Economics of supplementation
Cost of PKE/maize grain blend (70:30) = $420/tonne
plus $80/tonne assumed feeding cost = $500/tonne.
The table below shows the response from the different
treatments and the calculated cost of the additional LWG
that the supplement provided. The final column shows
the cost of the LWG advantage that was retained as of
December 2012 and late October 2013 (as some of the
advantage was then lost after the feeding stopped).
Overall, responses averaged 0.31 kg LWG/kg
supplement fed. This is marginally economical if you
value the extra liveweight gain at store market value.
The loss of some of this advantage post feeding
would mean that it may become uneconomical when
calculated on a LWG basis only.