Feed Management and Cost Control in Dairy Farming. Cristian Rota’s perspective

In dairy farming, Feed management plays the most critical role from both an economic and production perspective.
Feed alone accounts for around 60% of total dairy farm costs, which makes it the primary area to target for efficiency, process control, and waste reduction.

As dairy farms grow in size and complexity, farmers can no longer manage feeding “by intuition.”
They need a structured, data-driven approach that controls the entire feeding process from start to finish.

In the video linked to this article, Cristian Rota, PhD in Agricultural Management, explains how dairy farms can improve daily feeding management through practical and operational process control.

Feed Management: Where Inefficiencies and Costs Originate

Feeding inefficiencies rarely depend on a single factor. More often, they arise along the process, rather Feeding inefficiencies rarely depend on a single factor.
In most cases, they develop along the feeding process, not during ration formulation.

For this reason, dairy farms must actively control every phase of feeding, including:

• feed delivery and intake into storage
• inventory and stock management
• ration preparation and mixing
• feed bunk distribution

When farms fail to control these steps, they often experience:

• higher feed waste
• rations that differ from the planned formulation
• reduced dry matter intake (DMI)
• increased feeding costs without production benefits

Because feeding represents such a large share of total costs, process control becomes essential, not optional.

Nutritional Management Approach: How to Reduce Feeding Inefficiencies

To reduce feeding costs and improve efficiency, dairy farms must actively control the nutritional process

This approach requires farms to:

• clearly define and monitor each feeding phase
• track what enters the system, what the mixer processes, and what reaches the feed bunk
• ensure cows receive exactly the ration formulated

When farms manage the process correctly, they can:

• reduce feed waste
• improve ration consistency and repeatability
• increase daily operational efficiency
• make decisions based on real, measurable data

The goal goes beyond ration formulation. Farms must execute the ration correctly every single day.

On-Farm Results: Benefits of Proper Feeding Cost Control

The first and most important result is control.
And control creates measurable value.

With a structured nutritional management system, dairy farms:

• provide cows with a well-balanced ration
• deliver the same ration consistently day after day
• maximize dry matter intake (DMI)
• maintain stable feeding conditions for the herd

This consistency allows cows to express their full productive potential while improving feeding efficiency and overall farm profitability.

Conclusion: Feeding Cost Control as an Economic Strategy

When feeding represents up to 60% of dairy farm costs, farms improve margins not only through ration formulation, but through active process control.

By managing feeding in a structured way, dairy farms can:

• reduce feed waste
• improve intake
• increase profitability
• strengthen long-term competitiveness

Nutritional control is not just a technical task it is a strategic economic advantage in modern dairy farming.

Watch the full video, click here!

Get in touch

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Company

Telephone

Country *

Select... AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubanAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCote d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorthern IrelandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSerbia and MontenegroSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandThe Democratic Republic of CongoTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVaticanVenezuelaVietnamVirgin IslandsWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

Message *

 I declare that I have read the Privacy Policy in accordance with EU Regulation 2016/679. *

 I would like to receive promotional and marketing information about Dinamica Generale's precision feeding products.

ghost_field

Submit