Cow Feed Efficiency

As a dairy producer, you should evaluate and analyze your farm from many viewpoints on a regular basis. Farms that perform well in one area likely also have an area of weakness that may be holding them back from their maximum profit potential. By evaluating your farm from several different perspectives, you can ensure that your business is well-structured and managed for optimal performance and profit potential in the future. The areas outlined below are important to consider while evaluating the current status of your farm financials and should help highlight a few metrics to benchmark moving forward.

Breeding for feed efficiency: Including feed intake, production and saved feed costs for maintenance in your breeding program will allow you to breed more efficient cows and save feed. Feed efficiency is defined as the ratio of mean daily weight gain to mean daily feed consumption during a given period, with the feed conversion ratio (FCR) often used to represent the efficiency of converting feed into weight gain.

Feed accounts for half the costs on most dairy farms. Thus, cows with greater feed efficiency, meaning those cows that need less feed for each pound of milk they produce, are likely to be more profitable. Cows that are more efficient also need less land per pound of milk and will produce less waste per pound of milk. They might also produce less methane per pound of milk. Thus, feed efficiency is a trait well worth considering as a breeding goal, but, until now, it has never been a trait we have focused on in our breeding goals.

Feed efficiency formula

Milk production / Dry Matter intake = Feed Efficiency

Aim for a feed efficiency in the range of 1.4 to 1.8, meaning for every kilogram of dry matter consumed, 1.36 to 1.75 litres of milk is produced.

two milk production numbers that can be used in the feed efficiency calculation:

1. Adjusted-corrected milk (ACM) removes variability in the milk production calculation by adjusting for days in milk of the herd, fat test of the milk and percent of heifers in the herd. ACM will likely be the best number to utilize for monitoring overall herd efficiency.
2. Energy-corrected milk will likely serve as the best parameter for monitoring efficiency at the pen level. When evaluating individual pens or groups of cows, days in milk and percent of heifers will likely be similar.

Calculating feed efficiency

Feed efficiency (FE) is a simple measure that determines cows’ relative ability to turn feed nutrients into milk or milk components. In the simplest terms, it is the pounds of milk produced per pound of dry matter consumed. This measure should be evaluated regularly and will become increasingly important during periods of decreased profit margins. There are two ways to improve feed efficiency: one is to increase milk yield with the same dry matter intake by improving the ration formulation or improving the forage quality, and the other is to decrease dry matter intake and maintain the same milk yield. Many ration modifications that increase milk yield typically also increase feed efficiency.

Energy-corrected milk (ECM) determines the amount of energy in the milk based upon the milk, fat and protein included and is adjusted to 3.5% fat and 3.2% protein. Using the following equation can help you determine the baseline of your herd’s current performance. ECM = (0.327 x milk pounds) + (12.95 x fat pounds) + (7.2 x protein pounds)

For example, let’s say a herd is currently milking 85 pounds, with 4% fat and 3.3% protein. ECM: (0.327 x 85 lbs. of milk) + (12.95 x 3.4 lbs. of fat) + (7.2 x 2.805 lbs. of protein) = 92 lbs.

To further identify your FE using your ECM value, you can divide your ECM by the pounds of dry matter intake on a per-cow basis in order to benchmark your current energy-corrected milk feed efficiency. e.g.: 92 lbs. ECM/53 lbs. dry matter intake = 1.73 efficiency

Dairy efficiency benchmarks

Profitability is driven by healthy cows in their milking prime. The typical range of ECM between the top and bottom thirds of herds in the U.S. is around 20 pounds of milk per day, or 76 cents of net farm income/cwt. This 76-cent difference between the top and bottom is primarily due to the effect of marginal milk (i.e., those extra pounds that the higher-production cows give), as the last pound of milk is always the most profitable.

High-ECM herds also tend to have improved 21-day pregnancy rates, lower feed costs/cwt. of milk, fewer days open, fewer death losses and reduced somatic cell counts.

Calculating component efficiency

Component efficiency is a metric measuring the performance of the cow on a specific diet in the herd environment. It is a simple calculation utilizing pounds of fat and pounds of protein to determine the pounds of components devised by average dry matter intake. The following example highlights the component efficiency of a herd milking 85 pounds with 4.0% fat and 3.3% protein: 6.21 lbs. of components/53 lbs. of dry matter intake x 100 = 11.71% component efficiency.

