Calculator
Cattle Feed Cost Calculator
Daily, monthly and yearly feed cost for cows and buffaloes. Pick your country to load reference or estimated starting prices and an example ration, then change any amount or price to match your farm.
1 Choose your country
Select a country, then check the starting prices. All amounts and prices can be changed.
See starting prices and sources for this country
| Feed | Per kg | Price type | Basis / source |
|---|
2 Add your animal groups
Put animals with the same feed needs in one group. For example: 5 milking cows and 3 heifers need two groups.
3 Your whole farm summary
Daily feed shopping list
These amounts feed all animals in all groups for one day. The costs below include every group.
| Feed | Total kg / day | Total cost / day |
|---|
Editable starting rations for budgeting, not individually formulated diets. Bypass fat presets apply to early lactation; change to zero when not needed. Yearly costs use 365 days.
Concentrate (wanda) is usually the biggest feed cost. Growing green fodder and making silage, and feeding concentrate by milk yield instead of the same amount to every animal, are the surest ways to cut the daily bill.
Average feed prices in Pakistan
| Feed | Per kg | Type | Market note | Checked | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green fodder (berseem, maize, sorghum) | PKR 10 | Estimate | No reliable published green fodder rate found. Enter your local rate. | 2026-10-10 | — |
| Silage (maize) | PKR 24 | Market | Rs 850–920 per 40 kg retail; bulk about Rs 21,000 per ton | 2026-10-10 | source |
| Dry fodder (wheat straw / bhusa / toori) | PKR 28 | Market | Punjab mandis Rs 950–1,250 per 40 kg; Karachi Rs 1,350–1,550 | 2026-10-03 | source |
| Concentrate / cattle feed (wanda) | PKR 110 | Market | Branded wanda Rs 4,135–4,850 per 40 kg bag (online retail) | 2026-10-10 | source |
| Mineral mixture | PKR 1200 | Market | Imported brand Rs 2,995 per 2.5 kg; local brands are usually cheaper | 2026-10-10 | source |
| Bypass fat | PKR 1250 | Market | Rs 1,200–1,290 per kg (retail, 1 kg packs) | 2026-10-10 | source |
| Salt | PKR 40 | Estimate | Starting guess for rock salt. Enter your local rate. | 2026-10-10 | — |
| Calf starter | PKR 148 | Market | Calf starter Rs 2,950 per 20 kg bag | 2026-10-10 | source |
Average feed prices in India
| Feed | Per kg | Type | Market note | Checked | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green fodder (berseem, maize, sorghum) | INR 2.4 | Market | ₹210–260 per quintal (Ambala Cantt APMC, Haryana) | 2026-09-22 | source |
| Silage (maize) | INR 7 | Market | Maize silage bales ₹6.75–7.25 per kg (Gujarat, Maharashtra suppliers) | 2026-10-10 | source |
| Dry fodder (wheat straw / bhusa / toori) | INR 9.25 | Market | ₹920–930 per quintal (Ambala Cantt APMC, Haryana) | 2026-10-04 | source |
| Concentrate / cattle feed (wanda) | INR 24 | Market | Branded cattle feed about ₹1,180 per 50 kg bag | 2026-10-10 | source |
| Mineral mixture | INR 100 | Market | Listed from about ₹50 to ₹210 per pack, depending on brand | 2026-10-10 | source |
| Bypass fat | INR 125 | Market | About ₹125 per kg (Indore supplier) | 2026-10-10 | source |
| Salt | INR 15 | Estimate | Starting guess. Enter your local rate. | 2026-10-10 | — |
| Calf starter | INR 40 | Estimate | Starting guess. Enter your local rate. | 2026-10-10 | — |
Market prices come from mandi reports and feed shop listings. Estimate means no reliable published price was found; treat it as a starting guess. Reference dataset updated on 2026-10-10.
Starting ration used by the calculator
| Animal (kg per day) | Green | Silage | Dry | Conc.* | Mineral | Bypass fat | Salt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lactating cow | 15 | 10 | 5 | 1.5 | 0.08 | 0.15 | 0.04 |
| Lactating buffalo | 20 | 10 | 6 | 1.5 | 0.08 | 0.15 | 0.05 |
| Dry cow or buffalo | 15 | 8 | 5 | 1.5 | 0.05 | 0 | 0.03 |
| Heifer | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0.03 | 0 | 0.02 |
| Calf (3–6 months) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.02 | 0 | 0.01 |
| Bull | 15 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0.06 | 0 | 0.04 |
*Maintenance concentrate. For milking animals the calculator adds 1 kg per 2.5 L (cows) or 2 L (buffaloes). Bypass fat is for early lactation only.
Questions farmers ask
What is the feeding cost of a cow per day?
With this page's starting ration and Pakistan average prices, a cow giving 10 litres a day costs about Rs 1,400 a day to feed. In India the same ration costs roughly ₹310 a day. Your cost depends mainly on how much concentrate you feed and whether you grow your own fodder.
How much concentrate (wanda) should a cow get per litre of milk?
A common rule of thumb is a maintenance amount of about 1–1.5 kg, plus 1 kg of concentrate for every 2.5 litres of milk for cows, or every 2 litres for buffaloes, whose milk is richer.
How much mineral mixture does a cow need per day?
NDDB ration tables use roughly 65–90 g of mineral mixture a day for milking cows and buffaloes. This calculator starts at 80 g.
How much bypass fat should a cow get?
Usually 100–150 g a day, from about 10 days before calving to 90 days after. Set it to 0 for cows in late lactation or dry cows.
Are these prices live?
They are reference prices and editable budget estimates in a dataset dated 2026-10-10 from mandi reports and online feed shops, and marked Market or Estimate. Prices change with season and area, so edit any price to match your local market. Your edits are saved in your browser.
Sources
- NDDB ration advisory tables (mineral mixture amounts)
- Pashu Sandesh, bypass fat feeding (100–150 g/day)
- Price sources are linked in the tables above
Last reviewed 2026-10-10.