Forage Inventory Calculator Tool for Beef Producers
Amy Barkley, Team Leader & Livestock Specialist
Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Program
As we move into fall, it's important to ensure that there are enough stored forages on the farm to get beef cattle through the winter. One of the more common stored forages is hay. Using an Excel inventory spreadsheet developed by Bill Halfman with the University of Wisconsin Extension, you can enter data from the farm to find the number of bales it will take to make it until the pastures green up again in the spring. The results you get here will also serve as an early indication as to whether or not additional hay needs to be purchased.
Here is the link that will take you to the spreadsheet: https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu...
To use this tool, you will need the following information:
- Weights of 6 bales
- The total number of bales that you have to feed for the winter
- The storage loss (There is a reference table in the spreadsheet to assist with this estimation)
- The number of bulls, mature cows, yearling cattle, and calves you expect to feed over the winter
- The number of days you anticipate needing to feed animals throughout the winter
- The amount of hay that is fed to each animal unit (1 animal unit = 1,000 pounds of animal) per day
For assistance with using this hay inventory calculator or for more information on determining forage inventories, contact Livestock and Beginning Farm Specialist, Amy Barkley, at amb544@cornell.edu or (716) 640 - 0844
Field Crops
Dairy
Business
Livestock
Grains
Upcoming Events
Memoir Reading: Barn Gothic
December 4, 2025
Bath, NY
Barn Gothic is an elegy for family farmers and an intimate portrait of three generations laboring to be fathers and sons while their livelihood falls apart. Beautifully told with a farmer's restraint and a poet's grace, it is a story of personal loss amid corporate corruption and of finding a way forward when everything you know disappears.
NY Small Farms Summit 2025: Stronger Together
December 5, 2025
Alfred, NY
We hope you will join us on December 5th for the 2025 New York Small Farms Summit! This is an opportunity to meet other farmers and ag supporters, learn about research and education projects, and set priorities for future efforts to grow small farm success.
At the Allegany County site, we will focus on giving trees a chance and how trees build resiliency on small farms. Whether attracted to fruit, nuts, vegetables, fodder or shade, trees can be an integral part of a successful farming system. Join us as we explore the opportunities for resiliency that come from adding tree crops or managing wooded areas of your farm for agroforestry or silvopasture systems.
Crops, Cows & Critters - Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops Newsletter Sponsorship
December 19, 2025
Our two forms of publications feature research-based and timely information from our four specialists, listed to the right, along with local event notifications and Cornell University outreach. This information is provided to participants who range from dairy, livestock, and field crops producers to agricultural suppliers and consultants.
Weekly Email Update: Shared with 625+ households who have signed up with our program.
Monthly Paper Mailer: To reach our stakeholders and farmers who lack internet access, we send out a monthly mailer where your company's logo and contact information would be featured with a mailing list of 330+ households.
If you sponsor our weekly and monthly publications you reach approximately 955 households.
Visit our website to view our newsletters!
Announcements
No announcements at this time.