Stocking rate: animals per hectare on pasture
Stocking rate is the number of animals kept on a given pasture or grazing area over a set period, usually given as animals per hectare. It decides how much forage each animal gets, so it ties straight into grazing days and supplementary feed.
How does stocking rate affect winter feed?
For example, a 10-hectare paddock carries 20 ewes for 60 days. That is a stocking rate of two ewes per hectare. At the end of the period, compare the forage left in the paddock with the feed you will need in winter.
Questions from the farm
Does the same stocking rate always need the same winter feed?
No. Forage growth changes from year to year, so the same number of animals can need different amounts of supplementary feed.
How HerdMobile helps
Bring your animals, feed stocks and farm accounts together on your Android phone. HerdMobile keeps your daily work moving offline: record events, compare feed quantities and follow sales and payments in one place. Use your own feeds and herd information to prepare a ration, then keep a backup file under your control.
HerdMobile keeps your head count and feed stock on the phone, so you can set the number of animals on each pasture against the winter feed you will need. Forage growth changes from season to season, so the same number of animals can need different amounts of supplementary feed in different years.
