Feed formula: from species, stage, gain and FCR to a contractable tonnage
A feed requirement becomes a buyable contract once three things are written down: how much finished feed the batch needs, what the feed has to meet nutritionally, and what a tonne actually costs delivered to your farm or mill. This hub shows how each of those is derived, with worked examples straight from the calculator, and hands the result to a request that a person at FeedMatch reviews before any supplier is approached.
Short answer · September 2026
Feed required = planned weight gain × feed conversion ratio, plus an allowance for animals lost mid-cycle and for handling losses. Landed cost per tonne = the supplier's quoted price plus freight, insurance, customs duty, port and clearance, inland haulage and the cost of financing the shipment — typically 15–35% above a quoted FOB price, which is why offers on different Incoterms cannot be compared until each one is landed. Every figure is a planning estimate from your own inputs; a qualified animal nutritionist must confirm the specification and the FCR assumption before production.
The four steps
- Pick the species and production stage — this loads the published reference nutrient basis (crude protein, energy, calcium, available phosphorus, amino acids) that the specification will be written against.
- Enter planned weight gain per animal and the FCR from your own recent records or a documented breed standard. Feed required = gain × FCR.
- Add mortality and a handling-loss allowance to get the tonnage you actually have to contract.
- Build the supplier's quoted price up to a landed cost per tonne: freight, insurance, duty, port and clearance, inland haulage and finance. Only then are offers comparable.
Worked examples
Each example is the calculator's own output for the inputs shown. Prices are illustrative inputs, not market quotations — FeedMatch does not publish feed prices.
Broiler grower
- Animals placed
- 30,000
- Gain per animal
- 2.4 kg
- FCR used
- 1.65
- Handling loss
- 3%
- Supplier price (FOB)
- 420/t
- Feed required (net)
- 115.9 t
- Tonnage to contract
- 119.4 t
- Landed cost per tonne
- 548/t (+31%)
- Landed budget
- 65,470
- Cost per kg of gain
- 0.95
Grower pig
- Animals placed
- 5,000
- Gain per animal
- 85 kg
- FCR used
- 2.8
- Handling loss
- 3%
- Supplier price (FOB)
- 330/t
- Feed required (net)
- 1,161.4 t
- Tonnage to contract
- 1,196.3 t
- Landed cost per tonne
- 434/t (+31%)
- Landed budget
- 518,800
- Cost per kg of gain
- 1.27
Tilapia grow-out
- Animals placed
- 200,000
- Gain per animal
- 0.6 kg
- FCR used
- 1.5
- Handling loss
- 3%
- Supplier price (FOB)
- 780/t
- Feed required (net)
- 175.7 t
- Tonnage to contract
- 181.0 t
- Landed cost per tonne
- 949/t (+22%)
- Landed budget
- 171,720
- Cost per kg of gain
- 1.49
Run it on your own numbers
The feed formula and landed-cost calculator takes species, stage, animals placed, weight gain, FCR, mortality and every landed-cost line, and returns the tonnage to contract, the cost per tonne delivered and the cost per kg of gain.
Open the feed formula calculatorTurn the result into a reviewed request
The formula RFQ carries species, stage, weight gain, FCR, tonnage and destination straight from the calculator. A FeedMatch reviewer checks the requirement with you, then approaches qualified manufacturers. No supplier receives your details automatically and no contact details are exposed.
Open the formula RFQWho this is for
- Integrators and farms contracting finished compound feed rather than buying spot loads
- Feed mills sizing raw-material or finished-feed purchases against a production plan
- Aquaculture and swine operations comparing offers arriving on different Incoterms
- Commercial procurement from roughly US$250,000 upwards — FeedMatch is not a marketplace and does not sell feed
Related tools
Questions buyers ask
How much feed does a batch need?
What is landed cost per tonne of feed?
Does this give me a feed formulation?
What happens after I send the requirement?
FeedMatch Group is an independent, supplier-neutral procurement platform. Calculations on this page are planning aids based on your own inputs, not a formulation, a price quotation or veterinary advice, and must be verified by a qualified animal nutritionist or certified expert before commercial production.