Let’s call it what it is.
Ten bucks for a block of butter? Bloody outrageous.
Especially when you're up at 3:30am, milking the cows that made it.
Meanwhile, that same Kiwi butter’s currently selling for $6.50 in Aussie. Go figure.
It's tempting to reach for the $2 marg instead.
Cheaper, looks the same, might do the job… right?
But deep down — you know it won’t.
Butter is real food. Margarine? A cheap workaround full of filler.
And that same logic applies to minerals.
We get it. Every dollar counts.
Right now, with transition planning in full swing, we’re hearing one question again and again — especially from newer farms:
“What’s the cheapest blend we can get away with for our springers?”
Fair question. But here’s the thing, this is not the time to bargain hunt.
Because just like marg, those cheaper blends might look fine on paper — but they fall apart when the pressure's on.
And in transition — that 3–4 week window either side of calving — the difference between quality and compromise is massive.
Cheap blends often mean:
Lower bioavailability = nutrients wasted
Weak buffering = higher acidosis risk
Imbalance = increased metabolic pressure
Which all adds up to:
Slower recoveries
Late or missed heats
More down cows
Lost repro and milk performance that never shows up on a feed sheet — but smashes your bottom line just the same.
Butter vs. marg — again.
One fuels strong outcomes. The other just ticks a box.
And the numbers back it up:
National 6-week in-calf rate = 66%
Empty rates still nudging 14–17%
(DairyNZ, InCalf Trends Report)
Tens of thousands of dollars gone — not from bad cows, but from a setup that didn’t stack up.
We hear it all the time, “It’s only a few cents difference per cow per day...”
But zoom out — and that can add up to:
10 more empties
15 fewer early calvers
A flatter milk curve through October
That’s the real cost of going “cheap.”
So when your cows need it most, don’t skip the good stuff.
This is your setup window for calving outcomes, uterine recovery, early cycling, 6-week in-calf results, and that critical milk curve that shapes your payout
And when you feed with intent? You feel it — in the vat, the ledger, and your stress levels.
Here’s what other farms have said after backing themselves and feeding properly:
“We’ve gone from 350 to 500 KgMS — and now I’m wondering how far we can take this.”
“We’re getting more milk from fewer cows and actually enjoying farming again.”
“We jumped from 61% 6-week in-calf to 91% — no joke.”
Those are BUTTER results.
So what is it that you want?
- Fewer nights in the mud with a torch and a bag of calcium?
- Cows that bounce back and cycle fast?
- Results that speak — and pay — for themselves?
We can help you get there.
But don’t wait — our on-farm visits fill up fast.
Let’s build you a nutrition plan that stacks the odds in your favour.
Because butter is better.
