ITContact us

Tool · Farmers

How much you save with biscuit meal

Monthly and yearly saving when biscuit meal replaces maize, soya and fats.

Economic analysis

How much you save with biscuit meal

Biscuit meal goes into the ration in place of part of the maize, soya bean meal and fats. Enter how much biscuit meal you use: the calculation compares the cost of the components it replaces with the price of biscuit meal and shows the saving per month and per year. All prices and quantities can be edited.

How much biscuit meal you use

Biscuit meal used: 7.5 t per month

Your saving

€12,553

Saving per year

€1,046 per month × 12 months

€1,046

Saving per month

7.5 t of biscuit meal per month

€139

Saving per tonne

€439 for the components − €300 for biscuit meal

Monthly cost with 7.5 t of biscuit meal

Components replaced€3,296 · €439/t

Biscuit meal€2,250 · €300/t

Difference in your favour: €1,046 per month

  • Maize
  • Soya bean meal
  • Fats
  • Biscuit meal

Example at reference prices: with 7.5 t of biscuit meal per month the estimated saving is about €1,046 per month and €12,553 per year: the components biscuit meal replaces cost €439 per tonne, biscuit meal €300.

What it replaces

1 tonne of biscuit meal takes the place of:

708 kg of maize97 kg of soya bean meal195 kg of fats

Same mass, same digestible energy and same crude protein: biscuit meal has more energy than maize and already contains fats, most of them hydrogenated.

708 kg per t of biscuit meal · Italian maize, average €252–256/t

cost €180

97 kg per t of biscuit meal · Italian, non-dehulled, 44% protein

cost €47

195 kg per t of biscuit meal · animal fat, acidity 4 – MIU 1, average €1,090–1,100/t

cost €213

Cost of the components replaced€439 per t

average cost given by Alpha · €30/quintal

cost €300

Saving per tonne of biscuit meal€139

Reference prices: Milan commodity exchange, 6 October 2026. Enter the prices you pay. There is no public exchange quotation for hydrogenated fats: we use animal fat as a reference; enter your supplier’s price (another reference: crude degummed soya oil €1,205–1,215/t, Granaria Milano, 29 September 2026).

Advanced detail: quantities replaced and criterion

The comparison is with the mix of maize, soya bean meal and fats that supplies the same mass, the same digestible energy and the same crude protein as 1 tonne of biscuit meal. Solving the three conditions with the reference values in the table gives 708.0 kg of maize, 97.4 kg of soya bean meal and 194.6 kg of fats. You can enter the quantities from your own formulation.

Total: 1,000 kg

Reference values

Reference values of the substitution model
Raw materialDigestible energyCrude protein
Biscuit meal14,220 kcal/kg9.95%
Maize23,390 kcal/kg8%
Soya bean meal 4433,500 kcal/kg44%
Fats37,600 kcal/kg0%
  1. Average of the two biscuit meals in Table 2 of the article “Biscotti nella razione di scrofe e suinetti” (Bakery by-products in sow and piglet rations; Suinicoltura 9-2007).
  2. Energy: Fig. 1 of the same article; protein: literature reference.
  3. Literature references (for soya, feed composition tables for pigs).

The quantities are a calculation reference, not Alpha data. Formula: cost of the components = sum of kg × price (€/t) / 1,000; saving per tonne = cost of the components − price of biscuit meal; saving per month = saving per tonne × tonnes per month; per year = per month × 12.

Indicative estimate: biscuit meal quantities and the ration should be checked with Alpha’s technical service.

Source: price of biscuit meal given by Alpha (€300/t); maize, soya bean meal and animal fat from the Milan commodity exchange, 6 October 2026; substitution on an equal mass, digestible energy and crude protein basis (values in the advanced detail); doses from the alphasrl.com page “Biscotti” (bakery by-products).

Request a quote

This tool is also on the pages Biscuit meal, Economic analysis.

Transparency

How it works and sources

The calculation starts from the tonnes of biscuit meal per month: cows × kg per head × days, or pigs × ration × biscuit meal percentage × days, or the quantity you enter directly. One tonne of biscuit meal takes the place of about 708 kg of maize, 97 kg of soya bean meal and 195 kg of fats: the mix that supplies the same mass, the same digestible energy and the same crude protein. The cost of the mix is the sum of kg × price / 1,000; the saving per tonne is this cost minus the price of biscuit meal, then multiplied by the tonnes per month and by 12 months. Prices, quantities replaced and days can all be edited.

Data sources

  • Alpha, 12 October 2026: average cost of biscuit meal €30/quintal, i.e. €300/t; biscuit meal replaces part of the maize, fats and soya bean meal
  • Milan commodity exchange (Borsa merci di Milano), 6 October 2026: Italian maize €252–256/t; Italian non-dehulled soya bean meal €478/t; animal fat, acidity 4 – MIU 1, €1,090–1,100/t (sources: 3tres3.com and Ruminantia)
  • Hydrogenated fats: no public exchange quotation, animal fat is used as the reference; crude degummed soya oil €1,205–1,215/t (Granaria Milano, 29 September 2026)
  • Digestible energy of biscuit meal and maize and protein of biscuit meal: article “Biscotti nella razione di scrofe e suinetti” (Bakery by-products in sow and piglet rations; Suinicoltura 9-2007, Table 2 and Fig. 1); protein of maize, soya bean meal 44 (feed composition tables) and fats: literature references, not Alpha data
  • alphasrl.com page “Biscotti” (bakery by-products): 2–3 kg per head per day for dairy cows, 15–20% of the ration for sows and piglets

Farmers

Related tools

All tools

Your Technical Partner

Let’s talk about your numbers

Alpha’s technical service checks the ration and dosages against your own situation.

+39 0371 56213
Request a quoteinfo@alphasrl.com