Learn how to estimate and calculate your available feed in SDH
If your preferred unit of measurement is LSU, this will be recorded as SDH (stockdays/ha) - If your preferred unit of measurement is DSE, this will be recorded as DDH (DSE days/ha)
- If you prefer to think in kilograms of dry matter, this will be kgDM/ha
A common way of learning how to estimate how much feed is available in a paddock, is by starting to think in stock days per hectare (SDH).
Looking back at previous grazing records, and reviewing the yield of each graze quickly builds up a visual reference for different quantities of available feed, especially if the photo observation feature is also utilised in the MaiaGrazing mobile app!
When animals are first moved into a paddock, estimate how long they could potentially be in that paddock for, and then work out how many SDH would be eaten by using the calculation below.
Then, after a couple of days (or when the graze is finished and animals removed) compare the estimate with the actual yield. How many SDH were actually taken from the paddock? Was the time you thought they would be in the paddock too long or too short for the type of graze you were wanting? You can then start to re-calibrate your eye to more accurately estimate available SDH.
Estimating how much feed is available across the property is extremely important to help you budget and plan for how many stock you can comfortably carry for a given period of time, which will inform decisions regarding livestock inventory on hand and the potential risks and opportunities ahead.
This information can then be transferred into into a Grazing plan to plan out your grazes.
Tip: After every graze, get into the practice of estimating how many SDH’s are left in the paddock and enter this into Maia in the pasture observations section. Doing this will assist you in always having an up to date record of how much pasture you have available.
Note: Maia Grazing will work out your SDH's for you, however knowing how it is calculated can often help you gain a better understanding of what the numbers are are telling you.
- Stock Days / ha (SDH or DDH) = (total LSU or DSE x days in paddock) / ha of paddock
Eg.
500 steers @ 0.7 LSU each = 350 LSU
Graze length = 8 days
Paddock size = 200 ha
To calculate how many SDH for that graze (350 x 8) / 200 = 14 SDH