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Pasture and Crop Eaten Calculator

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  4. Pasture and Crop Eaten Calculator

Calculating a pasture and crop eaten figure allows you to assess whether you are getting the most out of your homegrown feed. This 5-step assessment allows you to calculate your pasture and crop eaten figure for your chosen season.

  • Follow the pages through and enter your information as accurately as possible
  • At the end you will be presented with the final calculations, showing you your Pasture and Crop eaten figure, and the key figures that contribute to this.
  • At this stage, you can opt to "Save to PDF" – be sure to click this so you can refer back to the figures!

Farm Details

Please complete all information as accurately as possible. This data is collected and used to validate our pasture potential information.

  • For the farm you are calculating pasture eaten and/ or potential:

Step 1 of 5

    • Total effective dairy area is the milking platform in which the herd is milked off. Crop on the milking platform is included in effective area even if used for wintering.
    • Include milk to factory, milk fed to calves and any milk discarded or sold.
      Calf Milk = No. of calves x litres/day x days x average ms% per day
      Penicillin = No. of treated cows x days withheld x average kgMS/cow for the season
    • Total number of cows at the start of calving (add autumn and spring together if applicable)
    • Average weight of cows in the herd (1 December). Use next highest weight if cow liveweight fall between the listed weights.

Step 2 of 5

'Other Stock' on the platform contributes to pasture and crop eaten

    • Rising 1- yr. old heifers can contribute to feed eaten between ~3 months (from weaning) and 10 months (become R2's) if they are grazing on the dairy platform. They can be grazing the platform for a maximum of 8 months before they get categorized as R2's.
    • This is the total feed required for a heifer in this age bracket (3-10 months) based on mature weight supplied in step 1, this is divided by the number of months on effective area.
    • Rising 2 yr. old heifers are 11-22 month incalf heifers. At 22 months they join the milking herd replacing culled cows. R2 heifers can be in this category for a maximun of 12 months-becoming milkers. Any carry-over cows can be included under other stock.
    • This is the total feed required for a heifer in this age bracket (11-22 months) based on mature weight supplied in step 1, this is divided by the number of months on effective area.

    Step 3 of 5

    Supplements imported needs to be removed from total feed eaten

      • Any feed made on the effective area but not eaten on the effective area e.g. feed to stock grazing off or sold (in total tonnes DM)

      Step 4 of 5

      Feed eaten by dry cows off the platform needs to be removed from total feed eaten.

        Step 5 of 5: Crop Eaten Result

        For
        Supply Number
        Total feed Eaten per ha/year by cows
        Total Feed Eaten per ha/ year by other stock
        Total Feed Eaten /ha/ year
        Less imported feed eaten
        Less dry cow grazing
        Total Imported feed
        Pasture and Crop Eaten per ha
        Click here if you want to calculate the contribution crop makes to your pasture and crop eaten figure
        Handy tip
        You will need the following information available to complete this activity.
        • Total milk solids production (for the year you want to calculate)
        • Imported feed and feed carried over to the following season
        • Animal classes and dates on milking platform (heifers, dry cows, additional stock on platform)
        • Historical pasture eaten calculations you want to compare (optional)
        Pasture and crop eaten
        Increasing pasture and crop eaten can increase profitability. An extra tonne of DM eaten per hectare is associated with over $300 per hectare of extra operating profit. To improve your pasture and crop eaten result or see how your figure compares to local averages visit this page.

        Pasture Potential Assessment Summary
        Peak Cows Milked /ha
        kgMS/Cow
        Tonne of feed required/cow/year (DM)
        Total feed eaten by cows tonnes DM/ha

        Pasture Potential Assessment Summary
        Total feed Eaten by cows (t/ha)
        Total feed eaten by young stock & other (t/ha)
        Imported supplement
        Grazing off

        Pasture and crop eaten
        Increasing pasture and crop eaten can increase profitability. An extra tonne of DM eaten per hectare is associated with over $300 per hectare of extra operating profit. To improve your pasture and crop eaten result or see how your figure compares to local averages visit this page.

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