Loren W. Tauer
Cornell University

Data from New York dairy farms for the years 1994 through 1997 were used to estimate whether recombinant bovine Somatotropin (rbST) generated profits for adopters. Results show that the estimated profit impact of rbST, although generally positive, was statistically zero. Herd average milk production per cow clearly increased with rbST use.

Key words: Dairy; profitability; rbST; recombinant bovine Somatotropin.