Farm management is the meeting-point of science, economics, man-management, marketing, planning and decision-making on the farm. From such a diverse background and because of the variable nature of farming itself, the supply of management information to the farmer is a subject which merits considerable attention.

To identify the importance of management, it is worth considering the range in performance between farms, as measured by dairy herd gross margin per hectare. The average for 1979/80 of Farm Management Services (FMS) fully costed herds (MMB, 1980) was £546/ha, while the result for the ‘top 25%” was £809/ha, a difference of £263/ha. It is exceedingly difficult to define precisely the part which management plays in this difference. However, through its effect on feeding, breeding, grassland management, fertility and health, it is probably the dominant factor. If the range in FMS results were to be taken as the normal distribution for the national herd, one could postulate that bringing up the national average gross margin to that of the “top 25%” would add a further £127m to the national dairy herd gross margin. This would be equivalent to slightly in excess of £4 000 in the average 60 cow herd. Whilst admitting that not every farmer nor every farm can achieve the level of performance of the “top 25%”, such calculations do indicate the extent over which management has an influence.