How much food is needed to feed milking cows?

Lactating cows consume around 2.5 to 5 percent or more of their body weight in dry matter ration per day. I won't give you how much per hundred weight because it depends on the size of the cow, type of feed, and moisture content of the feed. The best way to get an accurate amount is by going by percent body weight. read more

Plus another 4 lbs of dry matter for every 10 pounds of milk. So a cow producing 100lbs of milk/day will eat about 80 lbs of dry matter. Whereas 2 cows making 50 lbs of milk (each, so 100 lbs total) will consume 60 lbs of dry matter each, or 120 lbs of dry matter per 100 lbs. Mod course this varies based on energy density of the feed. read more

High producing dairy cows will eat 110 to 120 pounds of wet feed a day or 50 to 55 pounds of dry matter (DM) a day. As cows produce more milk, they eat more. A typical diet for a dairy cow could include about 30 to 35 pounds of baled hay (26-30 pounds DM) and 25 pounds of grain mix (22 pounds DM). read more