Production costs compiled by Kingshay independent dairy consultants, in partnership with 162 Dale Farm suppliers, show that purchased feed averaged 7.69p/l from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019.

Based on the average farm with 111 cows, yielding 7,521 litres/cow, purchased feed amounted to 2.38t/cow at a cost of £578/head. Feed rate equated to 0.31kg of concentrate per litre of milk produced.

Milk price averaged 27.73p/l over the outlined period. Margin over purchased feed averaged 20.04p/l, or £1,500/cow.

Closer analysis of the dataset shows that as farms become more efficient, there is a positive economic response to purchased feed.

For the top 25% of farms analysed (41 farms), milk yields averaged 8,458l/cow. Concentrates fed was higher at 2.46t/cow. However, targeted feeding to more productive cows means actual feed rates were lower than average at 0.29kg/l of milk produced.

This translates to a margin over purchased feed of 20.99p/l, or £1,766/cow, up 18% on the average farm.

Bottom quarter

For the bottom 25%, yields averaged 6,465l from 2.25t of concentrate fed, or 0.35kg/l of milk produced.

Margin over purchased feed totalled 18.27p/l, or £1,180/cow.

The difference between the top and bottom quartiles is close to £600/cow.

Both CAFRE benchmarking figures and results from independent consultants have consistently shown that margin over purchased feed is a good indicator of overall farm profitability.

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