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Dairy automation company, Afimilk, announces the release of their new AfiCollar Feed Efficiency Service – a first of its kind technology that accurately measures individual cow feed intake. When combined with milk production data, the feed efficiency and income over feed costs on each cow are identified allowing dairies to make profit-based culling decisions and breed a more genetically- efficient herd.

The launch of the Feed Efficiency Service, part of the AfiCollar cow monitoring solution by Afimilk, follows a successful 2-year pilot across 55 herds on farms up to 70,000 cows.

“We see this as the next evolution in dairy farm profitability,” said Afimilk product manager, Veronica Shabtai. “When we look at dry matter intake data, we learn there is a great variance in feed consumption between animals with average milk production, even if energy corrected milk is considered. This proves that decisions based solely on production can sacrifice profitability.”

Recent estimates indicate that an improvement in herd feed efficiency from 1.55 to 1.75 would equate to a savings of $470 per cow per year, contributing about $1.2 million dollars to the bottom line of a 2,500-cow dairy¹.

“By combining data from production and feed intake, you’re able to make more informed decisions that will not only translate to quick improvement in profit, they also resonate far into the future of the herd. An efficient herd is both profitable and sustainable.”

Feed efficiency has become a key environmental focus area as it is highly correlated with methane emissions, a high impact greenhouse gas released by cows. Studies have shown that highly feed efficient cows produce less methane than low feed efficient cows, even at the same milk yield. A gain of 20 points in feed efficiency, as mentioned above, equates to a reduction of ~22 tons of methane per year on a 2,500-cow dairy – the equivalent of planting 9,240 trees or providing electricity to 110 US homes for a year2.

Afimilk has a history of introducing cutting-edge technology to the dairy industry as the creators of the first milk meter, heat detection sensor and milk component analyzer. More information can be found at Afimilk.com.

¹Progressive Dairy magazine, December 2023. ² EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator

Afimilk, Ltd. is a global leader in advanced dairy farm and herd management technologies. From introducing the world’s first electronic milk meter to setting new standards in precision agriculture, Afimilk empowers dairy farmers to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. Dairies leverage our cow monitoring and parlor automation solutions to maximize efficiency, reduce waste, and produce high- quality products in a sustainable environment.