The table of figures below shows the MDF results for the past 20 days, and another MID farm for the past ten days. The other farm is 63% the size, in terms of both hectares being grazed and number of milkers. They both have the same stocking rate.
The MDF feed margin is $1,917 per day, so after paying for all feed cash costs (grass growing and supplement cost) this amount can be used to pay for all other (non-feed) costs.
In 18-19 the MDF non-feed costs (dairy, herd, replacements, overheads, staff, finance, minus livestock) were $368,513 p.a. or $1,010 per day. So, you could estimate that the cash surplus (profit) is currently $907 per day (well over $200,000 profit for a year).
The other farm’s feed margin is $1,250 per day, 65% of the MDF’s margin. So, it is performing, in terms of feeding and milk production, very very slightly, better than the MDF.
But each farm is doing it differently: the MDF is feeding more grain (6.8 kg compared to 3.6), and producing more milk per cow (1.63 kg MS to 1.43), whereas the MDF is consuming less grass (40 kg DM /ha /day compared to 44).
Milk per cow and grass consumed per ha are the two big drivers of feed margin. Imagine the margin if both these indicators could be high.
All these indicators are concrete (numerator connected to denominator) and therefore understandable. An example of a fairly meaningless indicator is “Feed cost/kg MS”. The MDF’s is $2.90 and the other farm’s is $2.11, i.e. very different even though the farms are performing almost exactly the same.
| FEED MARGIN PERFORMANCE | MDF TEN DAYS AGO | MDF THIS TEN DAYS | ANOTHER MID FARM | Units |
| Ten days to date: | 31-Jan-20 | 10-Feb-20 | 10-Feb-20 | |
| Milker graze area | 71 | 71 | 45 | Ha |
| Milkers | 290 | 290 | 183 | Head |
| Stocking rate | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | cows/ha |
| Average graze rest time | 33 | 33 | 30 | Days |
| Estm’d pasture consmp’n | 41 | 40 | 44 | kg DM/ha/day |
| Pasture consum’d per cow | 10.1 | 9.7 | 10.9 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Pasture growing spend | $6.88 | $5.98 | $4.73 | $/ha/day |
| Estm’d pasture price | $167 | $151 | $106 | $/T DM |
| Conc (incl additives)supp fed/cow | 6.8 | 6.8 | 3.6 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Conc (incl additives)supp avg price | $483 | $483 | $517 | $/T DM |
| Hay/silage supp fed/cow | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Hay/silage supp price | $/T DM | |||
| Feed Conversion Efficiency | 100 | 99 | 98 | kg MS/tonne DM |
| Total feed intake/cow | 16.6 | 16.3 | 14.4 | kg DM/cow/day |
| NDF Fibre in diet | 30.7% | 30.5% | 35.4% | % NDF |
| Litres/cow | 22.2 | 21.2 | 18.7 | l/cow/day |
| Fat test | 4.16% | 4.26% | 4.32% | % |
| Protein test | 3.46% | 3.44% | 3.33% | % |
| Milk Solids per cow | 1.69 | 1.63 | 1.43 | kg/cow/day |
| Milk price (less levies)/kg MS | $6.98 | $6.94 | $6.89 | $/kg MS |
| Milk price (less levies)/litre | $0.53 | $0.53 | $0.53 | $ per litre |
| Milk income/cow | $11.77 | $11.34 | $9.86 | $/cow/day |
| All feed cost/cow | $4.95 | $4.73 | $3.02 | $/cow/day |
| Margin over all Feed/cow | $6.83 | $6.61 | $6.84 | $/cow/day |
| MOAF /ha /day | $27.89 | $27.00 | $27.81 | $/ha/day |
| Farm MOAF per DAY | $1,980 | $1,917 | $1,251 | $/day |
| Feed cost $/kg MS | $2.90 | $2.90 | $2.11 | $/ kg MS |