Currency changes notation only; entered amounts are not converted.
Cattle hay planner
How much hay does your herd need this winter?
Plan your herd’s winter hay inventory from its hay dry-matter allowance, hay moisture, and separate feeding and storage losses. Enter your own assumptions to estimate purchase weight, whole bales, budget and storage space.
Inventory estimate for adult beef cows. The 2.5% allowance and 88% hay dry matter are editable starting estimates. Forage quality, production stage and cold weather can change needs; this tool does not balance energy, protein or minerals.
Stock and loss weights assume the same bale weight and dry matter as the incoming lot. Mixed or already-weathered stock needs separate assessment. Ledger weights are equivalents at the entered dry matter, not measured moisture changes.
Total hay for the season
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Total
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Per cow/day
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Season
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Est. cost
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Cost/cow/day
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Cost/cow/season
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Storage
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What if my bales are lighter or heavier?
Your entered bale weight stays the headline plan. Open this only if you want to compare it with the sourced reference range for this bale type.
Scenario
Average bale
Bales required
Est. invoice
Rounding surplus
Coverage from headline order
Your entered weight
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Reference lighter bale
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Reference heavier bale
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This keeps the same hay need, feeding/storage losses, and price per bale. The reference range is planning context, not a guarantee of a seller's bale weight. Method & sources.
Continue your winter plan
Reuse compatible values from this result in the next calculator.
Your entered inventory already covers this gross hay plan, so there is no remaining purchase weight to compare.
One or more animal groups are not supported by the winter-water calculator, so no groups were transferred.
Print, copy, or share this plan
Copied plan links contain the values entered above and may appear in browser history or server logs. No tracking or URL shortener is used.
Compare two plans
Save two gross hay plans in this page's temporary memory and compare the result-driving assumptions and totals.
Compare two gross hay plans
Save the current gross seasonal hay requirement to Plan A or Plan B. This comparison is before hay already on hand and excludes the Check my season operational add-on. These snapshots are ephemeral: they stay only in this page's memory and disappear when the page reloads or closes. They are not added to copied links, summaries, or printouts.
North Dakota State University Extension · University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Hay inventory method 2: 50 × 650 kg, 120 days; 2.5% DM, 88% DM; 19% + 5% user-entered feeding and storage loss. BaleMath
How this calculator works
Hay dry matter at the entered allowance is divided by the hay dry-matter fraction, then by the retained feeding and storage fractions. Whole bales are rounded up once.
Inventory estimate for adult beef cows. The 2.5% allowance and 88% hay dry matter are editable starting estimates. Forage quality, production stage and cold weather can change needs; this tool does not balance energy, protein or minerals.
Enter storage loss for this lot and its expected storage period. Cover, ground contact, weather and duration matter. Feeding loss is the share of offered hay lost. Storage loss is the share of incoming hay lost.
Use a forage analysis and average several weighed bales. Bale weight and dry matter must describe the same incoming lot. For an existing ration, enter only its hay dry matter; grain is not subtracted automatically.
Stock and loss weights assume the same bale weight and dry matter as the incoming lot. Mixed or already-weathered stock needs separate assessment. Ledger weights are equivalents at the entered dry matter, not measured moisture changes.
Compare a lower storage-loss target for the same lot and duration. Savings use the change in whole-bale purchase cost.
Entering hay already on hand subtracts whole bales from the rounded gross requirement and shows the net bales and cost still to buy. Check my season fields turn entered mid-season stock into an observed disappearance rate, a projected run-out date, and a whole-bale reorder quantity. The storage-upgrade scenario uses entered targets for seasonal savings and simple payback; supplier lead time adds an order-by date. Use the price converter, water planner and manure planner. The round-vs-square calculator compares explicit hay-DM purchases.
Barn-space volume uses Missouri Extension planning rates of 250 ft³/ton square and 310 ft³/ton round (US short tons); Extension Horses corroborates the square-hay rate. Actual needs vary with bale density, dimensions, and stacking; ventilation, access aisles, equipment turning space, wall clearance, and local fire-code space are not included.
Frequently asked questions
How much hay does a cow need per day?
Inventory estimate for adult beef cows. The 2.5% allowance and 88% hay dry matter are editable starting estimates. Forage quality, production stage and cold weather can change needs; this tool does not balance energy, protein or minerals.
How many round bales does a cow eat in a winter?
Hay dry matter at the entered allowance is divided by the hay dry-matter fraction, then by the retained feeding and storage fractions. Whole bales are rounded up once.
How much hay do cattle waste feeding round bales without a feeder?
Enter an alternative loss rate to compare purchase costs. Research examples do not guarantee feeder performance.