Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ANIMAL
WEIGHT (IN POUNDS)
ANIMAL UNIT EQUIVALENT (AUE)
Young cattle 500
.50
Cow
1,000
1.0
Bull
<2,000
1.5
Stocking rates
are the number of AUE per acre you keep on your pasture.
Carrying capacity
is the stocking rate your pasture can support. The easiest way to figure these is to ask a local
farming expert such as a county extension agent who can give you an idea of what pastures in
your area that are similar to yours can carry. The average available dry matter per year de-
pends on the area of the country and the quality of the pasture. Not every acre of your farm
will be good pasture; for example, heavily wooded areas do not produce much grazing grass.
The amount of dry matter available per acre per year can be as little as 2 tons to more than 5
tons. So, if your field yields 3 tons per acre per year and you have a 50-acre farm, that is 150
tons per acre, which equals 300,000 pounds per acre. Deciding how many cows to keep is an
inexact science — varying weather conditions from year to year will cause fluctuations in
your pasture growth. But if you want to read more about making your own estimates, try
“Forage Production and Carrying Capacity” from the University of Idaho
guidelines.pdf
)
or “Stocking Rate: The Key to Successful Livestock Production” from Ok-
lahoma State University (
http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Docu-
A formula you can use to figure stocking rate is the estimated amount of available dry matter
in your field per year divided by the amount of dry matter a cow eats a year, or
(Pounds of dry matter per year) ÷ (pounds of dry matter per year per cow) = stocking
rate
So, if each cow needs 26 pounds of dry matter per day, that is 780 pounds per month, or 9,490
pounds per year. If your field yields an estimated 300,000 pounds per year, and each head of
cattle needs 9,490 pounds per year, your field could support 31.6 head of cattle.
It is probably a good idea to estimate a bit low on stocking rate to provide a cushion for when
your pasture growth is below average. In times when growth is above average, you can buy
extra stocker cattle or keep a few cattle you had planned to sell.
