What this tool does
Estimate supported head count, grazing days, acres required, animal units, and AUM equivalents from user-entered forage and herd assumptions.
Use this tool when
- Testing whether available forage can support a planned herd and grazing period.
- Estimating grazing duration for a known herd.
- Estimating acres required.
- Comparing temporary planning scenarios.
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. Land
Enter usable grazing acres and the planning period.
2. Forage
Enter forage production and the user-selected utilization, harvest efficiency, residual/reserve, and drought-buffer assumptions.
3. Livestock
Choose livestock class, enter average live weight and dry-matter intake percentage, and optionally adjust animal-unit equivalence.
4. Question mode
Choose whether you are solving for head count, grazing days, acres required, or scenario comparison.
5. Scenarios
Build up to three temporary cases when comparing assumptions.
6. Review capacity
Inspect available forage, animal demand, capacity indicators, and the requested planning answer.
Key results
- Planning head count.
- Grazing days.
- Acres per head.
- Total and usable forage.
- Daily animal and herd demand.
- Forage reserve.
- Animal units and aum equivalents.
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
Local forage conditions and professional or local guidance should govern real stocking decisions. Calculator outputs are planning estimates, not carrying-capacity guarantees.
Related help
- About RanchAssist
.raProject Files - Export and Share Overview
- Understanding Stocking Rate Calculator Results and Calculations
- Troubleshooting Stocking Rate Calculator
