Margin per cow is a powerful tool that provides insight into gross profitability. Margin per cow is available at an individual cow level and at herd level.
Margin per cow for every individual cow is a powerful selection tool. Knowing the gross profitability of an individual cow assists in making a decision whether to keep or sell an animal. The margin at cow level is calculated every day.
At herd level, it gives an insight into the overall profitability of the herd in order to evaluate the financial impacts of management decisions made at herd level.
Calculation of the margin per cow
Parameters currently included in the calculation:
- Milk income
- Received milk price
- Fat price
- Protein price
- Feed costs
- Roughage price
- Concentrate price
- Dry matter intake. Calculated based on a well-established algorithm (NRC 2003).
We recommend refreshing ration prices at least every month. Lely Farm Management advisors are trained to assist by taking into consideration regional environmental factors that may affect yield and quality when calculating the roughage price.
Margin per cow widget on the dashboard
The margin per cow can be used to monitor the impact of an external factor on farm profitability and herd efficiency. If income and costs remain constant, changes in margin per cow provide insights into how changes in management, weather, herd health, and/or regulations may affect profitability.
Clicking the Margin per cow widget on the dashboard opens a page with more detailed information. This screen shows the herd trends over the last 6 months and gives an estimation of the herd’s margin per cow for the next 6 months. Furthermore, a graph is shown with the total milk income and total feed cost per for the prior 6 months and the expected coming 6 months.
If no value is shown in the widget, please enter your prices into Horizon.
Margin per cow on the Cow index page
The margin for all your cows can be found on the Cow index page. This page can be accessed via the Reproduction prediction widget on the dashboard. Click here on Go to Herd overview and then select Cow index. One of the columns in this report is the Current margin. You can sort by this column to get your cows with either the lowest or highest margin at the top. This number Is calculated weekly.
Margin per cow tab in the Cowcard
The current margin of the cows is shown on the Cow index page. By going to the cowcard, you can see the history and future of the margin for the cow to help you with any choices you might want to make.
Margin per cow can be found in the Margin tab on the cowcard. As well as the margin per cow, the tab also shows the expected milk production. The margin per cow graph shows the margin for the last six months and the predicted six months ahead. In addition to the margin for the specific cow, it also shows an average margin per cow for the farm as a reference line. This margin is updated every day.
Below the Margin per cow graph, the page shows a Milk income and Feed costs graph. This can be used to understand the margin per cow trend better.