Calculator taking the stress out of ration feeding

26 June 2025

Are you ration feeding due to dry times? Are you keen to get your feed mix just right in terms of nutrition for stock while limiting wastage and spoilage?

If you are, the NSW DPIRD Drought and Supplementary Feed Calculator is worth checking out.

Developed for sheep and cattle producers – it’s a free tool which can be accessed via your device’s App Store or Internet Browser. You can enter your own feed test or access a library of up 71 feed types, allowing you to compare and develop rations to fit your needs.

Local Land Services Drought Adoption Officer Jess Armstrong said the Drought and Supplementary Feed Calculator is logical and user friendly.

“It offers a lot of flexibility in how you break up the livestock classes, so it suits your purposes whether you’re dealing with dry, pregnant, lactating, young or growing stock, and it factors in how long you need to supplementary feed,” Jess said.

“By being able to objectively compare feed tests and compare feed rations and really see the data showing whether landholders are getting bang for their buck when purchasing feed is so important, particularly when good quality feed gets scarcer.”

Accessible in the paddock or on a tractor through a smartphone, the calculator allows users to save feed tests and works offline if you’ve downloaded the app. Users can also print out their own feed ration for future use.

Jess said the calculator is the main tool that Drought Adoption Officers are currently promoting to local farmers.

She said conditions on-farm are highly variable for landholders across the Murray and Riverina regions with some having little to no pasture in their paddocks and if they do, it’s of very low quality and not meeting the nutritional requirements of livestock.

“This free tool helps take out the subjectivity and emotion of when farmers have to make decisions during tough times and are feeling stressed financially and physically. I think that’s a big win,” she said.

Watch how the Drought and Supplementary Feed Calculator works or download the app.

The calculator is one of many tools available to support farmers during dry times. Check out our Drought Resources page for more details on the frontline support and resources provided by our partners to farmers and communities to prepare for and recover from drought.