Scheduling efficiencies of Farm‐to‐plant milk collection in Western Ohio

We examined the efficiency of farm‐to‐plant milk collection in western Ohio. Results suggest that mileage reductions of 10% are possible by reordering farm stops while collecting loads of milk. A further 3% reduction is possible by moving dairy farms between loads. When examining efficiencies, guaranteed lowest mileage (GLM) and heuristic algorithms were used to generate schedules. Heuristic algorithms account for about 80% of the mileage reductions identified by GLM algorithms. GLM algorithms are computationally feasible for ordering farm stops while collecting milk loads. However, heuristic algorithms must be relied on for moving dairy farms between loads.