Calculate milk yield per cow per day, total herd production, and litres per hectare. Track dairy farm efficiency and benchmark against industry standards.
200 cows produce 5,000 litres/day on 100 grazeable hectares. Milk price $0.60/L.
This is a productive pasture-based system. Milk per hectare of 18,250 L is above average for pasture (8,000-15,000).
Daily milk per cow = Total herd milk ÷ Number of milking cows. Example: 1,500 litres from 50 cows = 30 litres/cow/day. Track daily to monitor lactation curves.
Pasture-based: 15-25 L/day. TMR systems: 25-40 L/day. High-producing Holsteins: 40-60 L/day. Annual averages: 5,000-8,000 L/cow in pasture, 8,000-12,000 L/cow intensive.
Milk per hectare = Total annual milk ÷ Grazeable hectares. Pasture-based: 8,000-15,000 L/ha/year. Intensive irrigated: 15,000-25,000 L/ha. This is the key land efficiency measure.
Genetics, nutrition (energy, protein, fibre), days in milk (peak at 6-8 weeks), parity, health (mastitis, lameness), heat stress, and milking frequency.