Glossary · Feed
Feed Efficiency (FE)
Pounds of fat-corrected milk produced per pound of dry matter consumed. The single best metric for dairy nutrition performance.
Feed efficiency (FE) is the ratio of milk production to feed intake, measured as pounds of fat-corrected milk per pound of dry matter intake:
FE = FCM (lbs/cow/day) ÷ DMI (lbs/cow/day)
Industry benchmarks for high-producing herds:
- 1.4 — average
- 1.5 — good
- 1.6+ — excellent
Each 0.1 improvement in FE typically translates to $0.15–$0.22 per cow per day in additional margin, depending on milk and feed prices. On a 1,000-cow herd, that’s $55,000–$80,000 per year.
Feed efficiency is influenced by everything that touches feed and milk: forage quality, ration formulation, bunk management, heat stress, cow health, genetics. It’s the highest-leverage single metric in dairy nutrition because it integrates all of those factors into one number.
Improving feed efficiency is a long game. The fastest gains usually come from forage quality (better silage means better intake) and bunk management (less empty time, more pushups, more consistent feeding). Both are areas where Aurox products provide measurement.