, resilient management has become just as important as technical performance.

The Elliotts shared practical lessons from their own journey, offering ideas farmers can apply to strengthen resilience, improve profitability and prepare for the future.

When the Elliotts sold their 140-cow dairy herd in County Fermanagh and moved to South Dakota in 2006, few could have imagined what would come next.

Today, Drumgoon Dairy milks 6,500 crossbred cows and produces around 181,000 litres of milk every day. Alongside this, the family is also involved in Countyline Dairy, a partnership business with a further 5,000 cows.

While the scale of the business has changed dramatically, the foundations of its success remain simple:

• Understand performance
• Build robust systems
• Invest in people
• Manage risk
• Plan for the long term

The strong turnout at the events showed how much these practical management lessons are resonating with dairy farmers looking to strengthen their businesses for the future.

The Elliotts believe good decisions begin with good information.

Rather than relying solely on annual accounts, they review financial performance throughout the year, bringing together quarterly financial reports with monthly herd and compliance data.

Combining financial and production figures helps them understand how changes in costs, efficiency and output affect profitability.

Before making major business decisions, they also test different scenarios to understand how changes in milk price, feed costs or performance could affect margins.

More frequent monitoring allows the business to respond quickly when conditions change, rather than reacting after the event.

As Drumgoon Dairy has expanded, success has depended less on individual expertise and more on having reliable systems in place.

Standard operating procedures, weekly management meetings and clear communication ensure routine jobs are carried out consistently, whether that’s milking, feeding or maintaining herd health.

These systems reduce variation, support predictable performance and help maintain high standards regardless of who is on shift.

Even on smaller farms, documenting key procedures and holding regular team discussions can improve consistency and reduce reliance on any one individual.

Rodney was clear that people remain the most important part of the business.

Clear roles and responsibilities help every member of the team understand what is expected of them, while regular communication allows managers to recognise strengths, identify training needs and support staff development.

Labour continues to be one of the biggest challenges facing dairy businesses, making good leadership and people management increasingly important drivers of performance.

Rodney said:

“Our people are our biggest asset. If people understand what good looks like and know they are valued, performance follows.”

Resilient businesses prepare for uncertainty rather than simply reacting to it.

At Drumgoon Dairy, risk management combines milk price protection tools, crop planning, long-term financial forecasting and advice from trusted advisers to reduce exposure to market volatility.

Rather than trying to predict every challenge, the business focuses on identifying risks early and putting contingency plans in place before they are needed.

Perhaps the strongest message from the roadshows was the importance of taking a long-term view.

Investments in nutrient management, renewable energy, business partnerships and succession planning have all been made with future resilience in mind.

Rodney described this as building a “moat” around the business, creating multiple layers of protection that help safeguard the business against future shocks.

Rodney and Dorothy Elliott