The latest monthly results of herds using Kingshay’s dairy costings service show the gap in milk prices are becoming smaller compared to previous year, April 2024 averaging 38.67ppl compared to 40.85ppl in April 2023, a 5% difference. Previously December 2023 milk prices were 26% lower compared to the same month of the previous year, when they averaged 37.87ppl (milk prices averaged 51.33ppl in Dec 2022). Yields were slightly lower than the previous April at 27.7 litres/day, milk from forage figures were 11% lower at 8.8 litres per cow, compared to the same month of the previous year.
Concentrate prices per tonne for April 2024 have fallen by 13% compared to the same month last year, to £323/tonne. Total concentrate use has stayed similar at 0.32 kg/litre in April 2024, however all purchased feed costs per litre have fallen by 9% to 11.49 ppl.
Overall, the margin over purchased feed per cow was 5% lower in April 2024 at £204/cow compared to £214/cow in April 2023.
Other rolling trends for the year ending April 2024 include -
- Average herd size stayed the same at 222 cows in herd.
- Yields averaged 8,435 litres per cow, a drop of 1.4% compared to last year.
- Milk from forage decreased by 3.4% to 2,667 litres per cow.
- Cell counts remained low at 159 (‘000).
- Milk price decreased to 37.82ppl from 46.87ppl the previous year, a decrease of 19.3%
- Purchased feed costs of 11.90ppl were lower compared to last year with a decrease of 6.7%, with annual concentrate prices averaging £335/tonne compared to £366/tonne the previous year.
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 -
- Proportion costs to the Dairy Enterprise
- Analyse the true costs of production for your herd
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.