The Cost of Feeding Waste Milk (part 1)

We recently discussed at what price points it could be more economical  to feed milk replacer versus saleable tank milk. We are going to continue this discussion, but now we are going to look at the cost of non-saleable milk, which includes direct costs, and some hidden costs that you may not have considered. The two hidden costs we are going to discuss below are cost of production, and variation in percent solids. 

First, you aren’t able to sell treated cow milk, so it’s not an accurate assessment to base your cost on CWT milk when that’s not what it actually is. 

What is an accurate assessment is the fact that you had to put time and money into that cow to get the milk, even though you aren’t able to sell it, she still cost the same as every other cow in the herd to produce 1 CWT of milk. Many times waste milk is considered “free” because it's not saleable, but that is not true, it still has a cost, and that cost of production needs to be considered in this equation. 

Once you know your production cost, you need to know the percent solids of your waste milk. When calculating this number , you may find out that it is highly inconsistent. This is one of the hidden “costs” of feeding waste milk.

As you know, calves thrive on consistency. Even something as accidental as letting some water run into the treated cow tank, could throw your calves for a loop. If your waste milk is going from 12% solids to 9% solids from one feeding to the next, your calves will struggle with the inconsistencies in their diet. Calves will also struggle to gain weight, although feeding the same volume everyday, inconsistent solids levels will provide varied calories on a daily basis. Swings in solids can easily cause scours which can lead to other health challenges. Considering that one treatment can cost over $20, this can very easily add up!

Adding a balancer is an option that many people choose to utilize, but it also comes at an added cost and requires additional knowledge, calculations, and consistency. To do so successfully, consistent and clear protocols should be created to ensure all feeding shifts are following the same program.

With milk replacer, you can easily keep solids within 1% each feeding without much effort or equipment. As long as the person mixing has good directions, keeping milk replacer solids consistent is as easy as using a scale to weigh the powder and a pitcher to measure the water. When feeding calves simple measuring goes a long way in keeping the program consistent. We have a scale where we weigh the powder out each feeding, along with a mark for the final mixed solution on our tank, so each shift we know exactly where to mix to.  We also use a timing system so that the amount is consistent when feeding the calves. If you do smaller amounts using a pitcher or measurement on the bottles to be consistent is an easy way to be sure that your solids are consistent. 

From shift to shift and start to finish (feeding 300 calves per feeding) our percent solids vary less than 0.5%. This in part is due to a milk replacer that is held in solution VERY well, and part due to our mixing protocols and equipment!

The variation of solids is just one of the hidden costs of feeding waste milk. There are many more to discuss! Stay tuned for more articles to come as we dig deeper into this topic!

Check-out this calculator to help with percent solids, balancer, and milk extension calculations:

https://denkavit.com/usa/rearing-calves/calculator/

Send us a message to learn more about the process our milk replacer goes through to ensure such a stable solution that doesn’t separate!