For farms that participated in the Dairy Farm Business Summary and Analysis Program in 2021, earnings were most affected by traditional factors and less impacted by government programs in response to the pandemic in 2020. The average rate of return on capital without appreciation for all farms decreased from 6.8 percent in 202 to 4.2 percent in 2021.1 While the average decreased, variation continued to be wide in earnings. With 138 farms participating for 2021, the data was sorted by quartile of earnings, as measured by rate of return on all capital without appreciation. The following tables contain selected measures and costs associated with the four quartiles of farms and can be used to identify differences across the earning quartiles. The lowest quartile of farms averaged -1.4 percent rate of return on all capital without appreciation, with the second quartile averaging 2.4 percent, the third quartile earning 4.8 percent, and the highest quartile of farms earning 6.8 percent.