Buffalo Farm & Ranch
Calculate a starting point for feeders, corral panels and gates, and grain or supplement feeding — based on your own herd size and dimensions, not a generic rule of thumb. Starting with hay and round-bale feeders below; more calculators are on the way.
Select a calculator to get a starting point based on your own numbers — not a generic rule of thumb.
Estimate how much hay your herd may require this winter, how many bales that represents, and how many round-bale feeders may make sense for your operation.
Default feeding assumptions use a University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture winter-feeding example. Change any input to better reflect your cattle, forage, climate, and management.
25 lb default: Arkansas Extension starting estimate for mature dry cows in its winter-feeding example.
120 days: default Arkansas Extension winter-feeding example. Adjust this for your own grazing season and climate.
1,000 lb is only a starting point. Enter the average weight of the round or large-square bales you actually feed.
15% default: Arkansas Extension uses a 15% storage-and-feeding loss allowance in its example. Actual losses vary with storage, weather, feeder design and management. Enclosed or sheeted-bottom feeders may help reduce feeding waste.
Used only to estimate the value of reducing hay waste.
Approximately 103,500 lb of hay, or 51.8 tons, including the storage and feeding loss entered above.
Calculated requirement before loss: 90,000 lb.
This is the minimum number of full bales needed to supply approximately one day's calculated hay requirement.
It assumes cattle can rotate through the feeder and that you are willing to replenish hay roughly every day.
round-bale feeders using a planning rate of approximately 10 mature cows per feeder.
The goal is easier simultaneous forage access, less crowding and less competition — not simply maximizing the number of cattle that can physically share a feeder.
Arkansas Extension notes that a typical hay ring can efficiently feed approximately 15 mature cows based on available feeder space. For this calculator, we intentionally use a more conservative planning rate of about 10 cows per feeder. Missouri and Nebraska Extension use approximately 10 cows per typical bale ring when providing enough space for cattle to eat comfortably at the same time. The goal here is easier forage access and less competition — not calculating the maximum number of cattle that can physically use a feeder.
Approximate full days of hay carried by the easier-access feeder count, using your bale weight and calculated hay requirement.
Actual refill frequency will vary with forage quality, weather, waste and how completely cattle clean up each bale.
Hay pulled from a feeder, trampled, spoiled or otherwise refused is hay you already paid for. Research summarized by Oklahoma State has found meaningful differences in feeding waste between open-ring and sheeted or enclosed-bottom feeder designs.
Rather than assume a specific feeder will produce a specific savings, this comparison simply shows what a 5-percentage-point reduction would be worth using your own numbers.
if loss declined from 15% to 10%.
| Current estimate | 5 points less waste | |
|---|---|---|
| Loss assumption | 15% | 10% |
| Hay required | 103,500 lb | 99,000 lb |
| Equivalent bales | 103.5 | 99.0 |
| Hay value | $10,350 | $9,900 |
| Potential savings | 4.5 bales / $450 | |
This is a what-if comparison, not a claim that any particular feeder will reduce losses by exactly five percentage points.
A herd may consume little enough hay that one feeder can physically carry a full day's requirement. That does not mean one feeder provides the easiest access for every animal.
We show the lower number so you can see the equipment required strictly for hay capacity. We also show an easier-access setup based on approximately 10 mature cows per feeder. More feeders may reduce crowding while allowing you to handle several days of hay in one tractor trip.
The right answer depends on your cattle, your feeding routine and how often you want to handle hay.
Oklahoma State University Extension — Hay Feeder Design Effect on Hay Waste
University of Missouri Extension — Reducing Losses When Feeding Hay to Beef Cattle (G4570)
This calculator is an equipment-planning aid, not a livestock ration recommendation. Actual feed requirements vary with animal size, production stage, body condition, forage quality, weather, grazing availability, storage and management.
This calculator is still in development. In the meantime, our team can help you work through panel and gate quantities from your working area's dimensions directly.
Ask Us DirectlyEstimate seasonal grain and protein-supplement needs, then calculate how much bunk space your cattle may need for comfortable simultaneous feeding.
Arkansas Extension examples provide the starting feed rates and feeder-space assumptions below. Change them to match your forage analysis, ration and management program.
Selecting a cattle class loads the example daily feed rate from the Arkansas Extension winter-feeding worksheet. You can change the numbers below.
120 days: Arkansas Extension winter-feeding example. Adjust this for your operation.
Loaded from the selected Arkansas Extension example. This is editable and is not a ration recommendation.
Enter the amount used in your own feeding program if it differs from the Extension example.
Used only to show a bag equivalent. Bulk feed is also shown in tons.
30 inches: upper end of Arkansas Extension's 26–30 inch range for mature cattle when all animals eat at once.
A freestanding bunk accessible from both sides provides two feeding edges. A bunk placed against a fence or wall provides only one.
Approximately 1.8 tons or 72 × 50-lb bags.
0 tons or approximately 0 × 50-lb bags.
A zero simply means the selected Arkansas Extension example does not include a separate protein supplement. Your actual forage and ration may require one.
Approximately 3,600 lb over the feeding period entered above.
This can be useful when planning bulk-feed storage, purchases or delivery frequency.
With both sides of each bunk accessible, you need approximately 37.5 ft of physical bunk length.
This calculation sizes for all animals to have access at the same time. That is particularly important when a limited amount of grain or supplement is delivered and dominant cattle could otherwise prevent timid animals from receiving their share.
Arkansas Extension's winter-feeding worksheet provides example daily grain and protein-supplement quantities for several common cattle groups. Selecting a cattle class above loads those example values automatically.
| Cattle group | Grain | Protein supplement |
|---|---|---|
| Mature cows, 10–12 months since calving | 1 lb/day | — |
| Mature cows, 1–3 months since calving | 3 lb/day | — |
| Weanling replacement heifers | 3.5 lb/day | 1 lb/day |
| Pregnant replacement heifers | 2.5 lb/day | — |
| Two-year-old lactating heifers | 5.5 lb/day | 1 lb/day |
| Backgrounding / stocker calves, 400–600 lb | 3.5 lb/day | 1 lb/day |
| Mature cows fed to gain body condition | 5.5 lb/day | 1 lb/day |
The Arkansas Extension example assumes hay containing approximately 9% crude protein and 52% TDN on a dry-matter basis. Actual grain and supplement requirements depend heavily on forage quality. A forage analysis and an appropriate ration should be used for actual feeding decisions.
Grain and concentrated supplements are different from free-choice hay. When a limited quantity is delivered, every animal needs an opportunity to receive its share before dominant cattle consume more than theirs.
Arkansas Extension recommends approximately 18–22 inches of feeder space for calves up to 600 lb, 22–26 inches for growing and yearling cattle, and 26–30 inches for mature cattle when all animals eat at once. This calculator uses the upper end of those ranges as its default.
The number is editable because cattle size, horns, bunk design and feeding management can all affect the space you want to provide.
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture — Grouping the Beef Herd for Winter Feeding (FSA3033)
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture — Beef Cattle Handling Facilities
This calculator is an equipment-planning aid, not a ration formulation tool. Feed requirements depend on forage quality, animal weight, stage of production, body condition, weather and management.
Jonesboro, Arkansas
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