Are Milking Management Technologies Increasing the Labor Efficiency, Productivity, and Profitability of Pasture-Based Dairy Farms? Evidence from Ireland

Pasture-based dairy farmers currently face increasing seasonal workload in addition to declining workforce availability. Milking management technologies have the potential to improve labor efficiency with a consequent increase in productivity and profitability. However, there is a lack of evidence of the effects of these technologies on dairy farm performance. Using farm-level data from Ireland and a propensity score matching approach, we found that milking management technologies did not significantly impact labor efficiency. However, we did find a positive impact on milk yield and milk solids, which translated into increased gross output and in turn gross margin per hectare.