Australian dairy feed system classifications updated
By Hannah Griffiths, Development and Regional Adaptation Lead, Dairy Australia
An updated national classification for dairy farm feed systems is positioned to better inform Dairy Australia’s research, development and extension (RD&E) investment – and give farmers and advisors clearer benchmarks to compare feeding systems and performance across the country.
The national feed system classification, which groups farms based on how and what dairy herds are predominately fed, provides a consistent framework for describing and comparing feeding practices across Australia’s diverse dairy regions.
Having a framework for feed systems enables more accurate benchmarking, data analysis, and reporting. It continues to support the development of even more targeted research and extension, and improves the ability of industry and policymakers to assess performance, resilience, and responses to economic and climatic pressures at a national scale.
This work will help ensure farmers can continue to accurately benchmark their business against others operating similar feeding systems - a key step in identifying opportunities to improve profitability and efficiency.
For farmers and service providers, this also means more relevant insights, tools and advice tailored to specific systems.
The modernised classifications
Developed in consultation with 11 industry experts representing all dairying states of Australia, the categories were finalised by the Development and Regional Adaptation team at Dairy Australia in November 2025. It updates, rather than replaces, the previous industry classification system developed as part of the Grains2Milk program in 2008.
Key changes retain the five system categories but update grain/concentrate feeding thresholds and refine the hybrid system definition.
The five feed system classifications are:
- Grazing with low to moderate grain and concentrates
- Grazing with high grain and concentrate (more than 1.6tonne dry matter per cow per year)
- Grazing with Partial Mixed Ration (PMR) fed daily
- Hybrid systems – uses grazing and TMR strategically across the year
- Total Mixed Ration (TMR) systems.
The updated classifications provide a more accurate, up to date representation of how Australian dairy farms are feeding their herds today. They reflect the increased use of supplements, changing seasonal conditions, and greater system flexibility on farms.
An example of recent application of these updated classifications, has seen them integrated into the 2026 National Dairy Farmer Survey to better understand the proportions of farms under each classification and enable monitoring trends over time. This contemporary industry profile will help inform research and extension efforts, aimed at improving the productivity, profitability and resilience of dairy operations.
The updated classification has been developed for longevity, with the potential to serve the industry as a national framework for more than 10 years.
In summary
The updated definitions better reflect current industry feeding practices and identifying a longer-term trend toward increased use of grain/concentrate feed supplements. As a result, more farms are expected to be classified as category one – low-moderate supplements to pasture. Recent data indicates that about 80 per cent of farms were previously classified as category two feed (high supplement) systems.
The classification update opportunities also include linking feed system types more clearly to key performance drivers such as feed conversion efficiency (FCE), feed costs, labour requirements, infrastructure needs, and management complexity.
Understanding a farm’s feed system classification is a practical first step to improving performance - and making even better-informed decisions about feed, costs and future direction.
For more information including details of each category and how to identify your farm’s classification, visit Feed System Categories.