Farmers are urged to improve dairy margins as prices fluctuate
Dr Chris Bartram, head of nutrition at Mole Valley Farmers, said dairy producers had already increased milk yields, butterfat and protein by 27% between 2008 and 2025. He attributed that progress to a combination of genetics and farm management, while saying more precise feeding could deliver further gains.
He identified feed efficiency and the composition of milk as the main areas for improving margins. First-cut silage in south-west England averaged 11.2 megajoules of metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter this year, compared with 10.9 megajoules last year. Bartram said the difference could allow cows to produce an additional litre of milk a day from forage, provided different forages were balanced appropriately.
The value of extra production depends on the terms of a farm’s milk contract. “It’s not worth pushing for production if your contract doesn’t pay for the extra,” Bartram said. Where contracts do provide such payments, he said, feeding for additional litres could remain commercially viable. He also cautioned that concentrates differ in acidity: more acidic products can lower intake and disturb rumen activity.
In trials comparing concentrates with higher and lower acidity, forage consumption fell from 11.7kg to 11.1kg of dry matter per cow. Milk output declined from 31.7 litres to 27.8 litres, while butterfat decreased from 4.18% to 3.75%. “Not all feeds are the same,” Bartram said.
For cows around calving, he recommended TPI90, a blend containing prairie meal, protected methionine and lysine, both before and after calving. The approach increased fat and protein by 0.2 percentage points in testing, and cows gained weight rather than losing it, a result linked to preparation for subsequent insemination. An expenditure of £30 per cow produced a reported return of £60. Bartram said that feeding the blend for only four days after calving had continuing benefits.
Bartram also cited trials involving calves and heifers. Research by Reading University found that raising dietary protein at a cost of less than £4 per calf generated a positive return; only 15 additional litres of milk in the first lactation were needed to cover the expense. A review of recent studies recorded average yields of 11,511 litres, compared with 10,242 litres, when more protein was supplied during the rearing period. Bartram suggested that farms using 18% protein concentrates examine 22% alternatives.
He further advised farmers to use silage additives to limit losses in storage clamps and to select minerals and specialist feed inputs after analysing forage. Bartram said that combining those measures with payments linked to carbon efficiency could recover as much as 5 pence per litre. “We may not be able to influence the milk price, but you can influence input costs and what you get out of them,” he said.
