Trends and Prospects of Development of Milk Production

The studies were carried out in order to identify factors affecting the efficiency of milk production in Ulyanovsk region, to subsequently determine the most important measures for the development of the industry. The bulk of marketed milk in the region is produced by agricultural enterprises. Despite the strengthening of state support measures to stimulate dairy farming, the growth rate of milk production in agricultural organizations in the region remains low. For 2014 - 2018 gross milk yield in farms of this category increased by only 5.7% and was due to increased productivity of cows. At the same time, milk production efficiency decreased from 27.9 to 21.9%, and its growth was noted only in 7 regions of the region. In 11 districts, a decrease in the profitability of milk production for 2014–2018, ranged from 6.2 to 71.5 percentage points. According to the results of the grouping of agricultural enterprises of Ulyanovsk region, the highest level of profitability of milk production is due to the increased average annual milk yield from 1 cow, a larger share of feed costs in the total cost of maintaining the dairy herd, low production and sale costs of 1 centner of milk, and a high selling price of 1 centner milk. Achieving high profitability is possible only with the optimal combination of these factors. Strengthening the fodder base will contribute to increasing the efficiency of milk production in Ulyanovsk region, which will ensure further development of the industry and create conditions for increasing the volume of milk and dairy products