Price pressures in the dairy sector are forcing dairy farmers to look for ways of cutting costs to retain reasonable margins and remain viable. “We need to increase our herd and our yield to remain in business,” says Norman McCure, owner of Binowee Dairy in New South Wales. The challenge for the McCures is to achieve improvements in yield and volume at a lower cost per litre of milk. If this challenge is met, the business could not only survive but thrive, providing sufficient motivation for taking on the additional risk and hard work that the expansion will entail. An investigation into more efficient hot water and refrigeration systems and the possibility of generating biogas on site may lead to further options for optimising Norman’s investment and delivering an estimated 30% increase in production.