Resources / Dairy

The dairy KPIs behind every vat.

A profitable lactation is built from small, compounding gains: an extra litre per cow, half a point off the cell count, a tighter return to calf, a cent saved per litre. Tracking the right benchmarks across the year is how you find and hold those gains.

Willow Creek Dairy
280 milkers150 ha platformYear-round calvingSE Queensland · 2025–26
01 / Reproduction & herd
Fertility 48%

Conception rate

The share of inseminations that result in a pregnancy — the first read on fertility and joining readiness.

55% 48% 45% Top herds Willow Ck National
Per service vs benchmark
Fertility 52% in 100d

100-day in-calf rate

The share of the herd back in calf within 100 days of calving — the key timing measure in a year-round herd.

Willow Ck 52% Target 65% day 0 day 60 day 100
Cumulative % in calf by 100 days
Output 84% in calf

Calving rate

Live calves reared against the cows eligible to breed — the herd's reproductive output and replacement supply.

Eligible · 280 In-calf · 235 Calved · 228 Reared · 220
Head, eligible → reared
Fertility 16% empty

Not-in-calf rate

The share of the herd still empty 200 days after calving — cows you must cull or carry unproductively.

16% empty In-calf · 235 Empty · 45
Top herds stay under 15%
Herd 24 mo

Age at first calving

How old replacement heifers are when they first calve and enter the herd — the payoff of the rearing program.

Target ≤24 mo 24 mo 27 mo Willow Ck District
Willow Creek vs district
02 / Milk yield & components
Yield 24 L/cow·day

Litres per head

Milk volume per cow per day across the lactation — peak yield and persistency in one curve.

32 L peak early late
L/cow/day across lactation
Output 470 kg MS

Milk solids per cow

Kilograms of fat plus protein per cow — the basis most processors actually pay on, not litres.

470 kg MS / cow Fat Protein Fat · 256 kg Protein · 211 kg
Fat + protein solids per cow
Components 4.0% avg

Milk fat %

Butterfat as a share of milk — it drives milk-solids payment and rises late in lactation.

3.8% 4.5%
Daily fat test, season
Components 3.3% avg

Milk protein %

Protein as a share of milk — the higher-value solid, steered by energy in the diet.

3.1% 3.6%
Daily protein test, season
Herd 175 days avg

Days in milk

How cows spread across stages of lactation — a steady spread keeps the vat full all year.

68 74 72 66 0–60 60–120 120–200 200–305
Cows by days in milk
03 / Herd health & milk quality
Udder health 3 / week

Mastitis cases per week

New clinical cases detected each week — the frontline signal of udder health and milking hygiene.

alert >5/wk Wk 1 Wk 8
Clinical cases · 8 weeks
Milk quality 210k cells

Bulk milk cell count

Somatic cells per mL in the vat — the herd-level read on subclinical mastitis and quality premiums.

premium <250k 210k Wk 1 Wk 8
Cells/mL · weekly
Herd 42% mid

Lactation stage

The split of the herd across early, mid and late lactation — it drives feed demand and vat volume.

30% 42% 28% Early · 84 cows Mid · 118 cows Late · 78
Herd composition
04 / Land & pasture
Grazing 1.9 cows/ha

Stocking rate

Milkers carried per hectare of the milking platform — grazing pressure matched to pasture grown.

Jul Jun
Cows/ha across the season
Pasture 75 kg/ha/d peak

Dry matter production

Pasture grown per hectare per day against herd demand — where they cross is the winter feed gap.

75 winter gap Growth Demand Jan May Jul Dec
kg DM/ha/day · growth vs demand
Feed 9 t DM/cow

Home-grown feed eaten

Tonnes of pasture and silage eaten per cow — the cheapest feed and the base of every ration.

60% home-grown Home-grown · 9 t Bought-in · 6 t
Home-grown share of diet
05 / Financial
Breakeven 52 ¢/L

Cost of production

Total operating cost per litre of milk produced — your breakeven, independent of the farmgate price.

52 ¢ / litre Feed 24¢ Labour 10¢ Herd & shed 9¢ Overheads 9¢
Cost per litre breakdown
Margin $8.80/cow·day

Milk income over feed cost

Milk income less feed — the largest single cost — the fastest read on whether the ration is paying.

$16.80 −$8.00 $8.80 Milk income Feed cost MOFC
Milk income − feed · per cow/day
Margin $3,800/ha

Gross margin per hectare

Milk income less direct costs per hectare of platform — the truest measure of land productivity.

$3,800 2023 2024 2025 2026
$ GM/ha · 4-year trend
06 / Environment
Footprint 0.95 kgCO₂e/L

Emissions intensity

Kilograms of CO₂-equivalent per litre of milk — and it falls as the herd gets more efficient.

Sector 0.9–1.1 0.95 2023 2024 2025 2026
kgCO₂e/L · 4-year trend

See these KPIs live for your own herd.

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