Farmers, primarily in the western half of the country, have been dealing with one of the most difficult summers as a result of heavy rainfall.

The west/east split in rainfall has resulted in dairy cows being housed at night in August and all types of stock being housed by day and by night in some of the wetter parts of the country.

This has resulted in more fodder being used than many farmers would have envisaged.

Therefore, it is absolutely critical to know how much fodder you have and if you have enough for what is likely to be a longer than usual winter.

Follow our easy, step-by-step guide to calculating your fodder budget.

The Irish Farmers Journal fodder calculator can be found here in the farmer’s toolbox.

How to use the calculator

Step 1: Enter the stock number, feeding months & the average meal feed kg/head/day for your animal type in the fields below.

Step 2: Click ‘calculate’ to calculate your total silage tonnage requirement & intended overall meal feed kg.

Step 3: Click ‘next’ to go to the supply page.

Step 4: Enter your forage supply details.

Step 5: Click ‘calculate’ to calculate your overall fodder supply & demand.