Monitoring inputs to optimise outputs
Calving is now completed at the MDF, milking 295 cows, with 4.2 cows per hectare. There were 291 cows at the same time last year.
The grazing allocation is set at 1/30th of the farm and the actual grazing rest-time is 30 days.
Paddock 19, soon to be grazed, is on 28 days rest, with 2.8 ryegrass leaves regrown, so has had an average 10 day leaf appearance rate since the previous grazing, typical for November. Half the paddock, the slopier, drier half, is a mix of Ryegrass and Prairie Grass, the latter species un-topped, heavy with stems and seed heads, very poor quality and palatability, so unlikely to be grazed by the cows. The other half of the paddock is excellent leafy ryegrass.
The herd are consuming less grass/day than 10 days ago, and the Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) level of their diet is 33%. To boost their peak, more barley could be fed in the dairy to reduce this NDF, and allow higher intake and higher milk production. Or perhaps wheat (which has a lower NDF and higher energy) rather than barley could be fed, although input cost of wheat is significantly higher than barley at the moment.
Tweaking the diet, especially reducing NDF, could help stabilise the production drop we can see in the table below. Total milk solids production per cow is down as is the protein level, while fat per cow is up. More fat, less protein, means a reduced milk solid price and usually a lower margin.
The dairy farm is an input-output system. The feed input quantity, quality, and price, and the milk output quantity, quality, and price, all have an effect on profit. The efficiency of input use, i.e. the quantity of output (milk) achieved from the quantity of input (feed), is very important also. The MDF report shows all these inputs and outputs, prices, and feed efficiency.
| FEED MARGIN PERFORMANCE | MDF TEN DAYS AGO | MDF THIS TEN DAYS | Units |
| Ten days to date: | 10-Nov-20 | 20-Nov-20 | |
| Milker graze area | 68 | 71 | Ha |
| Milkers | 285 | 295 | Head |
| Stocking rate | 4.2 | 4.2 | cows/ha |
| Average graze rest time | 28 | 30 | Days |
| Estm’d pasture consmp’n | 54 | 50 | kg DM/ha/day |
| Pasture consum’d per cow | 12.9 | 11.9 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Pasture growing spend | $3.85 | $3.85 | $/ha/day |
| Estm’d pasture price | $71 | $78 | $/T DM |
| Conc (incl additives)supp fed/cow | 5.9 | 6.3 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Conc (incl additives)supp avg price | $353 | $353 | $/T DM |
| Hay/silage supp fed/cow | 0.0 | 0.0 | kg DM/cow/day |
| Hay/silage supp price | $/T DM | ||
| Feed Conversion Efficiency | 114 | 112 | kg MS/tonne DM |
| Total feed intake/cow | 18.6 | 18.1 | kg DM/cow/day |
| NDF Fibre in diet | 33.6% | 32.9% | % NDF |
| Litres/cow | 29.0 | 27.7 | l/cow/day |
| Fat test | 4.08% | 4.14% | % |
| Protein test | 3.27% | 3.25% | % |
| Milk Solids per cow | 2.13 | 2.04 | kg/cow/day |
| Milk price (less levies)/kg MS | $5.70 | $5.69 | $/kg MS |
| Milk price (less levies)/litre | $0.42 | $0.42 | $ per litre |
| Milk income/cow | $12.14 | $11.62 | $/cow/day |
| All feed cost/cow | $2.99 | $3.15 | $/cow/day |
| Margin over all Feed/cow | $9.15 | $8.46 | $/cow/day |
| MOAF /ha /day | $38.36 | $35.16 | $/ha/day |
| Farm MOAF per DAY | $2,608 | $2,496 | $/day |