Our Services
Vacca Nutrition provides independent nutritional consultancy for dairy farmers. We diagnose, explain, and prioritise, leaving the product decisions to you.
Independent Ration Formulation
Ration critique and formulation using AMTS. We focus on what the cows are actually doing, not just what the diet says on paper, linking intake, rumen function, and performance back to margin over feed.
Expected Outcomes
- Improved margin over feed
- Better use of homegrown forage
- Reduced reliance on purchased concentrate
- Confident feeding decisions
System Analysis & Troubleshooting
Forensic diagnosis of bottlenecks in your system. From transition cow management to rumen function issues, we identify root causes rather than masking symptoms.
Expected Outcomes
- Clear identification of performance-limiting factors
- Increased milk from forage and improved feed efficiency
- Reduced health issues and better herd consistency
- Improved margin over feed through better decision-making
Robotic System Optimisation
Free-flow or guided traffic. Lely, DeLaval, GEA, Fullwood. They don't feed the same way, and neither do the farms running them. Robot feed rates, stocking rates, box time, traffic systems: every one of these changes what the ration needs to do. There's no template AMS ration. We work the system as it actually runs on your farm, not a generic robot protocol, and build the nutrition around it.
Expected Outcomes
- Ration balanced to actual intake and yield, not just formulated on paper
- Feeding strategy staged to days in milk, not a single average curve
- Transition management that protects peak yield rather than firefighting it after the fact
- Mobility addressed as a nutrition and system issue, not treated separately from the ration
Youngstock Development
Lifetime performance planning for your replacement herd. We optimise age at first calving and growth targets to build a more profitable, resilient herd for generations.
Expected Outcomes
- Optimised age at first calving
- Improved first lactation yields
- Better lifetime performance
- Calculating rearing costs
Forage & Concentrate Efficiency
Getting the balance right between forage and purchased feed is where most margin is won or lost. We focus on how forage is performing in the system, how concentrates are being used, and whether the current approach is actually paying. The aim is simple: more from what you grow, and better returns on what you buy.
Expected Outcomes
- Clear forage targets that match system and yield
- Better decisions around concentrate use
- Improved response to feed rate changes
- Stronger link between feeding strategy and margin
From diagnosis to decision
Start with the cow
We assess health, performance, and system constraints on your farm.
Identify the need
We work out whether a change is actually needed, not assumed
Practical Recommendations
Specific changes, backed by science, with a clear expected outcome
You decide
You choose whether to act, and who supplies any products needed.
Common questions
What do you actually change on farm?
We start with what the cows are doing, then work back to the ration, the forage, and the system around them. Changes are specific: forage allocation, mineral spec, concentrate feed rate, transition management, or robot feeding strategy, always tied to a clear expected outcome.
How is this different from a feed rep?
A feed rep is paid to sell product. We are paid to give advice. That means we can recommend using less concentrate, changing forage strategy, or keeping your current supplier if that is what the numbers say. The recommendation is not conditional on buying anything from us.
Do you sell feed, minerals, or supplements?
No. Vacca Nutrition does not sell any feed products. Our advice is independent of product supply, so you can act on it with whichever supplier suits your business. Vacca Nutrition sits within the Vacca Group, which also owns Nuvitrace, a specialist minerals & additive brand. Nuvitrace operates separately from Vacca Nutrition's advisory work and plays no part in any consultancy recommendation.
Where do you work?
Across the United Kingdom, on dairy and beef farms of all sizes and systems, including conventional parlour, robotic, block calving, and all-year-round.
Ready to start?
Book a ration & performance review to understand where your system can improve.
Book a Ration & Performance Review