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Feed budget calculator

How much hay will get you through the winter? Enter your herd, the days to cover and your feed details to estimate the tons, bales and cost.

Your herd and feed

Dry-matter intake. A rule of thumb is about 2–2.5% for a dry beef cow, more for lactating cows and growing cattle.

From your forage test. As a guide, dry hay and grain are often 85–90%, baleage 45–60%, corn silage 30–40%.

Trampled, spoiled or blown away. Round bales fed on the ground without a ring often waste far more than bales in a ring or feeder.

Weigh a few or ask your hay supplier: a 5×6 round bale of grass hay can be anywhere from about 900 to 1,500 lb, and small squares 40–70 lb. For bags or tons, enter the weight of one unit.

Leave at 0 to skip costs. Paying by the bale? Bale price × 2,000 ÷ bale weight in lb = $ per ton.

Your estimate

97.8 tonsof feed as fed
163bales of 1,200 lb
1.8bales a day

Where the feed goes

  • Eaten (dry matter) 75%
  • Moisture 10%
  • Waste 15%
Dry matter per head per day
32.5 lb
Feed to put out per head per day
43.4 lb
Whole herd per day
2,172 lb
Dry matter eaten over the period
73.1 tons
Link to this estimate

How we work it out

  • Eaten: body weight × daily intake % = pounds (or kg) of dry matter each animal eats a day, × head × days.
  • As fed: feed also holds water, so dry matter ÷ the feed's dry matter %, then topped up for wastage (÷ (1 − wastage %)).
  • Bales and tons: total as fed ÷ the weight of one bale, rounded up. Tons are short tons of 2,000 lb (metric: tonnes of 1,000 kg); cost = tons × your price per ton.

This is a quick estimate of quantity only. It doesn't balance energy, protein or minerals, and real intake changes with cold and wet weather, pasture or stalks still available, forage quality and each animal's stage. Talk to your vet, county Extension office or nutritionist before you plan a ration, and keep some extra hay on hand. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. Comparing feeds? The feed cost comparer ranks feeds per ton of dry matter or per pound of TDN. Need other units? Try the farm unit converter; words like dry matter and TDN are in the farm words glossary.

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