Component efficiency benchmarks

Most dairies are limited by the number of cows they can house and feed. Therefore, the profitability of the herd is often dependent on how efficient the herd is at producing milk and milk components, especially in times of high component pricing.

Calculating income over feed cost

Income over feed cost is defined as the amount of income from milk sold that remains after paying for the purchased and farm-raised feed used to produce that milk. These values can vary greatly between herds, depending significantly on which feeds are raised on the farm versus those that are purchased and brought to the farm.

For this calculation, three parameters must be known: milk yield (lbs./cow/day), milk price ($/cwt) and feed costs ($/cow/day).
Example: 85 lbs./cow/day milk yield, $18/cwt milk price, $6.50/cow/day feed costs. Income: $15.30 cow/day – $6.50 feed costs = Income over feed costs of $8.80

Calculating feed cost per 45kgs of milk sold

When calculating feed costs, some people include only the lactating cows, while others include lactating and dry cows, and still others include all animals on the farm. Deciding which animals are accounted for while calculating feed costs makes a lot of difference when determining the potential milk margin.

Example for 100 cows

In our example herd, we are milking 100 lactating cows producing an average of 45 kg (92 lbs. ECM) and eating 25 kgs of dry matter priced at an average of $0.22 per kg.

• The herd feeds 20 dry cows eating an average of 12.70 kg of dry matter per day, priced at $0.22 per kg.
• The herd raises 50 young heifers (<12 months) that eat an average of 6.35 kg of dry matter per day, priced at $0.198 per kg and 50 yearlings eating an average of 11.34 kg of dry matter per day, priced at$0.176 per kg.
• The cost of feeding the 100 lactating cows is calculated as: 100 x 24.04 kg x $0.269 kg = $646.60 day, for an average of $6.46per lactating cow per day
• The cost of feeding the 20 dry cows (using the math formula’s 20 x 11.34 kg x $0.220 kg = $50 day, or 2.50 per dry cow per day.
• For the young heifers, the daily feed costs are: 50 x 6.35 kg x $0.198 kg = $63 day, or $1.26 per young heifer per day.
• The daily cost to feed the older heifers (using the math formula’s standard) is: 50 x 9.98 kg x $0.176 kg =$88 day, or $1.76 per yearling per day.
• The herd produces 100 cows x 41.73 kg of ECM = 4,173.05 kg of energy corrected milk per day (or 41.73 q/day).
• If one only accounts for the lactating cows, feed costs are $646.60 / 41.73\ q = $15.50\ per q.
• If one accounts also for the dry cows, feed costs are now $646.60 + $50 / 41.73 q =$16.70 per q.
• If one also accounts for the replacement heifers, then the total feed costs become $646.60 + $50 + $63 + $88) / 41.73q =$20.31 per q \$9.21cwt.
• Therefore, $39.68 per q\$20.31 total feed cost per q of milk =$19.37 gross margin per q of milk.

• The herd produces 100 cows x 92 lbs. of ECM = 9,200 lbs. of energy corrected milk per day (or 92 cwt./day).
• If one only account for the lactating cows, feed costs are $646.60/92 = $7.02/cwt.
• If one accounts also for the dry cows, feed costs are now ($646.60 + $50)/92 = $7.57/cwt.
• If on also accounts for the replacement heifers, then the feed costs become ($646.60 + $50 + $63 + $88)/92 = $9.21/cwt.
• Therefore, $18/cwt. milk – $9.21/total feed cost per cwt. of milk = $8.79 gross margin per cwt. of milk.

The provided dairy herd cost analysis contains two discrepancies between the stated feed intake numbers and the mathematical equations used, which alters your final gross margin. Specifically, the calculations use lower dry matter intakes for both dry cows and yearlings than what is stated in your narrative text.

