In today’s highly competitive dairy marketplace, owners and operators of dairy production facilities are focused on meeting or exceeding key performance metrics, such as improving yields, minimizing waste and saving water and energy, in order to maximize the efficiency and profitability of their operations. Typically, these metrics are tracked by unit operation, with the focus almost exclusively on reducing cost of operation as a proxy for maximizing performance. Examining all of the cost components that go into production provides owners and operators an opportunity to understand their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which is a logical way to improve a plant’s profitability.