The latest December analysis for herds using Kingshay’s dairy costings service are showing milk yields per cow are 2% higher than last year as a result from the increased use of purchased feeds.
For December 2024, milk from forage (MFF) was down by 10% to 6.5 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 £305/tonne compared to Dec 2023. Therefore all purchased feed costs/litre increased by 2% to 12.37ppl.
December 2024 milk prices averaged 45.92ppl, an increase of 21% compared to the same month of the previous year where milk prices averaged 38.07ppl.
Overall, margin over purchased feed (MOPF) per cow was 35% higher at £254/cow, mainly due to higher milk prices, compared to £188/cow in Dec 2023.
Other rolling trends for the year ending Dec 2024 include -
- Average herd size decreased slightly with 227 cows in herd.
- Yields averaged 8,472 litres per cow, a drop of 1.5% compared to last year.
- Milk from forage decreased by 7% to 2,502 litres per cow.
- Cell counts remained low at 155 (‘000).
- Milk price increased to 40.78ppl from 40.69ppl the previous year, an increase of 0.2%.
- Purchased feed costs of 11.60ppl were 7.1% lower compared to last year, with annual concentrate prices averaging £313/tonne compared to £349/tonne the previous year.
- Margin over purchased feed was down 1.9% to £2,472/cow or 29.18 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 -
- Proportion costs to the Dairy Enterprise
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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.