Corn silage can require over twice the milk to cover costs
Data from the Campo Futuro project examined the economics of corn silage across 18 typical Brazilian dairy farms. The analysis focused on output per hectare and converted silage costs into the litres of milk needed to pay for one tonne.
For the 2025/26 first crop, average production costs were R$9,123.61 per hectare. The corresponding figure for the second crop was R$6,965.52 per hectare. On a per-tonne basis, however, the first crop averaged R$247.08, compared with R$277.49 for the second crop.
Among first-crop farms producing more than 40 tonnes per hectare, the cost was R$226.86 per tonne. Farms producing up to 30 tonnes per hectare recorded R$288.22 per tonne. In the second crop, farms above 30 tonnes per hectare reported R$181.02 per tonne, while those producing up to 20 tonnes reached R$416.32 per tonne.
Using a milk price of R$2.50 per litre, the study calculated that first-crop farms in the up-to-30-tonne group needed 115 litres of milk to cover one tonne of silage. The figure was 91 litres for farms exceeding 40 tonnes per hectare. For the second crop, the respective amounts were 167 litres and 72 litres.
A table covering the following 12 months tested milk prices from R$2.00 to R$3.00 per litre. It showed the same pattern across almost all the simulated prices: farms with higher silage yields needed fewer litres of milk to pay for the feed.
Mechanised operations accounted for an average of 38% of total silage costs, while fertilisers represented about 30%. Harvesting made up 25% of expenditure. The report identified planting and harvesting as the operations with substantial scope for efficiency improvements and noted the growing use of outside contractors during harvesting.
A comparison between two farms illustrated the effect of production arrangements. In Marmeleiro, Paraná, a farm producing 50 tonnes per hectare without outsourcing production stages had a cost of R$7,469.17 per hectare, or R$149.38 per tonne. In Passos, Minas Gerais, a farm producing 45 tonnes per hectare outsourced harvesting, transport and compaction. Its costs were R$11,023.58 per hectare and R$244.97 per tonne, 64% above the Marmeleiro figure.
The report also compared producing silage on the farm with buying it from third parties. In several Brazilian regions, purchased silage was priced at almost three times the cost of producing it internally. At a typical farm in Milhã, Ceará, purchased corn silage cost R$650 per tonne. The assessment included soil correction and fertilisation, yield and cost control when comparing the alternatives.
