Why use this calculator
Running short of fodder halfway through a dry autumn is one of the most expensive positions a livestock producer can be in. Hay bought in a drought costs more, travels further and is often poorer quality, and the alternative is selling stock into a falling market.
A feed budget done early turns that risk into a plan: how many tonnes, how many bales, and what it will cost per head per day to carry the stock through. This calculator works from typical daily intakes for each class of stock, adds wastage honestly, and prices hay per delivered tonne rather than per bale, so a quote for 400 kg rounds and one for 600 kg rounds can be compared directly. It also shows what cutting wastage is worth.
How to use it
- Choose the class of stock you will feed, since a lactating cow eats half as much again as a dry cow.
- Leave your own intake figure at 0, or enter the kilograms of hay as fed per head per day from a written ration.
- Enter the number of head you will feed after planned sales.
- Enter the feeding days from your feed gap history.
- Enter the average bale weight from the weighbridge docket.
- Enter the wastage share for your storage and feeding method. Enter the delivered hay price per tonne.
What each result means
- Hay needed
- Total as-fed tonnes to carry the stock through the period, including the wastage allowance you entered.
- Bales needed
- Hay needed divided by bale weight and rounded up to whole bales, which is the number to order.
- Bales to feed out each day
- The daily hay for the whole mob, wastage included, expressed in bales at the weight you entered, so you know how many to load each morning.
- Bales per head
- Bales behind each animal for the whole period, a quick check when comparing mobs or classes.
- Hay per head per day
- Daily hay to put out for each animal, including the wastage allowance, which sets the feed run size.
- Estimated hay cost
- Cost of the bales ordered at the delivered price per tonne, rounded to whole dollars.
- Cost per head per day
- Daily feeding cost per animal, the figure to compare against selling, agisting or confinement feeding.
The formula
Hay per head per day
(kg) = daily intake (kg as fed) x (1 + wastage % / 100)
Hay needed
(kg) = hay per head per day x number of head x feeding days
Bales = hay needed / bale weight (kg), rounded up
Cost ($) = bales x bale weight / 1,000 x price per tonne ($/t)
Cost per head per day
($) = hay per head per day / 1,000 x price per tonne
Default intakes as fed: dry cow 10 kg, lactating cow 15 kg, weaner 7 kg, dry sheep 1.2 kg, lactating ewe 2.2 kg, horse 11 kg.
How this number is used in practice
Hay is sold in Australia by the bale and by the tonne, and bale weights vary widely between balers and districts. A so-called 500 kg round bale can weigh anywhere from 350 to 650 kg, so pricing per bale hides a lot. Ask for weighbridge dockets and compare quotes per delivered tonne.
Quality matters as much as quantity: cereal hay at 8 MJ of metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter will not keep a lactating cow in condition at the intakes shown here, so get a feed test on bought fodder and adjust the ration if energy or protein is low.
Most drought feeding advice from state departments and Meat & Livestock Australia is to decide early. Calculate the cost per head per day, compare it with the value of the stock and the cost of agistment or selling, and set trigger dates for each decision.
Confinement feeding in a well sited feeding area protects ground cover and cuts wastage, which the wastage table shows is often worth several thousand dollars on a modest herd. Keep a buffer: feeding periods almost always run longer than planned.
Worked examples
50 dry cows, 120 days, 500 kg round bales, 15% wastage, $250/t delivered
69.0 tonnes, 138 bales, 2.8 bales per head and $17,250 of hay, about $2.88 per head per day.
400 dry ewes, 90 days, 25 kg small squares, 10% wastage, $300/t
47.5 tonnes, 1,901 bales and $14,258 of hay.
120 lactating cows, 60 days, 600 kg rounds, 20% wastage, $280/t
129.6 tonnes, 216 bales and $36,288 of hay.
