Cost of Nutrients in Feedstuffs

Dr. Normand St-Pierre, Dairy Specialist, Ohio State University

The good news is that milk prices will show a substantial recovery this Fall. For how long is anybody's guess at this time. The bad news is that feed prices are high in historical terms and the markets are showing no sign of dropping anytime soon. Yet, there are many opportunities for dairy producers to significantly reduce feed cost without impacting negatively the health or production of their cows. Some byproducts are well-priced and are worth considering.

As of late summer, unit costs of rumen degradable protein (RDP) and non-effective NDF (ne-NDF) are down 2.9 and 1.6 units per pound, respectively. The cost per unit of net energy lactation remains very high, approaching 8.5 cents per megacalorie. Effective NDF (e-NDF) is also very pricey, at 8.5 cents per pound.

Table 1. Estimates of nutrient unit costs.

- A blank means that the nutrient unit cost is likely equal to zero.
- ~ means that the nutrient cost may be close to zero.
- * means that the nutrient cost is unlikely to be equal to zero.
- **means that the nutrient cost is most likely not equal to zero.

A good look at the ingredients used on your farm may reveal cost saving opportunities. Currently, the following feed ingredients are priced well-below what they are worth: bakery byproduct meal, ground shelled corn, corn silage, distillers dried grains, hydrolyzed feather meal (with strong reservation due to the considerable range in quality), hominy, roasted soybeans, wheat bran, and wheat middlings. There are also some feedstuffs that are overpriced: beet pulp, canola meal, porcine meat meal, molasses, soybean hulls, 44% and 48% soybean meal, blood meal, and fishmeal. Blood meal is actually priced correctly when the value of lysine (an important amino acid) is factored in our evaluation. Fishmeal, however, is still considerably overpriced ($150 to $200/ton) even when methionine and lysine are factored in the evaluation. These lists should serve as guidelines. It may be justified to use an ingredient from the overpriced list to fit the specific conditions of a herd. In general, nutritionists should try to maximize the use of discounted feedstuffs and minimize the use of overpriced ones. As always, a properly balanced ration, based on sound nutrition must be used. But, the individual components (feedstuffs) making the ration can be changed (increased, decreased, or substituted) without impacting animal performance. What was a bargain a year ago (e.g. soyhulls) may no longer be a bargain.

Table 2. Calibration set.

Table 3. Appraisal set.

The estimates were derived using the software SESAME Version 2.05 written at The Ohio State University. For additional information, please refer to Buckeye Dairy News Volume 5, Issue 2, March 2003.