Agriculture and food
Feed conversion ratio (FCR)
Kilograms of feed needed to produce one kilogram of animal weight or output.
Last reviewedWhat does Feed conversion ratio (FCR) mean?
The feed conversion ratio is the weight of feed an animal eats divided by the weight it gains (or the eggs, milk or fish it produces). Lower is better, because feed is usually the largest cost in livestock farming. Broiler chickens are commonly around 1.5 to 2, and cattle much higher. Example: broilers with an FCR of 1.7 fed at 0.40 a kg cost 0.68 in feed per kg of live weight. Improving FCR to 1.6 cuts that to 0.64, which saves 400,000 on 10 million kg of chicken. Genetics, feed quality, health and housing all move FCR.
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Related terms
- Unit economicsThe revenue and cost of one unit: one product, order or customer.
- Variable costA cost that rises and falls with how much you make.
- Yield (manufacturing)The share of units made that come out good enough to sell.
- Yield gapThe difference between what farms actually harvest and what they could harvest with better practices.
- Post-harvest lossFood lost between harvest and the shop, through poor storage, handling and transport.
- Cold chainA temperature-controlled supply chain for food, medicines and other perishables.
- Minimum support price (MSP, India)The price at which the Indian government offers to buy certain crops from farmers.