What this tool does
Estimate hay required, whole-bale count, feeding frequency, reserve, inventory shortage or surplus, and projected cost over a chosen feeding period.
Use this tool when
- Planning a winter or supplemental hay inventory.
- Estimating how many bales to buy.
- Checking when current inventory may run out.
- Comparing hay quantities or ration shares.
Before you begin
Gather the project information you already know. Leave Optional or Advanced fields alone until you need them, and review every editable assumption before relying on the result.
Recommended workflow
1. Build herd groups
Add livestock groups with head count, average weight, and dry-matter intake percentage.
2. Set the feeding period
Enter start/end dates or feeding days and optional severe-weather or reserve days.
3. Configure hay
Enter bale type, weight, dry matter, price, storage loss, feeding/refusal waste, and current inventory.
4. Optional multiple hay types
In Advanced mode, allocate ration shares across hay types and confirm they total 100%.
5. Review consumption
Inspect daily demand, total tons/pounds, whole bales, usage rate, reserve, cost, and projected inventory gap.
6. Export a feeding summary
Use PDF/Print, CSV, Copy Summary, or Email.
Key results
- Daily herd dry-matter demand.
- As-fed hay requirement.
- Loss-adjusted pounds/tons.
- Whole bales required.
- Bales per day/week/month.
- Reserve bales.
- Total cost and cost/head/day.
- Inventory shortage/surplus.
- Estimated depletion date.
Save, export, and share
For meaningful work, use Save Project to create a .ra file before leaving. Use Export for reports/data and Share for email or copied summaries. The exact export formats available depend on the tool.
Important planning note
Hay quality, actual intake, weather, storage, feeding losses, animal condition, and ration design can differ from planning assumptions. Use appropriate nutrition guidance for real feeding decisions.
Related help
- About RanchAssist
.raProject Files - Export and Share Overview
- Understanding Hay Needs Calculator Results and Calculations
- Troubleshooting Hay Needs Calculator
