It doesn’t look like the ground is going to dry up round here for a month or so yet, which means that the prospects of an early turnout for our cows have pretty much vanished. Meanwhile silage stocks are getting tighter and I am keeping a close eye on what we use and being very careful not to waste any feed.
I came across a really useful graph on the GP Feeds website this morning, which explains not only how to measure the volume of silage left in the clamp but, also, the typical weight per cubic meter at varying levels of dry matter. Take a look via the following link to make sure you aren’t just guessing what you have left – www.gpfeeds.co.uk/archive/silage_stocks.htm.
In order to assess how long your stocks will last you also need to know how much you are feeding each day. I have put together a simple calculator that will enable you to get some idea of when those precious forage stocks will run out. To calculate how long your forage stocks will last, using the calculator, you will need to know the following:
- Today’s date
- Clamp dimensions (width, height and length)
- Silage density (kg / cubic metre) – see GP Feeds website via above link
- The amount of each silage fed every day to each group of cows
Below is an example to show how the forage stocks calculator works. Note that the figures in red are the fields you need to enter in the calculator. To use the calculator to calculate your own forage stocks follow this link to download it to your computer – Forage Stock Calculator.
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FORAGE STOCKS CALCULATOR |
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TODAY’S DATE (dd/mm/yyyy) |
07/02/2013 |
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|
CURRENT STOCKS |
Clamp Dimensions |
Volume |
Density |
Total |
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|
Silage Name |
Width |
Height |
Length |
Cu M |
Kg / Cu M |
Tonnes |
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|
1st Cut Silage |
15 |
2.6 |
5.5 |
214.5 |
550 |
118 |
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|
2nd Cut Silage |
15 |
3.0 |
3.2 |
144.0 |
500 |
72 |
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|
Maize Silage |
15 |
2.8 |
5.8 |
243.6 |
740 |
180 |
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|
Wholecrop Silage |
15 |
2.5 |
6.3 |
236.3 |
700 |
165 |
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|
DAILY FEEDING |
High |
Low |
Dry |
Young |
Kg |
Tonnes |
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|
Silage Name |
Yielders |
Yielders |
Cows |
Stock |
per Day |
per Day |
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|
1st Cut Silage (kg) |
840 |
425 |
0 |
0 |
1265 |
1.3 |
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|
2nd Cut Silage (kg) |
0 |
900 |
750 |
1750 |
3400 |
3.4 |
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|
Maize Silage (kg) |
3150 |
1850 |
0 |
1200 |
6200 |
6.2 |
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|
Wholecrop Silage (kg) |
500 |
900 |
0 |
0 |
1400 |
1.4 |
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|
FEED BUDGET |
Tonnes in |
Tonnes |
Days |
Stocks |
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|
Silage Name |
Stock |
Fed Daily |
Remaining |
End Date |
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|
1st Cut Silage |
118 |
1.3 |
93 |
11/05/2013 |
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|
2nd Cut Silage |
72 |
3.4 |
21 |
28/02/2013 |
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|
Maize Silage |
180 |
6.2 |
29 |
08/03/2013 |
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|
Wholecrop Silage |
165 |
1.4 |
118 |
05/06/2013 |
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It can be seen from the forage stocks calculator above that at current levels of feeding 2nd Cut Silage will run out within a matter of weeks. If we are aware of this now, adjustments to cow rations can be made to stretch stocks or, if all forages are running low, the amount of additional forage required can be calculated. This enables us to make decisions now rather than wait until we reach crisis point.