Decision Software

WI Crop Manager
USDA-DFRC
UW Forage Extension
UW Dairy Extension
UW Corn Extension
WI Custom Operators
Midwest Forage Assn.

Alfalfa and Corn Silage Production

03-14-11 Hay Price Calculator
This spreadsheet developed by Extension Educator Ken Barnett compares how much a producer needs to get for their hay compared to what they could get from corn production with varying corn prices.

09-06-09 Alfalfa Profitability by Year and Fertilizer Cost Calculator
This spreadsheet developed by Extension Educator Ken Barnett estimates yields and profits for alfalfa stands from establishment to the 4th production year based on alfalfa base yield and fertilizer costs.

3-22-2007 Machinery Cost Spreadsheet
3-22-2007  Estimating Agricultural Field Machinery Costs
by Dr. Ron Schuler, UW Extension Ag Engineer.  This spreadsheet and paper helps to estimate the cost of various field crop machine operations.

3-23-06 Calculating Alfalfa Optimum First Cut Date Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet for calculating the optimal first cutting date and net return per acre based on yield and RFV.  Developed by Bill Lazarus, University of Minnesota, and Dan Undersander, UW-Extension Forage Agronomist

Calculating Optimal Length of a Stand of Alfalfa  
This spreadsheet, developed by former Waukesha County Agriculture Agent, Rob Fox, offers users the ability to evaluate the economic return of varying lengths of alfalfa stands.

Alfalfa Autotoxicity Risk Spreadsheet
A MS Excel spreadsheet designed to evaluate the autotoxicity risk of seeding alfalfa fields back into alfalfa. 

Alfalfa Variety Comparison Web Site
An on-line database giving you the ability to compare alfalfa variety performance data from a number of states and locations.

Pastures and Grazing

Calculating Grazing Forage Needs and Pasture Availability

Forage Feeding

FeedVal - 2012
by Victor Cabrera, Lou Armentano and Randy Shaver, UW-Madison dairy scientists. This updated version of FeedVal is web based and allows the user to evaluate various feedstuffs based on summative ingredient value.

Milk2006 for Corn Silage
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Randy Shaver, Dr. Joe Lauer, Dr. Jim Coors, and Pat Hoffman, is the latest version of the "MILK" series spreadsheets.  It more accurately estimates the feeding value of corn silage than past versions.

Milk2006 for Alfalfa and Grass
This spreadsheet, developed by Dan Undersander, Dave Combs, Randy Shaver, and Pat Hoffman, is the latest version of the "MILK" series spreadsheets.  It more accurately estimates the feeding value of alfalfa and grass than past versions.

Milk2000 VER. 7.54
    Milk2000 - explanation of terms
This spreadsheet, developed by Eric Schwab, Dr. Randy Shaver, Dr. Joe Lauer, Dr. Dave Combs, Dr. Jim Coors, Pat Hoffman, and Dr. Dan Undersander , estimates the feeding value of alfalfa and grasses. Use Milk2006 for corn silage.

Forage Land-Base Calculator
This spreadsheet, developed by Greg Blonde, Waupaca County Agricultural Agent, estimates the number of acres of corn silage or alfalfa needed for the dairy herd.

FeedVal
This spreadsheet, developed by Drs. Terry Howard and Randy Shaver, is a program to compare values of  different feed sources - Calculated from Crude Protein, TDN, Ca, and P (Referee Feeds Used to Calculate Value of Nutrients).

FeedVal4
This spreadsheet, developed by Drs. Terry Howard and Randy Shaver, is a program to compare values of  different feed sources - Feed Comparative Values Calculated from Protein (UIP), TDN, Fat, Calcium, & Phosphorus.

Pricer
This spreadsheet, developed by Drs. Terry Howard and Randy Shaver, is a program to calculate MAXIMUM price for forage based on a base forage.

Using Milk2000 to Estimate Corn Hybrid Silage Performance
by Joe Lauer, UW Extension Corn Agronomist, et. al.  A "Focus on Forage" fact sheet

Economics and Budgeting

Alfalfa haylage enterprise dollars
From Greg Hadley, UW Extension Farm Financial Management Specialist.  This spreadsheet is designed to allow the user to compare last year's enterprise budget (Worksheet 3) and cost of production (Worksheet 4) to the typical WI and MN farm that contributes their records to FinBin (http://www.finbin.umn.edu/).

08-19-10 Corn Silage Pricing Decision Aid
This spreadsheet developed by Ryan Sterry, Polk Co. Agriculture Agent; Lee Milligan, St. Croix Co. Agriculture Agent; and Joe Lauer, UW-Extension Corn Agronomist, helps to determine a price for standing and harvested corn silage.

5-16-08 Pricing Standing Forage Worksheet
This spreadsheet developed by Extension Educator Ken Barnett, helps to determine ceiling and floor prices to pay for standing forage.

Corn silage enterprise dollars
From Greg Hadley, UW Extension Farm Financial Management Specialist.  This spreadsheet is designed to allow the user to compare last year's enterprise budget (Worksheet 3) and cost of production (Worksheet 4) to the typical WI and MN farm that contributes their records to FinBin (http://www.finbin.umn.edu/).

