The latest January analysis for herds using Kingshay’s dairy costings service are showing feed use has increased by 6% compared to the same month last year as farmers are having to compensate for poorer quality forage.
For January 2025, milk from forage (MFF) was down by 13% to 6.9 litres/cow/day. Feed rates of bought in feeds were higher as herds were fed more purchased feed to keep yields up, as shown by conc. use increasing by 6% that month. Fortunately concentrate prices per tonne were 6% lower at £307/tonne compared to Jan 2024. Therefore all purchased feed costs/litre increased slightly by 1% to 12.29ppl.
January 2025 milk prices averaged 45.79ppl, an increase of 18% compared to the same month of the previous year where milk prices averaged 38.70ppl.
Overall, margin over purchased feed (MOPF) per cow was 28% higher at £253/cow, mainly due to higher milk prices, compared to £197/cow in Jan 2024.
Other rolling trends for the year ending Jan 2025 include -
- Average herd size increased slightly with 225 cows in herd.
- Yields averaged 8,477 litres per cow, a drop of 0.2% compared to last year.
- Milk from forage decreased by 8.1% to 2,486 litres per cow.
- Cell counts remained low at 154 (‘000).
- Milk price increased to 41.35ppl from 39.35ppl the previous year, an increase of 5.1%.
- Purchased feed costs of 11.60ppl were 5.4% lower compared to last year, with annual concentrate prices averaging £311/tonne compared to £346/tonne the previous year.
- Margin over purchased feed was up 9.6% to £2,522/cow or 29.75 pence per litre.
Click here for the full results.
More in-depth analysis of herds using Kingshay’s costings service can be found in Kingshay’s Dairy Costings Focus Report or call 01458 851555 for more details.
Analyse your Profit Manager results for the year ending March 2024 now -
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If you are interested in analysing and comparing your herd’s figures with other similar herds, give us a call on 01458 851555. More details of this simple and easy-to-use service can be found here.