An online calculator for milk component efficiency
There was a lot of interest in the story about Cargill’s new dairy calculator. It was the most read article last month.
The company's tool assesses feed intake and dairy cow milk component production with the intent of giving producers a way to improve their financial returns by highlighting good or poor herd performance.
Mike Messman, Cargill dairy strategic technology leader, said, done by hand, such calculation requires several mathematical steps, the online calculator simplifies the process.
“It takes time to collect enough data and review the information across a wide range of herds to establish a performance metric that is meaningful and relevant across the board,” he told FeedNavigator. “We believe strongly that this is something every herd can benefit from measuring and managing, and we want to provide it to the industry in a way that was easy to use and understand, which was why we decided to put it online.”
The free, online calculator can help producers see how efficiently their cows convert feed and forage into “pounds of milk fat and protein,” he said.
