What this tool does
Combine hay, supplements, mineral, feeding cadence, inventory, reorder timing, and total winter budget into one seasonal plan.
Use this tool when
- Building a seasonal feed budget.
- Planning purchases and reorder timing.
- Tracking projected inventory depletion.
- Comparing normal, cold/wet, or extended user-adjusted 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. Herd
Enter livestock groups, counts, classes, and average weights.
2. Winter period
Set start/end dates and optional weather-risk or extended-season reserve.
3. Base hay/forage
Enter bale/inventory information, dry matter, waste, price, and target intake.
4. Supplements
Add cubes, pellets, tubs, liquid feed, mineral, salt, or custom rows with rates, frequency, package size, cost, and inventory.
5. Purchase plan
Review required quantities, package counts, shortages/surpluses, and reorder points.
6. Schedule and scenarios
Review weekly/monthly usage, supplier lead time, reorder milestones, and temporary scenarios.
Key results
- Total winter budget.
- Hay cost.
- Supplement cost.
- Mineral cost.
- Cost/head/day.
- Quantities to buy.
- Inventory gap.
- Reserve requirement.
- Usage schedule and reorder milestones.
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
Seasonal feed planning is sensitive to weather, forage quality, animal condition, product nutrient content, actual intake, and supplier availability. Treat scenario adjustments as planning assumptions, not forecasts.
Related help
- About RanchAssist
.raProject Files - Export and Share Overview
- Understanding Winter Feed Planner Results and Calculations
- Troubleshooting Winter Feed Planner
