Feed formulation softwarewith least-cost optimisation built into your ERP
Nutrient library, ingredient values, specifications with ratios and an LP optimiser that finds the cheapest mix at today's purchase prices — then turns it into the recipe that runs your batches, lots and costing.
Feed cost calculator
Enter your ingredients, inclusion percentages and prices. Get the cost per kg, per tonne and per bag, and the crude protein and energy the mix delivers. Runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
| Ingredient | Inclusion % | Price / kg | CP % | ME kcal/kg | Cost / kg mix | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$0.1508 | ||||||
$0.1560 | ||||||
$0.0095 | ||||||
$0.0330 | ||||||
$0.0009 | ||||||
$0.0113 | ||||||
$0.0320 | ||||||
| Total | 100.00% | 19.95 | 3,037 | $0.3934 |
Cost per kg
$0.3934
Cost per tonne
$393
Cost per 50 kg bag
$19.67
Meets targets?
Not yet
CP 20.0% < 21% · ME 3037 ≥ 3000
This is the easy half. The hard half is finding the cheapest mix that meets every limit at once — twenty nutrients, ratios and inclusion caps. That is what the ERES optimiser does, on your real purchase prices.
Run a least-cost formulation on your own ingredientsFrom nutrient values to an approved recipe
The formulation tabs live on the recipe itself, so a formula is never a file that has to be re-typed into production.
Nutrient library & ingredient values
Start from a species set — protein, energy, amino acids, minerals — then paste your lab or supplier values straight from Excel. Typical values are there for a first pass, clearly labelled.
Specification per species and stage
Broiler starter, layer phase 2, dairy concentrate, grower pellet: each with minimum, maximum and target per nutrient, plus ratios such as Met+Cys : Lys.
Find the cheapest mix
Set ingredient limits (min %, max %, fixed %) and run the optimiser. Prices come from your latest purchases, or from a what-if price list for a quote you are deciding on.
Accept into a draft recipe
The result becomes the next version of the recipe. It still goes through recipe approval, and the same recipe then runs the batch, the lots and the costing.
More than the cheapest mix
A least-cost result on its own is a number. The duals behind it are the decisions: which limit to question, which ingredient to go and buy, which cap to lift. ERES reads them off the solver and puts them next to the mix.
- Old vs new inclusion % side by side, with savings per kg and per batch
- Levels delivered for every nutrient against the spec, red / amber / green
- Ingredient limits editable in place, re-run in a second
- AI explanation of the result in plain language (reviewed, never auto-applied)
Shadow prices on binding limits
The optimum sits on a handful of limits. For each one you see what relaxing it by one unit would save per kg of feed — so a nutritionist knows exactly which constraint is worth a second look.
Entry prices for unused ingredients
For every candidate left out of the mix, the price per kg below which it would come in. Useful when a supplier calls with an offer.
Bound values on ingredient limits
When an ingredient is held at its maximum, the saving per kg from allowing one more percent — the number that decides whether a cap is worth keeping.
Infeasibility explained in words
If the spec cannot be met, a second solve reports which limits conflict and by how much — not a solver error code.
One engine, six industries
Values per raw material, a target per product, the cheapest mix that meets it. Only the wording and the starter nutrient set change.
Poultry feed
Broiler, layer and breeder phases with ME, CP, digestible amino acids, Ca and available P.
Cattle & dairy
TDN, NEL, NDF/ADF and rumen-undegradable protein for concentrates and total mixed rations.
Fish & shrimp
Crude lipid, digestible energy, lysine and methionine for extruded and sinking pellets.
Fertilizer blending
N, P2O5, K2O and micronutrients for bulk blends at the cheapest raw-material cost.
Food & premixes
Vitamins, minerals and macro targets for premix and food product formulas.
General mixes
Chemicals, metals and any blend where properties per raw material add up linearly.
Spreadsheet, standalone formulation tool, or ERES
Dedicated formulation products such as Brill, BESTMIX and Feedsoft solve the least-cost problem well — and then hand the answer to a spreadsheet or a separate ERP. ERES keeps the formula where production, purchasing and accounting already are.
| Capability | Spreadsheet | Standalone tool | ERES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of a mix from inclusion % and prices | |||
| Least-cost optimisation against a full spec | |||
| Shadow prices, entry prices, bound values | |||
| Ingredient prices from actual purchases | |||
| Formula becomes the production recipe automatically | |||
| Recipe versioning and four-eyes approval | |||
| Work orders, lots, expiry and QC on the same formula | |||
| Batch cost and cost per bag posted to the ledger | |||
| Purchases, sales, payroll and accounting included | |||
| Ask an AI agent about your formulas (MCP) |
Based on publicly described capabilities of standalone formulation products in general; individual products vary. Partial means available with add-ons, exports or manual steps.
The formula is the recipe that runs the mill
Because formulation sits inside the manufacturing module, the optimised mix is not exported anywhere. It is the bill of materials the work order issues material against, the lot record traces, and the cost sheet prices per bag.
- Ingredient prices are the latest purchase cost per kg — no re-keying
- Accepted mixes become recipe versions with approval and history
- Recipes drive work orders, material issue and lot tracking
- Cost per batch and per bag flows into stock and the ledger
- Material planning nets what open batches need against stock and purchase orders
- Piece-rate labour and bagging cost land in payroll and costing
Feed formulation software questions
What is least-cost feed formulation?
Least-cost feed formulation finds the cheapest combination of available ingredients that meets a nutrient specification — minimum protein and energy, amino acid and mineral limits, ratios and inclusion caps — using linear programming. ERES builds the model from your nutrient library, ingredient values and specification, solves it with the HiGHS solver and shows the optimal mix, its cost per kg and the limits that drive that cost.
Is ERES a replacement for standalone feed formulation software?
For most feed mills, premix plants and blenders, yes. ERES covers the formulation core — nutrient library, ingredient values, specifications with ratios, least-cost optimisation, shadow and entry prices, what-if price lists — and adds what standalone tools leave to a spreadsheet or a separate ERP: purchase prices, recipe approval, work orders, lots, batch costing and accounting on one system.
Which species and industries are supported?
Poultry (broiler, layer, breeder), ruminants (dairy and beef concentrates and rations), aquaculture (fish and shrimp), fertilizer blending, food and premix formulation, and a general mode for chemicals, metals and other mixes where properties add linearly. Each comes with a starter nutrient set; you can add any property you formulate on.
Can I paste my ingredient nutrient values from Excel?
Yes. Copy the grid from your lab sheet or supplier spec and paste it in. Columns are matched to nutrient codes, ingredient names are fuzzy-matched to your items, and anything that could not be matched is reported so you can pick it by hand.
What happens when a specification cannot be met?
ERES runs an elastic second solve in which every limit may be broken at a high penalty, then reports which limits are in conflict and the level each could actually reach — in plain language, so the nutritionist can decide whether to relax a limit or add a candidate ingredient.
Does the optimiser change my live recipe?
No. A result is written into a draft next version of the recipe, which still goes through recipe approval. Running batches keep the version they started with.
Is the feed cost calculator on this page free?
Yes. It runs in your browser, needs no account and sends nothing to our servers. It calculates cost per kg, per tonne and per bag plus the crude protein and energy of a mix. The least-cost optimiser, specifications and ERP integration are part of ERES, which has a free plan with no credit card required.