US: Dairy Cow Feed Cost
This page considers US dairy cow feed costs using the US Simulated Feed Ration.Goal of the page is to promote an economic analysis based on the ration's components, bearing of course in mind that any change in ingredients in the feed ration implies synergistic reactions which must be carefully assessed.
Alimento Simulato USA
The US Simulated Feed Ration is a feed model exclusively based on Corn, Soybean meal and Alfalfa;
it can be used as an indicator for feed cost trends.
The Simulated Feed Ration has been used by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) within the Margin Protection Program and, more recently, in the Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMC) . Details of the model can be found in this document. As of January 2019 the price quotation for the Alfalfa used in the calculation of the Simulated Feed Ration consists of the average between the Alfalfa and the Premium Alfalfa price, as from the DMC.
The composition of the Simulated Feed Ration is as follows:
The Simulated Feed Ration has been used by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) within the Margin Protection Program and, more recently, in the Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMC) . Details of the model can be found in this document. As of January 2019 the price quotation for the Alfalfa used in the calculation of the Simulated Feed Ration consists of the average between the Alfalfa and the Premium Alfalfa price, as from the DMC.
The composition of the Simulated Feed Ration is as follows:
| Corn | 56.0 % |
| Soybean Meal | 15.5 % |
| Alfalfa | 28.5 % |
The first chart shows the monthly market value of 100 kg of the US Simulated Feed Ration.
The second chart shows the market value of the Simulated Feed Ration highlighting the weight (in percentage) of the price of each of the three components on the total cost of the Simulated Feed Ration as well as the price percentage variation compared to the previous month. The US Simulated Feed Ration cost trend is also compared with the Italian one, thus allowing a comparison between the two.
The third chart compares the Simulated Feed Ration Cost with the US Farm-gate Raw Milk Price.
The fourth chart shows the monthly ratio between the US 100 kg Farm-gate Raw Milk Price and the price of 100 kg of Simulated Feed Ration. This is the so-called "Milk:Feed Ratio", which represents how many kg of Simulated Feed Ration could be purchased with the gross revenue from 1 kg of milk at the stated price.
The indicator is calculated for both the All Milk price as well as for the different classes of milk.
The fifth chart shows the cost trend of the single components of the Simulated Feed Ration, with the US monthly average price.
For additional information on the costs and revenues of US Dairy Farmers visit this page, which contains a dedicated analysis.
Chart 4.
The following chart represents how many kg of Simulated Feed Ration could be purchased with the gross revenue from 1kg of milk.
As of January 2019 the price quotation for the Alfalfa used in the calculation of the Simulated Feed Ration consists of the average between the Alfalfa and the Premium Alfalfa price, as from the DMC.