Cost of Diet Feeders
Take Home Messages
 | Feeding costs with tractor, diet feeder and labour will
cost £60/cow for the large 3-400 cow herd following a High Low Dry & Close Up 4 group policy. |
| To justify a diet feeder savings in the region of £20/cow
must be made to equal the cost of conventional cake feeding via out of parlour feeders. |
| For the large 3-400 cow herd total mixing and feeding time
will average 2-3 hrs per day using a 18cu m diet feeder costing £25000 plus dedicated tractor & driver. |
How many hours are spent feeding the herd this year?
| Hours per Year | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 |
| Hours Per Day | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.7 |
Mixer Types
Vertical Auger
|
Capacity |
cu m |
12 |
14 |
18 |
27 |
| Height - Overall | Feet | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| Length - Overall | Feet | 15 | 18 | 18 | 20 | |
| Width - Overall | Feet | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | |
| Minimum Horsepower | HP | 75 | 85-100 | 100-120 | 140-160 | |
Paddle Auger
|
||||||
Capacity |
cu m |
10 |
14 |
16 |
18 |
|
| Overall Height | Feet | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| Overall Length | Feet | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | |
| Overall Width | Feet | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
|
|
Minimum Horsepower | HP | 60 | 70 | 85 | 100 |
Vertical augers tend to
give more complete mixing but at greater power requirements dependant on
material processed. Seek guarantees for the machines ability to process
big bales / straw - may need
an additional attachment.
Herd size: TMR feeders are not recommended for the herd below 150 cows
Annual cost of ownership over 6 years
The following example is for an 18cu m model capable of
feeding up to 150 milking cows in one pass
suitable for a herd of 3-400 cows with a high, lo and dry group feeding
strategy. Assuming a herd yield
of 8000 L and 2.7t concentrates fed, for 300 cows the cost per ton is
£6-8 before the cost of tractor & driver
18cu m Diet Feeder Cost New £25,000 |
||||||||
| Interest | 8 | % on outstanding balance over 6 years | ||||||
| Insurance | 6 | £/1000 | ||||||
| Depreciation | average on diminishing balance over 6 years | |||||||
| Hours |
Depreciation |
Repairs |
Interest | Insurance | Total Cost | |||
| Worked | % | £ | % | £ | £ | £ | £/an | £/hr |
| 250 | 18 | 2,900 | 3 | 750 | 1,147 | 150 | 4,947 | 20 |
| 500 | 28 | 3,586 | 5 | 1,250 | 830 | 150 | 5,816 | 12 |
| 750 | 40 | 3,972 | 7 | 1,750 | 553 | 150 | 6,426 | 9 |
| 1,000 | 50 | 4,102 | 9 | 2,250 | 388 | 150 | 6,889 | 7 |
Labour & Tractor Costs
£30,000 120hp Basic Tractor over 5 years |
||||
| Hours worked | Fixed Costs | labour | Total | Total /hr |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| 500 | 5250 | 3500 | 8750 | 17.5 |
| 1000 | 5750 | 7000 | 12750 | 12.8 |
| 1500 | 6350 | 10500 | 16850 | 11.2 |
Assuming the tractor works 2/3rds of its time with the diet
feeder then if feeding takes 1000 hours per year
the cost of the feeding operation is £14/t plus £8 for the diet feeder -
£22/t (roughly £60 per cow)