Overview of Estimating Forage Quantity

Stocking Rate Adjustments

  • Estimate the Amount of Forage or Grazing Capacity:
    • Cover (Turf)
    • Height (Use)
    • Volume (Amount)
  • Make Adjustments Early Rather than Later
  • A Cow Requires .75 to 1 pound of Grazable Forage per 1 pound Body Weight per Day to Maintain Acceptable Intake!!!!!

Reasons to Estimate Forage Quantity or Standing Crop:

  • A cow requires .75 to 1 pound of grazable forage per 1 pound of body weight to maintain acceptable intake!
  • Allow producers to make stocking rage adjustments before body condition is lost

What is Forage Standing Crop?

  • How much forage is available at a certain point in time
  • Measured in terms of how much something weighs
  • Estimates made by:
    • Harvesting a sample with a certain area
    • Drying sample in oven
    • Weighing dry sample
    • Converting that weight to useful figure, such as pound per acre

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