International dairy consultant, David Beca, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s Dairy Edge podcast to discuss the fundamentals of cost control in grazing systems.
David discusses pasture harvest, as defined as grass utilised on the milk platform, and consequently, the proportion of pasture in the dairy cow diet, as the key driver of low cost, high profit grazing systems.
Furthermore, David compares the relative costs of feedstuffs in Ireland and international competitors. He explains that the relative cost of grazed grass and supplement is much greater than in countries such as USA owing to the ability of Irish farms to grow grass so cheaply. He costs grass at $60 v concentrates at $400, reinforcing the impact of imported feed on the cost structures
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