Value of Feeding Supplements to Dry Cows for Condition Score (CS) Gain
Body condition score (BCS) at calving is a key driver of the 6 week in-calf rate and empty rate. Achieving the targets at calving is therefore important to run a sustainable dairy system (10 week calving spread, less than 10% empties and no induction).
The BCS targets at calving are:
- 5.0 for 90% of the MA cows and
- 5.5 for all the first and second calvers
This calculator can be used to help make decisions on purchasing supplement to feed to dry cows for live weight gain.
The calculator is based on the latest research results on how much live weight (lwt) is required for a CS for a MA cow of 31 kg lwt per BCS, the net energy required to feed out on a kg of live weight and the efficiency for live weight gain of various feeds. As research is continuing on condition scoring and use of different feeds, this table will be updated.
To use this table enter data into the blue cells and then press the “calculate” button to work out the cost/benefit for a range of feeds fed to dry cows for live weight gain. To assist with data entry, default data has already been entered into the blue cells. You can change these values if required to tailor to your situation and recalculate by pressing the "calculate" button.
| Cost per Unit Feed | Unit of Feed | KgDM/Unit feed | Feed Cost Per ton DM | Cost to feed out $/tonne DM | Utilisation | c/kgDM Eaten | ME/kg DM | Kg DM Eaten/CS | Cost per CS gain | |||
| Nitrogen | $ | /kg N | $ | % | ||||||||
| Molasses |
$ | /tonne | $ | % | ||||||||
| 25% Tapioca 75% PKE | $ | /tonne | $ | % | ||||||||
| PKE | $ | /tonne | $ | % | ||||||||
| Maize Silage | $ | /kg DM |
$ | % | ||||||||
| Grazing | $ | /week |
$ | % | ||||||||
| Grain | $ | /tonne | $ | % | ||||||||
| Baleage | $ | /bale | $ | % | ||||||||
| Low ME feed need a lot of time to put on CS | ||||||||||||
| ME too low for CS gain | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| Milksolids | kg MS @ payout of | $ | ||||||||||
| Milksolids/CS: CS 3.0-4.0 = 18 kgMS; CS 3.5-4.5 = 15 kgMS; CS 4.0-5.0 = 12.5 kg MS | ||||||||||||
Reproduction |
(and milk production year 2) | $ | 12 week mating | |||||||||
Return from CS Gain |
$145 | Will be higher if CS less than 3.5 | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
For further information phone the DairyNZ Farmer Information Service on 0800 4 324 7969