Here is the direct comparison between the calculation as written and the corrected version based on your narrative parameters:

Feed Category [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]	Stated Narrative Intake	Calculation Used	Daily Cost (As Written)	Daily Cost (Corrected)
Lactating Cows	$25 kg	$25 kg	$646.60	$646.60
Dry Cows	$13 kg	$12 kg	$50.00	$56.00
Young Heifers	$7 kg	$7 kg	$63.00	$63.00
Yearlings	$12 kg	$10 kg	$88.00	$100.00
Total Daily Cost	—	—	$847.60	$865.60
Total Cost / cwt	—	—	$9.21	$9.41
Gross Margin / cwt	—	—	$8.79	$8.59

---

1. Identify Narrative Discrepancies

• Dry Cow Intake: The text states dry cows eat an average of $28 lbs of dry matter per day, but the equation calculates the cost using $25 lbs ($20 X 25 X$0.10).
• Yearling Intake: The text states yearlings eat an average of $25 lbs of dry matter per day, but the equation calculates the cost using $22 lbs ($50 x 22 x $0.08. [6, 7]

2. Calculate True Intake Costs

Using the exact dry matter intake values stated in your narrative description, the updated daily costs are:

• Dry Cows:
  $20 cows X 28 lbs X $0.10 lb = $56.00 day
• Yearlings:
  $50 yearlings x 25 lbs x $0.08 lb =100.00day

3. Determine Adjusted Gross Margins

Summing the corrected values changes the total feed cost per hundredweight ($\text{cwt}$) of milk produced:

---

✅ Adjusted Economic Summary

When accounting for the true feed intake described in the text, the actual total feed cost is $9.41/cwt, leaving a true gross margin of $8.59/cwt of milk.

If you are using this data for budgeting, let me know if you would like to look into income over feed cost (IOFC) metrics or adjust the milk pricing/ECM values to see how market volatility affects these margins.

In summary, when evaluating feed costs for your operation, it is important to account for all of the animals on the farm in order to benchmark your expenses on a routine basis. To manage your feed costs, you first need to measure what is purchased, what is fed and what is eaten. Feed shrinks and refusal feed can quickly add up and take away from your projected margins. The first step in improving any part of your business is to set a goal or a target. Setting goals higher than current performance and starting to improve your operation is both realistic and necessary.

Feed efficiency

The biggest feed efficiency problem on many farms isn’t the ration. It’s inconsistency. A ration can be perfectly balanced on paper and still perform poorly in the barn. Why?

Because cows don’t respond to formulations once a day. They respond to the rumen environment every minute. And the rumen loves one thing above all else:

Consistency

Small daily inconsistencies create surprisingly large biological consequences:

• Feed delivered later than usual 
• Uneven dry matter in silage 
• Inconsistent mixing 
• Irregular push-ups 
• Variable bunk access

None of these look dramatic. But together they create fluctuating intake patterns, unstable fermentation, and lower microbial efficiency. And here’s the dangerous part: The farm may still look productive. Milk may only drop slightly. Health issues may appear gradually. Losses become “normalised.”

Meanwhile:

• Feed efficiency quietly declines 
• Nutrient utilization worsens 
• Methane losses increase 
• Margins slowly shrink 

This is why the highest-performing farms often look… boring.

• Same routine. 
• Same timing. 
• Same consistency. 

Day after day. Because elite dairy management is rarely about dramatic interventions. It’s about creating a biological system so stable that the rumen can perform at its best every single day. The most powerful nutrient on many farms isn’t protein, starch, or fibre. It’s consistency.

Cows respond to the rumen environment, not to the ration table.

Therefore, the problem of feed conversion is not always a formulation error; Most of the time, feeding hours arise from daily consistency losses such as silage dry matter, mix homogeneity, feed pushing, sorting and feeder access.

True precision feeding; It is to ensure that forage and concentrated oath work in the same biological rhythm in the rumen every day.

One of the most powerful nutrients is consistency

The ration closes in the formula; The performance is opened if the same biological rhythm is maintained in the rumen every day.

It is easy to chase formulation tweaks or new additives while overlooking the fact that rumen microbes respond to patterns and stability more than anything else. Some of the best operations are not necessarily the flashiest, they are just extremely disciplined and repeatable day after day.

That “losses becoming normalized” point is important too because gradual inefficiency often hides inside otherwise decent production numbers for a long time.