Corn Silage Adjusted Dry Matter Pricing Program
From Greg Hadley, UW Extension Farm Financial Management Specialist.  This spreadsheet helps to determine the moistue-adjusted price for corn silage based on a set price at a given moisture concentration.

Hay Pricing Spreadsheet
An MS Excel spreadsheet that automatically adjusts hay price based on moisture and quality.

Forage Land-Base Calculator
This spreadsheet, developed by Greg Blonde, Waupaca County Agricultural Agent, estimates the number of acres of corn silage or alfalfa needed for the dairy herd.

Corn Silage vs. Alfalfa Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet, developed by Monroe County Agriculture Agent, Jim Leverich, offers dairymen the opportunity to compare expense and income for producing and feeding different amounts of corn silage and alfalfa.

Agricultural Budget Calculation Software (ABCS©)
ABCS© is a farm management tool for the distribution, editing, printing, and creation of single and whole farm crop and livestock enterprise budgets and data sets. ABCS© is an interactive menu-driven stand alone computer program for use by extension personnel, researchers, farm managers, students and teachers.
Updated Version 7.1 for Windows/Windows95, 2000. Cost: $75.00
Please contact the Center for Dairy Profitability for ordering and price information.

Enterprise Budget Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Gary Frank, allows you to spread costs between milk, raising heifers and up to five cropping enterprises.

Custom Harvesting Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Gary Frank, allows you to help determine your forage harvesting costs vs. custom operator charges.

Crop Rotation Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Gary Frank, allows you to balance your dairy cow ration between alfalfa, corn silage, and soil nutrients.

Storage Structures

11-9-12 Grain Bin Capacity Calculator
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Sam G. McNeill, P.E. and University of Kentucky Extension Agricultural Engineer, and modified by Dr. Brian Holmes, estimates the amount of grain in various sized circular grain bins.

11-9-12 Tower Silo Capacity Calculator
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, is designed to help estimate the tons of silage in a tower silo. Calculations are presented on a dry matter and as fed basis.

11-9-12 Tower Silo Capacity Calculator - Multiple Fills
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, is designed to help estimate the tons of silage in a tower silo when the silo is refilled before being emptied.

1-31-12 Silage Bag Capacity Calculator
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, is designed to help producers estimate the quantity of forage in a bag silo.

4-29-11 Bunker Silo Volume and Weight Calculator
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, is designed to calculate the volume and weight (dry and wet) of silage stored in a bunker silo.

7-8-11 Determining Value of Improved Silage Management
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, is designed to help producers determine the value associated with dry matter and quality losses from harvesting, storing, and feeding forages.

4-29-11 Silage Bag Sizing Calculator Spreadsheet
     Documentation  
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, is designed to help producers determine the number and size of silo bags needed to store forage and high moisture corn. Contains both English and Spanish worksheets.

on 04-15-10 Silage Pile Sizing Calculator w/ metric and Portuguese
This spreadsheet, developed by Ken Barnett, Marathon Co. Forage and Farm Mgt. Agent, and updated by Brian Holmes, UW Agricultural Engineer, is designed to help producers size silage piles.  The latest updates include: 1) a corrected width calculation error, 2) height of pile has replaced average height as an input to improve input accuracy by the operator, 3) a metric page has been added, and 4) a Portuguese page has been added.

4-29-11 Silage Pile Density Calculator (in English and Espanol)
      Documentation
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes and Dr. Richard Muck, is designed to help producers determine the average density of a silage pile. Works for both English and Metric units and includes a Spanish (espanol) translated option.  Porosity now included as a factor.

2-28-06 Floor Length to Achieve Bunker/Pile Silo Filling Layer Thickness Calculator
        Documentation
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, estimates the length of floor needed to achieve the desired forage filling layer thickness prior to packing in a bunker or pile silo.

7-21-11 Bunker Silo Density Calculator (in English, Espanol, and Russian)
 1-19-07  Hungarian Version
    6-23-08Documentation
This spreadsheet, developed by Drs. Brian Holmes and Richard Muck is designed to help producers estimate bunker silo densities. Works for both English and Metric units and the new version includes a Spanish (espanol) translated option.  Porosity now included as a factor.

4-28-2005 Estimating Winter Hay Needs for Beef Cattle
Developed by Bill Halfman, Monroe County Agricultural Agent, this spreadsheet helps to estimate winter hay needs based on inventory, feed loss, and livestock numbers.

1-28-05 Storage Density Calculator
         Documentation
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, was developed to estimate the average density of forage in selected storage units based on the weight of feed removed and the calculated volume of that feed.

Comparing Round Bale Storage Costs
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, will help analyze the economics of storing round bales.

Facer Cost Analysis Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, will help analyze the economics of owning and operating a facer for removing silage from horizontal silos.

2-23-12 Silage Pile Capacity Calculator w/ metric and Espanol
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, is designed to help producers determine the amount of silage in an existing silage pile. Now includes Spanish translation and Metric conversions.

07-21-11 Bunker Silo Sizing Spreadsheet w/ metric, Portuguese, and Russian
    Documentation -
                  01-19-2007 Hungarian Translation of Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, will  help design bunker silos with nearly vertical walls.

5-1-2003 Cost of Forage Storage Spreadsheet
    Documentation
This spreadsheet, developed by Dr. Brian Holmes, will help analyze the capital and annual costs for various types of high-moisture forage storage structures.