1. Average daily milk yield per cow

What it measures: How much milk your herd produces on a per-cow basis.

How to calculate: Total daily milk (litres) ÷ Number of milking cows

Kenyan benchmarks:

• Friesian (zero-grazing): 15-22 litres/day
• Friesian (pasture + supplement): 12-18 litres/day
• Jersey: 10-16 litres/day
• Ayrshire and crosses: 10-18 litres/day

Weekly check: Calculate the 7-day average. Compare to the previous week. Is it rising, stable, or declining?

If it is declining:

• Check individual cow yields — is the whole herd dropping, or is it one or two cows dragging the average down?
• Review feed — has anything changed in the last 7-14 days? A feed change takes 3-7 days to show in milk yield.
• Check for health issues — mastitis, lameness, and metabolic disorders reduce yield.
• Consider stage of lactation — are multiple cows entering late lactation simultaneously?

2. Feed cost per litre

What it measures: How much you spend on feed for every litre of milk produced.

How to calculate: Total weekly feed cost (KES) ÷ Total weekly milk produced (litres)

Kenyan benchmarks:

• Intensive (zero-grazing): KES 22-30 per litre
• Semi-intensive (pasture + concentrates): KES 15-22 per litre
• Extensive (mostly pasture): KES 8-15 per litre

Weekly check: Is your feed cost per litre stable, rising, or falling?

If it is rising:

• Feed prices went up — check supplier invoices
• Production went down — same feed, less milk = higher cost per litre
• Feed waste — are cows refusing feed? Is feed spoiling in storage?
• Wrong ration — the balance between roughage and concentrates may be off

Target: Feed cost should be less than 60% of the milk selling price. If you sell at KES 45/litre, feed cost should be under KES 27.

3. Somatic Cell Count (SCC) or clinical mastitis rate

What it measures: Udder health across the herd.

How to calculate: If you have bulk milk SCC testing (through your processor or dairy cooperative), use that number. If not, track clinical mastitis cases per month as a proxy.

Benchmarks:

• Bulk SCC under 200,000 cells/ml: Excellent udder health
• 200,000-400,000: Acceptable but room for improvement
• Above 400,000: Subclinical mastitis is widespread
• Clinical mastitis: fewer than 2 cases per 100 cow-months is good

Weekly check: Any new clinical mastitis cases this week? Is the overall trend improving or worsening?

If mastitis is increasing:

• Review milking hygiene — pre-dip, clean dry towels, post-dip
• Check milking machine function (if applicable) — pulsation, vacuum level
• Identify repeat offenders — some cows are chronically infected and should be treated, dried off early, or culled
• Check housing cleanliness — wet, dirty bedding is a mastitis factory

4. Calving interval (rolling average)

What it measures: How well your breeding programme is working.

How to calculate: Average days between the last two calvings for each cow that has calved at least twice. Or: average days open (current days since last calving) for milking cows being bred.

Benchmarks:

• Under 375 days: Excellent
• 375-400 days: Good
• 400-450 days: Needs improvement
• Over 450 days: Breeding programme has significant problems

Weekly check: How many cows are currently past 100 days open without a confirmed pregnancy? These are the cows stretching your calving interval.

If calving interval is long:

• Heat detection rate is too low — add observation sessions
• Conception rate is poor — review semen quality, AI timing, cow body condition
• Voluntary waiting period is too long — are you starting to breed cows at day 50-60 or letting them drift past day 90?

5. Body condition score distribution

What it measures: Nutritional status of your herd.

How to assess: Score each cow on a 1-5 scale (1 = emaciated, 5 = obese) by looking at and feeling the ribs, hips, and tail head. Takes 2 minutes per cow once you are practiced.

Target distribution:

• At calving: BCS 3.0-3.5
• At peak lactation (month 2-3): BCS 2.5-3.0 (some loss is normal)
• At breeding (month 2-3): BCS 2.5 minimum (below this, fertility drops)
• At dry-off: BCS 3.0-3.5

Weekly check: Are any cows below BCS 2.5? Are any above 4.0? Both extremes indicate feeding problems.

If too thin:

• Increase energy in the diet — more concentrates or better quality roughage
• Check for disease — chronic illness causes weight loss
• Reduce milk demand — if she is producing heavily and losing condition, consider reducing milking frequency

If too fat:

• Reduce concentrates for dry cows
• Fat cows at calving are at high risk of ketosis, fatty liver, and milk fever

6. Income over feed cost (IOFC)

What it measures: The margin between what your milk earns and what your feed costs — per cow per day.

How to calculate: (Litres per cow × Price per litre) − Feed cost per cow per day

Example:

• Cow produces 16 litres at KES 45/litre = KES 720 revenue
• Feed cost: 8 kg concentrates × KES 55 = KES 440 + roughage KES 100 = KES 540
• IOFC: KES 720 − 540 = KES 180 per cow per day

Benchmarks:

• Above KES 200/cow/day: Excellent
• KES 100-200: Good
• KES 50-100: Marginal — after labour and overhead, you may not be profitable
• Below KES 50: The cow is not covering her costs

Weekly check: Calculate IOFC for the herd average and for individual cows. Identify the cows with negative or very low IOFC — these are candidates for management changes or culling.

The weekly ritual

Every Sunday evening or Monday morning — pick a time and stick to it:

1. Pull up the weekly summary (or calculate from your records)
2. Check all six KPIs
3. For any KPI that is off-target, write down one action you will take this week
4. Next week, check whether the action improved the number

Consistency beats intensity. Twenty minutes every week, every week, for a year — that is what transforms a farm.

Monitor your dairy KPIs at shira.farm.