Dairy modernizaon is defined here as the investment in facilies and technology to provide animal comfort and express the genec potenal of the herd to produce milk at a profit. Many farms are evolving from the e/stanchion barn systems to a freestall or bedded pen barn and milking center. The range of project investments is large. One farm may need to remodel a building for calves while another farm needs a new barn and parlor. In the planning process, developing a budget with an esmate of the

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... cific investments is usually not known fully unl the plans are developed. The cost esmates here are "ballpark" esmates for inial budgeng and decision purposes. It can help in the decision making process to know the approximate or "ballpark" costs for financial long range planning. The informaon in this fact sheet is not a comprehensive list of facility and equipment costs. Costs have been gathered from discussions with dairy producers giving their esmated costs associated with their project. Other costs were collected by reviewing prices from suppliers. These costs may not reflect some of the out of pocket costs to complete a project nor the enre cost of the project. Some costs represent material costs only and do not include installaon labor. Some costs such as plumbing and electrical installaon are more difficult to quanfy on a per square foot or per head basis. Costs are for 2015 and do not account for future inflaon. Costs do not reflect the supply and demand cycle of the construcon industry and the construcon season. Accurate costs can only be determined by obtaining compeve bids for equipment and buildings from suppliers and builders and should include materials, installaon labor, and project management costs.