Feed cost & income over feed cost
What your ration costs per animal per day, and what is left of the milk or meat price after feed.
Average of the cows eating this ration, from your bulk tank or milk recording, not your best cow.
What your buyer actually pays you per litre after deductions. Check your latest milk slip.
Enter at least one feed with its kg per day and price per ton to cost the ration.
How this is calculated
Income over feed cost (IOFC) is what the milk or the live mass gain earns in a day, minus what the animal ate that day. It leaves out labour, vet costs, power, interest and the price you paid for the animal, so it is a feeding yardstick rather than profit. The prices in the examples below are made up to show the arithmetic; they are not current market prices. Use your own.
- Ration cost (R per animal per day) = the sum of kg as fed × price per ton ÷ 1 000. Maize silage 18 kg at R900/t = R16.20, dairy meal 8 kg at R6 000/t = R48.00 and lucerne hay 4 kg at R3 500/t = R14.00, so R78.20 per cow per day for 30 kg as fed.
Dairy
- Milk income = litres per cow × milk price. 22 L × R7.50 = R165.00 per cow per day.
- IOFC per cow = milk income − ration cost. R165.00 − R78.20 = R86.80.
- Herd = IOFC per cow × cows, and × 30 for a month. 100 cows: R8 680 a day, R260 400 a month.
- Feed cost per litre = ration cost ÷ litres. R78.20 ÷ 22 = R3.55.
- Feed share of milk income = ration cost ÷ milk income × 100. R78.20 ÷ R165.00 = 47%.
Beef or feedlot
- Value of gain = average daily gain × live price. A R38.75 ration (7 kg at R5 000/t plus 1.5 kg hay at R2 500/t) on steers gaining 1.6 kg at R40/kg live: 1.6 × R40 = R64.00 per head per day.
- IOFC per head = value of gain − ration cost. R64.00 − R38.75 = R25.25.
- Feed cost per kg gain = ration cost ÷ average daily gain. R38.75 ÷ 1.6 = R24.22. While this stays below the live price, each kg added pays for its feed; above it, every kg added loses money on feed alone.
- All animals = IOFC per head × head, and × 30 for 30 days. 200 head: R5 050 a day, R151 500 over 30 days.
A negative IOFC means the feed costs more than the milk or gain is worth. The beef figures value every kg of gain at the live price you enter; they do not include the difference between what you paid per kg for the animal and what it sells for, which can matter as much as the feed.
Enter feed as fed, not on a dry-matter basis, because that is how it is bought and weighed out. Weigh what actually goes into the trough over a few days, and subtract what is left over, rather than trusting the ration sheet.
Read the guide: Income over feed cost: does your ration still pay?
Results are estimates for planning. Check product labels and local recommendations before you apply anything.