Free Choice Hay: Added Cost, Sheets or Build a Load?

Where you enter free choice hay matters based on if you would like it to be accounted for in daily dry matter intake (DMI), costs or both. Learn more below.

Added Cost: Entering free choice hay is entered on a cost per unit basis to either a pen(s) or group(s). For example: 2 bales to Group A at $50 per bale = $100 charged to Group A. Added Costs are not accounted for in daily DMI thus not taken into account for feed cost or intake related calculations. In this case, we recommend adding free choice hay as an Other Inventory item to better track per unit usage and ease of entering the Added Cost.  

Sheets: Entering free choice hay via Sheets requires the hay entered as a Feed Inventory item and how many pounds (or kilograms) of hay was fed. The as fed weight is entered in the Sheets using these steps. If the hay was fed in addition to a ration fed through the Delivery App, you will only adjust the hay ingredient weight which will then adjust the total weight column. It is best to enter the hay value the next day as any values from the Delivery App will override manual changes in the Sheets at the end of the day. This option will account toward both daily DMI and feed cost.   

Build a Load: Another option is to add hay as a Feed Inventory item and create a 100% hay ration and build a load to feed the hay with. This will require a known weight and may require manual changes in the Delivery App if you do not use your traditional mixer with a scale on it. Building a load with 100% hay eliminates the need to make a manual addition in the Sheets tab at the end of the day since it will be automatically recorded. This option will account toward both daily DMI and feed cost.   

How you decide to enter your free choice hay comes down to personal preference and how you wish to see it accounted for in financial and intake calculations. If you have further questions, please reach out to our Customer Success team using the contact information below. We are happy to provide further explanation and find the best option for you. 

Our Customer Success team is here to help. If you have questions, contact us by calling 515-337-2187 or email us at support@cattlekrush.com. Be sure to take advantage of our complete resource library and how-to videos created to help you succeed.