Total-Mixed Ration Ingredient Loading Accuracy and Precision from 26 California Dairies

Feed is the single largest expense on a dairy, representing over 55% of the production cost in California. Based on the economic importance of feeding, it would be expected that ingredient loading into the mixer wagon is done with high accuracy and precision. However, in a study of 26 California dairies using a feed management software, we found that deviation from target weight on individual ingredients included in high-cow and high-cow-premix rations ranged from -78.7% to 21.9%. Figure 1 shows the large variation across dairies on loading accuracy and precision expressed as lbs (panel A) and percentage (panel B). Dairy 1 was the largest dairy with 6,900 milking cows and dairy 26 the smallest with 1,100 milking cows.

The most skilled feeders worked on dairy 3; they loaded ingredients with great precision (note the smaller boxes in the figures) and accuracy (note the boxes centered around target, 0, in the figures). This dairy was unique, with an on-staff feed manager that evaluated feeders’ performance regularly as well as inventory. However, on dairy 5 (far left) accuracy was very poor. This dairy assigned a large tolerance level to ingredients, resulting in most ingredients being loaded under the target weight.

Feeders on dairy 4 (far right) were the least precise (large box - panel A); however, the mixer wagon was large and loading errors were diluted when expressed in percentage (hence the relatively smaller box in panel B).

Dairy producers using a feed management software should take advantage of their records and evaluate feeder's accuracy and precision. Our data offers an opportunity to benchmark feeder performance on California dairies. Dairy 3 had outstanding accuracy and precision, so why don't you aim for the same?