Cow Feed Cost
Free Cow Feed Cost calculator with clear step-by-step results.
About Cow Feed Cost
Cattle rations are costed on a dry matter basis because forage moisture varies enormously. Splitting intake between forage and concentrate at their respective prices gives cost per head per day - the single most useful figure for comparing rations - and scaling by herd size and days gives the feed bill.
Formulas
Cost per head per day
Cost = (forage kg DM x forage price + concentrate kg x concentrate price) / 1000
Period cost
Period = cost per head per day x head count x days
Worked example
With the default values below, Cow Feed Cost returns Feed cost for the period of $5,016.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Number of cattleaccepts 1–20,000
- 40
- Dry matter intake per head per dayminimum 1 kg DM
- 22 kg DM
- Share of the ration as concentrateaccepts 0–90 %
- 35 %
- Forage costminimum 0 $/t DM
- 120 $/t DM
- Concentrate costminimum 0 $/t
- 320 $/t
- Periodaccepts 1–730 days
- 30 days
Results
- Feed cost for the period
- $5,016.00
- Feed cost per head per day
- $4.180
- Herd feed cost per day
- $167.20
- Dry matter consumed
- 26.40 t DM
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Cost per head per day
- 3Period cost
- 4Feed cost for the period= $5,016.00
- 5Feed cost per head per day= $4.180
- 6Herd feed cost per day= $167.20
- 7Dry matter consumed= 26.40 t DM
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 6 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is typical dry matter intake?
Roughly 3-3.5% of body weight: about 20-24 kg DM for a lactating dairy cow, 10-12 kg for a dry cow and 8-10 kg for a growing heifer.
Why cost forage at all if I grow it?
Home-grown forage still consumes land, fertiliser, machinery and storage. Costing it at market value is what makes ration comparisons and stocking decisions meaningful.