20 August 2023
Calculate fodder demand for winter
Fodder budgeting requires assessing current feed reserves on farm and forward planning now for the winter months ahead.
On farms across the country, additional fodder may have been fed during drought conditions and wet weather. This has depleted reserves on some farms. It is important to complete your fodder budget well ahead of the winter housing period. To assess your demand, calculate how many cattle you intend to keep for the winter period. The winter housing period will depend on what part of the country you are in. Review the length of time cattle spent indoors last winter and add an extra month’s fodder reserve to this time period as a buffer.
Guide to calculate the fodder demand on your farm
| Stock type | Number of stock (A) | Winter months (B) | Tonnes of fresh weight of silage required permonth (C) | Total required (AxBxC) |
| Suckler cows | 1.4 | |||
| Two+ year olds | 1.3 | |||
| One to twoyear olds | 1.3 | |||
| Weanlings | 0.7 | |||
| Total tonnes of fodder required | ||||
Points to note
- complete your fodder budget today and assess your current situation
- when measuring the fresh weight in tonnes in your silage pit, measure length x width x height in metres and divide your answer by 1.4 (this is allowing for a silage pit at 22% dry matter)
- fresh weight of bales can vary from farm to farm – as a guide allow 700kg fresh weight per bale when completing your calculations
- consider selling surplus stock or meal feeding forward store cattle and get them finished off grass before housing commences, if you find yourself in a deficit scenario
- alternatively, look at options for buying in additional feed in a fodder deficit – but do your sums on the economics of this ahead of purchasing the fodder
Read the full Teagasc Beef Newsletter August 2023