From what I’ve seen, feed cost per liter can actually be better with longer lactations, but it depends on the cow and how you manage late lactation. If she’s a steady producer and doesn’t crash after 300+ days in milk, you’re spreading feed costs over more milk without the big energy demands of early lactation.

The risk is if she drops too far in yield — then you’re feeding a cow that’s just maintaining herself and not giving enough milk to pay for the ration. I’ve had the best luck keeping condition in check, feeding more forage and less high-priced concentrate once production starts tapering off. That way, the later months are still profitable without blowing the feed budget.

From what I’ve seen, feed cost per liter can actually be better with longer lactations, but it depends on the cow and how you manage late lactation. If she’s a steady producer and doesn’t crash after 300+ days in milk, you’re spreading feed costs over more milk without the big energy demands of early lactation.

The risk is if she drops too far in yield — then you’re feeding a cow that’s just maintaining herself and not giving enough milk to pay for the ration. I’ve had the best luck keeping condition in check, feeding more forage and less high-priced concentrate once production starts tapering off. That way, the later months are still profitable without blowing the feed budget.