“At its core, component efficiency is a real measure of dairy herd efficiency. Dairy farmers can monitor it to see how well their cows are converting pounds of feed into pounds of milk components,” says Mike Messman, Ph.D., Dairy Technical Services Manager, Cargill. “To do the calculation by hand requires a few mathematical steps so we wanted to simplify the process and ensure all dairy farmers could calculate this for themselves at any time.”
Most of the U.S. dairy industry is paid each month based on the pounds of milkfat and protein components shipped from the dairy. At the same time, feed costs are often one of the highest variable expenses for a dairy herd, so calculating component efficiency gives a good snapshot of how efficiently the cows are converting valuable feed into valuable milk components.
To calculate it online, a dairy farmer simply inputs their pounds of milk production, fat and protein percent, and dry matter intake – the site does not collect any personal information – and the calculator does the work of quickly computing their efficiency. In addition to their efficiency rate the tool also provides an analysis to help producers understand where they stand, and how much room they have to improve.
“When dairy farmers are able to improve their component efficiency, they can have a profitable impact on their bottom line,” adds Messman, “And that’s why we want to help dairies easily measure where they are today and plan how they can improve their component efficiency moving forward.”
Access Cargill’s new component efficiency calculator, and learn more about managing component efficiency, by visiting www.cargilldairydreams.com/calculator on your desktop or mobile device.
About Cargill
Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive.
We combine 153 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture.
About Cargill Animal Nutrition
Cargill’s animal nutrition business has more than 20,000 employees at more than 275 facilities in 40 countries. Fueled by our innovation and research, we offer a range of products and services to feed manufacturers, animal producers, and feed retailers around the world, helping put food on the plates of nearly one billion people around the world every day. Cargill’s animal nutrition business offers a range of compound feed, premixes, feed additives, supply chain and risk management solutions, software tools and animal nutrition expertise that is unmatched in the industry. For more information about Cargill Animal Nutrition, visit: http://www.cargill.com/feed.