Resources · Calculators · Grazing
Cattle stocking rate calculator
How many cows that pasture holds, and how many days your actual mix will last.
Stocking rate is acres × usable forage × harvest efficiency, divided by what that class eats in a day. On this place we run a small cow bunch on piney-woods pasture in Walker County — not open prairie — so we plan conservative (NRCS-style 25–40% harvest, not 100% of what’s standing). A 1,200 lb pair at about 31 lb DM/day is the default. If the calculator says you have 40 days of grass, that’s when the hay calculator takes over. Also see grazing height, the glossary, and livestock water.
Questions
How many acres per cow?
There isn’t one number that fits every pasture. Stocking rate is acres × usable forage × harvest efficiency, divided by what that class eats in a day. A neighbor’s cow-per-acre rule is a different cow, grass, and year — run your acres in the calculator.
What harvest efficiency should I use?
NRCS-style planning here is 25–40% of standing forage, not 100%. Take-half leave-half is the 50% preset. If you already entered only the forage you intend to graze, set efficiency to 100% so you don’t double-discount.
Does this work for continuous vs rotational grazing?
The math is acres, usable forage, harvest efficiency, and grazing days. It does not schedule paddock moves. Continuous or rotational, enter the forage you will actually let them eat.
Planning only. Daily intakes: CSU range AUE table. Harvest-efficiency presets follow NRCS / take-half-leave-half talk, not a soil survey of your place.
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Words used here
Animal unit (AU)Animal-unit month (AUM)Stocking rateHarvest efficiency
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