“Feed costs accounted for the largest share of milk production cost, 65 to 75% of operating costs and 33 to 50% of total economic cost” ( McBride, 2009, p.39) . Effective management and optimization of the feeding process is crucial as this affects not only profitability but also impacts improved pasture utilization and effective use of supplements. Therefore, in addition to established agricultural feeding methods, decision support tools are needed to help farmers make strategic feeding decisions. With the "Diet Check" system, farmers can act proactively to increase the percentage of nutrients in supplements to fully meet the energy needs of cows. This is a very useful decision-making system for improving farm productivity, especially in flooded irrigated regions that have a low percentage of nutrients in pastures. Model &
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