A stocking rate report for a hypothetical dairy farm with dairy support is shown in Table 1. This farm has a total farm stocking rate of 15.59 RSU/ha. There are in total, 8,145 RSU on this farm during the reporting year. The ‘Pasture eaten’ total of 6,722 RSU is less than the total RSU (8,145). This indicates that this farm is feeding supplements to all enterprises to maintain a greater carrying capacity than supported by the fresh pasture grown on the property. Reported values should coincide with expected carrying capacities; if not; stock numbers and production should be checked.
Table 1: Stocking rate (expressed as RSU/Ha or total RSU) report for hypothetical dairy farm with dairy support combined.
NOTE - RSU is a measure of intake, and pasture production is ME intake converted to DM intake and divided by utilisation. Utilisation can vary between farms, and under different management regimes. The ability to change utilisation, and hence change ME intake and production levels, should be considered when assessing future carrying capacities. The influence of utilisation on pasture production and the effect of changing utilisation on potential animal intake can be examined using the ‘Compare Blocks’ report - Pasture/crops.