A COMPUTER-PROGRAM TO CALCULATE THE COST OF PROVIDING RUMINANTS WITH HOME-PRODUCED FEEDSTUFFS

A computer program was developed to facilitate the rapid and standardi sed calculation of the cost of providing home-produced feedstuffs for ruminants in Ireland. The user, most likely an advisor, researcher, sp ecialist or consultant, is guided via a menu system through a sequence of options (for each of which defaults are provided that can easily b e replaced) to choose the management, physical, biological and financi al components of producing, harvesting, storing, processing and feedin g various crops, as appropriate. Direct and indirect (e.g. land charge ) costs, inherent efficiencies, subsidies (e.g. European Union area ai d), etc. can all be taken into account. Feeds are costed per unit of d ry matter (DM), digestible DM or metabolisable energy (ME) available f or consumption. Among the unit costs determined were those of providin g ruminants with grazed grass, individual harvests of grass silage or hay, maize silage, fodder beet roots (or whole crop silage) and wheat, barley or oats grain (or whole crop silage). (C) 1997 Elsevier Scienc e B.V.