When people use it
- Ordering hay before autumn while prices are lower
- Building a drought feeding budget and setting sell or agist trigger dates
- Comparing quotes for different bale sizes on a per tonne basis
- Sizing a hay shed or silage pit for the feeding period
- Showing the payback from hay rings or a confinement feeding area
Tips
- Buy and compare hay per delivered tonne, not per bale, and ask for weighbridge dockets.
- Get a feed test on bought fodder. Energy and protein vary more than price does.
- Store hay under cover or on a well drained pad. Outside storage can lose 15 per cent or more.
- Use hay rings or feed in small daily amounts to keep wastage under 10 per cent.
- Budget for a longer feeding period than you expect and keep a reserve in the shed.
- Recalculate when stock calve or lamb, because lactation lifts intake by around half.
What it assumes, and where it stops being accurate
- Default intakes are typical as-fed figures for hay near 85 to 90 per cent dry matter of moderate quality, not a balanced ration.
- Silage is much wetter than hay. For silage, enter an as-fed intake about two to three times the hay figure, or budget on dry matter.
- Stock are assumed to have little or no paddock feed. Any pasture eaten reduces the hay needed.
- Wastage is applied as a flat percentage over the whole period.
- Cost is for bales ordered at the delivered price and excludes feeding labour, machinery and supplements such as grain or minerals.
Terms used on this page
- As fed
- Weight of feed including its water content, as it comes off the truck.
- Dry matter
- What is left of a feed after all water is removed, the basis of most ration calculations.
- Feed gap
- The period when pasture growth falls short of stock requirements and supplementary feed is needed.
- Confinement feeding
- Holding stock in a small area and hand feeding them to protect pasture and ground cover.
Questions people ask
- How much hay does a cow eat per day?
- A dry beef cow of about 450 kg eats roughly 2 per cent of her liveweight in dry matter, around 9 kg, which is about 10 kg of hay as fed. A lactating cow with a calf at foot needs half as much again, about 15 kg. Poor quality hay is eaten more slowly and may not meet energy needs.
- What wastage percentage should I use?
- It depends on storage and feeding. Hay fed in rings or cradles and stored under cover commonly loses 5 to 10 per cent. Hay unrolled on the ground loses 15 to 25 per cent, and more on wet ground. Round bales stored outside can lose another 10 to 15 per cent before feeding starts.
- Can I use this for silage?
- Yes, if you enter an as-fed intake for silage in your own intake figure. Silage is often 35 to 50 per cent dry matter compared with about 85 per cent for hay, so stock eat two to three times the weight. Enter the wrapped bale or pit weight as fed and price it per tonne as fed.
- Why is the price entered per tonne and not per bale?
- Bale weights vary from baler to baler and seller to seller. A $100 bale of 400 kg is $250 per tonne while a $120 bale of 600 kg is $200 per tonne. Pricing per tonne lets you compare quotes fairly, and the calculator works out the bale numbers from the weight you enter.
- When should I stop feeding and sell instead?
- Compare the cost per head per day multiplied by the likely feeding days against the value of the animal and the cost of agistment. State departments and Meat & Livestock Australia recommend setting trigger dates early, then reviewing them against rainfall and pasture, rather than waiting until feed and money are both short.
Use this with
Hay & Silage Feed Calculator answers one part of the question. These pick up where it stops: Livestock Feed Calculator, Stocking Rate Calculator, Livestock Weight Gain Calculator and Water Tank & Dam Volume Calculator.
Where these figures come from
Figures and rules on this page follow Australian law and ATO guidance.
- Meat & Livestock Australia. Livestock nutrition, drought feeding and supplementary feeding research
- NSW Department of Primary Industries. Farm budgets, drought feeding, fencing, farm dam and soil water guidance
- Agriculture Victoria. Extension notes on feeding livestock, farm water supplies and soil moisture
- Queensland Department of Primary Industries. Beef and grazing extension including drought feeding and water infrastructure
Hay & Silage Feed Calculator produces an estimate for general information. It is not financial, tax, medical, legal or engineering advice. read the full disclaimer. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it gets fixed. The form picks up this calculator and the inputs you used.