The Macalister Demonstration Farm is now miking 270 cows. Milk per cow is 1.37 kg MS per cow day. Grass consumption is about 1.5 kg DM per cow per day down on last year. The price of grazed grass is high ($240 /t DM) compared to last year ($169), due partly to high nitrogen price, but also because the grass consumption is lower than last year.
55 mm of rain fell on the Macalister Demonstration Farm in early April, then 30 mm recently. Achieving an appropriately low grazing residue, and minimising grass wastage, is difficult in these wet conditions. More silage than usual is being wasted also, being walked into the wet soil.
The average Leaf Appearance Rate over the recent rest period of 31 days was 13 days.
With no need to irrigate, the current water cost of growing grass is assumed to be zero, although a large part of the cost of irrigation water is fixed, no matter how little is used. Irrigation is one of the more difficult grass-growing inputs to manage, partly because it is difficult to allocate a cost to each used megalitre, but also because sometimes, without much notice, wanted or not, it can be provided, for free. Sunlight arrives at predictable and free amounts, its capture rate depending on grazing management (residue and rest). Carbon dioxide is becoming even more freely available, now 400 ppm in the atmosphere. Soil nutrients can be monitored and managed relatively easily.
The milk price is higher this year, and grain is higher priced. All in all, the feed margins, whether it be the whole farm daily margin, the margin per cow, or the margin per hectare, are lower than this time last year. The whole farm daily feed margin is down 28% on last year.
| FEED MARGIN PERFORMANCE | MDF THIS TIME LAST YEAR | MDF TEN DAYS AGO | MDF THIS TEN DAYS | Units |
| Ten days to date: | 20,Apr,21 | 10,Apr,22 | 20,Apr,22 | |
| Milker graze area | 61 | 67 | 68 | Ha |
| Milkers | 282 | 275 | 270 | Head |
| Stocking rate | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | cows/ha |
| Average graze rest time | 32 | 34 | 31 | Days |
| Estm’d pasture consmp’n | 31 | 24 | 21 | kg DM/ha/day |
| Pasture consum’d per cow | 6.8 | 5.8 | 5.3 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Pasture growing spend | $5.29 | $6.35 | $5.00 | $/ha/day |
| Estm’d pasture price | $169 | $267 | $240 | $/T DM |
| Conc (incl additives)supp fed/cow | 6.8 | 6.3 | 6.3 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Conc (incl additives)supp avg price | $393 | $458 | $458 | $/T DM |
| Hay/silage supp fed/cow | 2.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Hay/silage supp price | $222 | $280 | $280 | $/T DM |
| Feed Conversion Efficiency | 97 | 94 | 92 | kg MS/tonne DM |
| Total feed intake/cow | 15.3 | 14.6 | 14.1 | kg DM/cow/day |
| NDF Fibre in diet | 29.7% | 29.7% | 29.4% | % NDF |
| Litres/cow | 17.7 | 16.5 | 15.6 | l/cow/day |
| Fat test | 4.68% | 4.98% | 4.86% | % |
| Protein test | 4.02% | 3.89% | 3.90% | % |
| Milk Solids per cow | 1.54 | 1.46 | 1.37 | kg/cow/day |
| Milk price (less levies)/kg MS | $6.99 | $7.21 | $7.23 | $/kg MS |
| Milk price (less levies)/litre | $0.61 | $0.64 | $0.63 | $ per litre |
| Milk income/cow | $10.74 | $10.52 | $9.90 | $/cow/day |
| All feed cost/cow | $4.33 | $5.38 | $5.09 | $/cow/day |
| Margin over all Feed/cow | $6.40 | $5.14 | $4.80 | $/cow/day |
| MOAF /ha /day | $29.59 | $21.10 | $19.08 | $/ha/day |
| Farm MOAF per DAY | $1,805 | $1,414 | $1,297 | $/day |