Start / Livestock and aquaculture / Cattle
See how many animal units your area supports, based on pasture dry matter production.
Pre-sizing and estimating tool: the results do not replace a design, calculation, or report signed by a qualified professional, nor verification against the applicable standards.
Technical responsibility. This calculator is under verification. The reference values and examples are hypothetical, to illustrate the calculation, and are not technical references. The user is responsible for the data entered, the choice of parameters, and the use of the results, and must validate them with a qualified professional before any decision, purchase, application, or construction work.
Stocking rate with 30% to 70% of the pasture used; the highlighted bar is your rate.
Stocking rate for yields of 6 to 18 thousand kg of DM per hectare; the point is your pasture.
Drag the controls to simulate data different from what you entered (from 30% less to 30% more) and watch the result change instantly.
UA per hectare for utilization rates of 30% to 70% and intakes of 2.0% to 3.0% of live weight, with the DM yield you entered.
The calculation done in steps, with the values you entered.
The calculation memo gathers this page's inputs, results, equations, assumptions, and references, with fields for project, responsible person, and review. The full report also includes the charts and interpretations, in color. In the print window, choose Save as PDF.
Enter the pasture area, the pasture's dry matter production, the utilization rate, the reference live weight of one AU, and the daily intake as a percentage of live weight. The calculator shows the stocking rate and the number of AU on the area.
100 ha, production of 12,000 kg of MS/ha/year, utilization rate of 50%, UA of 450 kg and intake of 2.5% of live weight.
Supply = 12,000 × 0.50 = 6,000 kg/ha/year. Demand = 450 × 0.025 × 365 = 4,106 kg/year. Stocking rate = 6,000 ÷ 4,106 = 1.46 UA/ha. On the area, it is 1.46 × 100 = 146 UA.
Animal unit (UA): a 450 kg cow of live weight, used as a reference for adding up animals of different sizes.
Sample by cutting and weighing, then dry the sample. Yield varies a lot with the species, fertilization and season.
Because not all the pasture produced is eaten: part is left to maintain the plant and soil cover. Using total production overestimates the stocking rate.
Use as a starting point. Confirm with pasture monitoring, because the actual stocking rate changes with the year’s weather.
Important notice: the Agrocalcs tools make estimates and preliminary sizing based on the data entered and on published engineering methods. They do not replace a design, a calculation report or a report signed by a qualified professional (CREA/ART), nor verification against the applicable technical standards and legislation, such as the Regulatory Standards of the Ministry of Labor. Material and fuel properties vary: check with the manufacturer or with analyses of your process before deciding. By using the site, you agree to the Terms of Use.
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