Management information system impact on dairy production for selected herds in Texas

Yearly production and performance data were obtained for dairy herd improve ment members in Texas to determine whether on-farm use of a management info rmation system (MIS) quantitatively impacted performance. Data from 66 dair y operations for the years 1983-1996 were evaluated. Herds enrolled in an M IS program increased rolling herd average milk production by 281 kg and rec eived a return on investment of 212%. Most of the increase in production oc curred during the initial year of MIS usage. Throughout the study, larger h erds and those that increased in size tended to adopt a management informat ion system. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.