At the Cow Comfort Conference, hosted by your North Country Regional Ag Team, in Syracuse this March 2017, Dr. Albert De Vries, University of Florida, spoke on the economics of cow comfort. While overstocking can improve economic returns on investments in facilities, it can have negative impacts on the cow, so how much can you overstock before you reduce your profitability? The optimal stocking density will vary from farm to farm, and within farm under different circumstances. Dr. De Vries highlighted some key things to consider to get a better idea of what overcrowding might be costing you. 

Read a brief overview of Dr. De Vries findings below.


Economic Impact of Stall Stocking Density (pdf; 249KB)