ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — Feed is one of the largest, and most impactful, investments you’ll make into your flock or herd. Choosing the right feed that will develop high-value market animals and support your profit margins can be a fine line to walk.

“You may be leaving a lot of opportunity on the table if you only look at the total cost per bag or ton of feed to make nutritional decisions,” says Clay Elliott, Ph.D., small ruminant nutritionist with Purina Animal Nutrition. “Understanding cost per head per day can help you better understand your feed investment and find value you might not even realize you’re missing out on.”

Identify feed cost efficiencies and add value to your flock or herd by understanding how feed intake and cost per head per day impact your bottom line:

Digging deeper into feed intake

The recommended feeding rate can make a big difference in how far your nutrition investment goes.

“If you have to feed 2 pounds per head per day of a commodity feed to get the same body condition as a complete feed with a 0.5 pound per head per day feeding rate, which one is actually the better value?” asks Elliott.

Find the true value of your feed investment by calculating cost per head per day for your operation:

Total pounds of feed purchased / total feed per day = total # of days of feed

Total cost per ton or bag / total # of days of feed = total feed cost per day

Total feed cost per day / total head = cost per head per day

Using these calculations, a higher-priced product could pencil out to a better value (see Table 1).

Controlling consumption

Understanding feed intake is not only important when evaluating feed cost, but it can also play a role in animal health and maintaining ideal body condition.

For example, when group feeding, boss ewes can be at risk for overconsumption while more timid ewes may not reach ideal feed intake levels, leading to over or underconditioned animals.

“Controlling feed intake supports consistent intake, which can help reduce the chance of disruptions to the rumen and ensure animals stay within recommended body condition scores,” says Elliott.

“Purina has extensively researched our Intake Modifying Technology^® to condense nutrition into low consumption rates to manage intake while still ensuring animals receive the nutrients they need to perform,” Elliott adds. “They only eat what they need.”

Making the most of commodity blends

Every operation is different, and what works well for the farm down the road might not be the right choice for you. That’s why it’s important to calculate the cost per head per day based on your specific operation. Feeding a commodity blend might make more sense for your business when you put pen to paper.

If you feed a commodity blend to your flock or herd, make sure you’re getting the most from it.

“Feeding straight corn or a commodity blend can leave gaps in your nutrition that could result in reduced market value of your animals,” says Elliott. “Supplementing your commodity feed with a balancer can help reduce the nutrition gap and provide additional benefits such as fly control or health and wellness support.”

Ultimately, choosing the right feed is about more than just cost. Ask yourself these questions when evaluating your ration:

• What are your animal growth and performance goals?
• Are you reaching your return-on-investment goals when marketing animals?
• Do you have your own commodities or access to consistent, well-priced commodities?
• What feed storage and labor availability do you have?
• Are you having challenges with animal health or reproductive performance that could be addressed with changes to your rations?

Spending some time to pencil out your cost per head per day and evaluate the most efficient and impactful ration for your flock or herd can go a long way in positively impacting your bottom line. Contact your local Purina nutritionist or visit purinamills.com to learn more.

Purina Animal Nutrition LLC (www.purinamills.com) is a national organization serving producers, animal owners and their families through more than 4,700 local cooperatives, independent dealers and other retailers throughout the United States. Driven to unlock the greatest potential in every animal, the company is an industry-leading innovator offering a valued portfolio of complete feeds, supplements, premixes, ingredients and specialty technologies for the livestock and lifestyle animal markets. Purina Animal Nutrition LLC is headquartered in Arden Hills, Minn. and a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc.

–Purina Animal Nutrition LLC