Dairy farmers are being urged to focus on feed efficiency and milk constituents as volatile farmgate prices put pressure on margins
Volatile milk prices are putting dairy margins under pressure, leaving feed efficiency and milk constituents as two of the few levers producers can directly control.
Dr Chris Bartram, head of nutrition at Mole Valley Farmers, said more precise feeding could help producers improve returns by reducing input waste and increasing the value of milk.
He said the combined effect of tighter feed management, stronger fat and protein levels and carbon-efficiency payments could help farmers recover up to 5ppl.
Milk yields, fat and protein increased by 27% between 2008 and 2025, which Bartram attributed to improvements in genetics and management.
“But by feeding more precisely, it’s possible to get more,” he said.
Forage quality is one area where gains could be made this season. Mole Valley Farmers said first-cut silage in South West England averaged 11.2MJ/kg dry matter of metabolisable energy this year, compared with 10.9MJ/kg last year.
Bartram said: “That will enable cows to produce one more litre per day from forage.”
Lactic acid levels were also higher, at 93g/kg compared with 87g/kg, which could support greater forage intakes. However, individual forages still need to be carefully balanced to improve feed efficiency and maximise milk fat or protein.
The value of chasing extra litres will also depend on the milk contract.
“It’s not worth pushing for production if your contract doesn’t pay for the extra,” Bartram said. “But where your contract allows, the economics are still there to feed for the marginal litres.”
Concentrate choice can also have a major effect on performance. Trials comparing high- and low-acidity concentrates showed forage dry matter intake falling from 11.7kg to 11.1kg per head when the more acidic feed was used.
Milk yield dropped from 31.7 litres a cow to 27.8 litres, while butterfat fell from 4.18% to 3.75%.
Bartram said: “Not all feeds are the same.”
Fresh-cow nutrition is another area where Mole Valley Farmers believes targeted feeding can improve returns. Bartram said feeding TPI90, which includes prairie meal, protected methionine and lysine, before and after calving increased fat and protein by 0.2 percentage points in trial work.
He added that cows gained weight rather than losing it, which could help support subsequent insemination.
“If you invest £30/cow the return is £60. This is a really exciting development – feeding TPI90 just for four days post-calving had a beneficial effect,” he said.
“A short, sharp slug has continuing benefits.”
Bartram also highlighted calf and heifer nutrition as a potential source of longer-term gains. Higher-protein milk powder and concentrates can improve growth rates during rearing and may help heifers calve earlier.
“A Reading University trial showed that increasing dietary protein at a cost of under £4/calf gave a positive return on investment with only 15 litres more milk required to break even in the first lactation,” he said.
He added that a summary of recent studies showed yields rising from 10,242 litres to 11,511 litres when more protein was fed during the rearing period.
“So if you’re still feeding 18% concentrates, have a look at 22% protein instead,” Bartram said.
Other areas producers could review include silage additives to reduce clamp losses and mineral or specialist feed inputs based on forage analysis. Bartram said bringing those measures together could help offset pressure from milk price volatility.
“Bringing that all together, alongside payments for carbon efficiency, can help you to claw back up to 5ppl,” he said.
“We may not be able to influence the milk price, but you can influence input costs and what you get out of them.”