Daily milk variation
Feed margin at the MDF has improved due to a number of factors- milk per cow is holding and grass consumption is slightly up, while concentrate price has fallen (wheat has replaced barley) and there is no irrigation water cost.
Average milk in the vat, for the week, was 4,573 litres (410 kg MS). On Wednesday there was 4,992 litres (441 kg MS) in the vat; on Sunday there was 4,090 litres (380 kg MS). There can be all sorts of reasons for daily milk variation, such as changed milking times and poor weather, but almost always a variation in the daily grass intake of the herd is the fundamental cause. Grass quantity, and/or grass quality, and/or grass palatability on offer can vary. Cows will reduce intake if the quality or palatability is lower. Higher fibre grass simply stops them from eating. Lower energy grass means less energy for milk. A visual check of paddock pre- and post-graze levels can confirm varying intake quantities of grass (see video link of paddock 10 on the website). Does daily variation matter? It is likely that average intake, and milk, will fall more quickly over time when the grass intake is zig-zagging up and down. The cow’s appetite, rumen, and milk production needs consistency to function at a high level.
A small mob of dry cows are “cleaning up” paddock 6 after the milkers grazed it. There is the normal amount of clumps remaining, but the shorter grass between the clumps has re-grown quickly (a few cm) from reserves in the plant. A video link on the MDF website shows which grass the dry cows are eating. They will need to be in the paddock for a few more days, and get quite hungry, before they clean up the clumps.
| FEED MARGIN PERFORMANCE | MDF TEN DAYS AGO | MDF THIS TEN DAYS | ANOTHER MID FARM | Units |
| Ten days to date: | 10-May-20 | 20-May-20 | 20-May-20 | |
| Milker graze area | 70 | 69 | 100 | Ha |
| Milkers | 255 | 255 | 260 | Head |
| Stocking rate | 3.6 | 3.7 | 2.6 | cows/ha |
| Average graze rest time | 36 | 36 | 45 | Days |
| Estm’d pasture consmp’n | 24 | 25 | 26 | kg DM/ha/day |
| Pasture consum’d per cow | 6.5 | 6.8 | 10.1 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Pasture growing spend | $3.46 | $2.56 | $2.23 | $/ha/day |
| Estm’d pasture price | $145 | $102 | $85 | $/T DM |
| Conc (incl additives)supp fed/cow | 6.8 | 6.8 | 4.0 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Conc (incl additives)supp avg price | $464 | $426 | $507 | $/T DM |
| Hay/silage supp fed/cow | 3.1 | 3.1 | 0.0 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Hay/silage supp price | $200 | $200 | $/T DM | |
| Feed Conversion Efficiency | 97 | 96 | 105 | kg MS/tonne DM |
| Total feed intake/cow | 16.1 | 16.3 | 13.9 | kg DM/cow/day |
| NDF Fibre in diet | 30.9% | 32.6% | 31.5% | % NDF |
| Litres/cow | 17.7 | 17.9 | 17.0 | l/cow/day |
| Fat test | 4.95% | 4.87% | 4.83% | % |
| Protein test | 4.07% | 4.09% | 3.84% | % |
| Milk Solids per cow | 1.60 | 1.60 | 1.47 | kg/cow/day |
| Milk price (less levies)/kg MS | $7.63 | $7.66 | $7.58 | $/kg MS |
| Milk price (less levies)/litre | $0.69 | $0.69 | $0.66 | $ per litre |
| Milk income/cow | $12.20 | $12.26 | $11.16 | $/cow/day |
| All feed cost/cow | $4.71 | $4.19 | $2.86 | $/cow/day |
| Margin over all Feed/cow | $7.49 | $8.06 | $8.30 | $/cow/day |
| MOAF /ha /day | $27.27 | $29.80 | $21.57 | $/ha/day |
| Farm MOAF per DAY | $1,909 | $2,056 | $2,157 | $/day |
| Feed cost $/kg MS | $2.95 | $2.62 | $1.95 | $/ kg MS |