Michigan Dairy producers spent about $91 per cow on energy in 2006. This comes out to an average annual utility cost of $16,874 for Michigan Dairy farmers or an equivalent of $0.46 per hundredweight (cwt.) of milk produced. For 2005 that amounts to almost $3.1 million spent by commercial dairy farmers on energy (excludes fuel and lubricants).
According to estimates, electricity alone accounts for about 2 to 5% of a dairy farm's production costs. In a study conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Extension, this translates to an annual electricity use of 700 to 900 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per cow or 3.5 to 4.5 kWh per cwt. of milk produced. A New York State study reaffirms this estimate and shows an 865 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per cow average usage.