Dry matter to as-fed, and back
Feeds are quoted on a dry-matter basis and fed as they are, so “3 kg of silage” and “3 kg DM of silage” can differ threefold. This converts either way.
10.0 kg of dry matter at 35% DM. The wetter the feed, the more of it you cart for the same feeding value.
Typical dry matters, from our cited feed library: Pasture (NZ spring midpoint) 16.6% · Baleage (pasture) 45% · Maize silage 35% · Pasture hay 85% · Barley grain 88%. All feed values — but if you have a lab test, use it: dry matter moves more than any other figure on this list.
How it works
Kilograms as fed = kilograms of dry matter ÷ (dry matter % ÷ 100), and the reverse multiplies instead. That is the whole calculation — the part worth getting right is the dry matter figure itself, which moves with cut, wilt and weather more than any other number on a feed label. A lab test beats a table every time.
This is the easy half
Converting the weight is arithmetic. Whether the diet feeds the animal — and which of energy, protein or gut fill runs out first — is the question our free feed calculator answers.