Feed is the biggest cost on most dairies. And a lot of it leaks out quietly, a few kilograms at a time, through loading errors nobody sees. Getting your weights right is one of the easiest ways to lower feed cost per litre of milk.
Where the leaks are
- Loading by eye. The operator thinks the bucket is close enough.
- Overshooting. Going past the target and not taking it back.
- Different operators. Each one loads a bit differently.
- Scale drift. The scale reads wrong and nobody checks.
- Shrink. Feed lost to wind, spoilage and spills before it reaches the mixer.
The simple maths
Take one ingredient. Work out how much you overshoot per load on average. Multiply by loads per day and by days per year. Then multiply by what that ingredient costs per kilogram. Do it for your expensive ingredients, like protein meals and concentrates.
Most farmers are surprised by the number. It doesn’t take a big error, just a consistent one.
Underfeeding costs too
If the scale reads high, cows get less than the ration says. Less dry matter, less milk. That’s a cost you won’t see as a feed bill, only as a smaller milk check.
How to fix it
- Test the scale with a known weight monthly.
- Load to the number, not the bucket.
- Set target weights in the indicator for each ingredient.
- Track loading accuracy by operator if your system records it.
- Check silage dry matter so the ration weights stay right.
Feed cost per litre
Divide daily feed cost for the milking herd by litres sold. Track it weekly. When you tighten loading, you should see it move. It’s the clearest number to show whether changes are working.
Small errors, big costs
If every load is a little over on an expensive ingredient, that adds up across months. If it’s a little under, production can drop. Accurate weighing keeps the ration the nutritionist built actually reaching the cows.
Where errors come from
- Loader operators guessing instead of watching the scale.
- Scales not calibrated.
- Wet silage changing as-fed weight.
- Different people loading different ways.
Measuring cost per litre
Cost per litre of milk is feed cost divided by litres sold. You need both numbers. Track feed cost from your ration and actual loaded weights, and litres from your milk records. Look at it monthly.
Using scale data
Many indicators record what was loaded. Compare against the ration. If one ingredient is often over, look at loader bucket size or operator habits.
Small steps that help
- Check scale accuracy monthly.
- Keep the mixer level when loading.
- Post the ration at the loading area.
- Train new operators.
- Review data with your nutritionist.
The long view
Feed is usually the biggest cost on a dairy. Getting weighing right is one of the simplest ways to control it. It takes discipline more than money.
Quick questions
What’s an acceptable loading error? Ask your nutritionist. Tighter is better for expensive ingredients and minerals.
Do remote displays help? Yes, a display the loader driver can see cuts errors.
Should I track each operator? Many indicators can. It’s not about blame, it’s about training.
From the show floor
Dairy farmers tell me they’ve tightened every cost they can. Then we look at load records and find one ingredient running over every day. It’s often the quickest saving on the farm. Pull a month of data and look.
Where to start this week
Pull last month’s load records from the indicator. Pick your two most expensive ingredients. Compare what was planned with what went in. If one is consistently over, talk to the person loading it and check the bucket size. That’s often the fastest saving available on a dairy, and it costs nothing but an hour with the numbers.
Quick questions
Does weighing matter on beef rations too? Yes. Gain per dollar of feed depends on it just as much.
What’s a quick win? A remote display for the loader driver.
How often should data be reviewed? Monthly at least, with the nutritionist if possible.
What if the scale disagrees with the weighbridge? Recalibrate and check load cells and cables.
Where LEO fits
Our scale systems are built to make loading to weight easy for any operator. Paired with a VT twin auger mixer, it’s a simple setup that gets the ration right load after load.
Bottom line? You can’t manage feed cost if you don’t know what went in the mixer.
