Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to commonly asked questions about feed budgeting

Q: Is FeedPlan Pro compatible with Windows Vista or Windows7?

A: No. FeedPlan Pro is designed for Windows XP and is not compatible with other windows versions

Q1: When I click on the FeedPlan Pro icon, a box appears, telling me that the programme has expired. What should I do?

A1: If you have an expired version of FeedPlan Pro, you need to purchase an Activation Code and then use it to activate FeedPlan Pro. To do this:

You need to purchase an Activation Code and then use it to activate FeedPlan Pro. To do this:

• Go to the Order Form section of www.feedplan.co.nz. You can do this by opening FeedPlan Pro and clicking “Buy Now” on the first screen (you need to connected to the Internet).
• Follow the instructions
• Once you have paid for FeedPlan Pro, you can activate it in one of three ways.

1 - Automatic activation over the Internet

• Connect to the Internet
• Open FeedPlan Pro and click “Activate>”
• Click “Next”
• Type in your email address and password in the boxes provided. You will have received these by email. Click “Activate!”.
• Your details are now checked over the Internet. If they are correct then the programme will be activated and a message should appear: “FeedPlan Pro is now activated."

2 - Manual activation using another computer connected to the Internet

• Open FeedPlan Pro on the PC you want to activate it on and click “Activate”
• Select “Activate Manually” click “Next”
• A box will appear with your PC Code. Make a note of this, as you will need it later (these are the 4 groups of 4 characters)
• Go to a computer with Internet connection
• Go to www.feedplan.co.nz.
• On the Login Page, login using your email address and password (you will have received these by email)
• Select “Activate Licences” from the menu on the left
• Select FeedPlan Pro Product that has unused Licenses
• Select the Activate button
• Enter your Unique PC Code. Click “Generate Key” (In the box type in the 4 groups of 4 characters, separated by "-" example: 1234-ABCD-5678-DEFG) PLEASE NOTE: This code is case sensitive!
• A message will be shown with your Activation Code. Make a note of this, as you will need it later
• On your computer open FeedPlan Pro and click “Activate Product”
• Select “Activate Manually” click “Next”
• A box will appear. Type in your Activation Code. Click “Activate!".
• The programme will be activated and a message should appear: “FeedPlan Pro is now activated"

3 - Manual activation over the telephone (only available during business hours)

• Open FeedPlan Pro on the PC you want to activate it on and click “Activate”
• Select “Activate Manually” click “Next”
• A box will appear with your PC Code. Make a note of this.
• Call Dexcel (07 858 3750) and ask for the FeedPlan Pro helpdesk
• Tell the helpdesk person your email address, password and PC Code
• They will tell you your Activation Code.
• On your computer open FeedPlan Pro and click “Activate Product”
• Select “Activate Manually” click “Next”
• A box will appear. Type in your Activation Code in the box provided. Click “Activate!”.
• The programme will be activated and a message should appear: “FeedPlan Pro is now activated"

Q2: How do I know what the Pasture Cover on my farm is?

A2: You need to estimate the pasture cover for most of your paddocks by using a rising plate meter (RPM), or probe, or your eye. You can then work out the average pasture cover. Guidelines to do this are in the Help section of FeedPlan Pro: Using FeedPlan->Pasture Growth->Assessing pasture cover.

Q3: How do I adjust the feed budget for area out for crops or silage/hay/pasture renewal?

A3: To adjust for paddocks out for crops or silage/hay use the “Pasture area removed” feature on the “Pasture growth” page. Information to do this is in the Help section of FeedPlan Pro: Using FeedPlan->Pasture Growth->Pasture area removed (ha).

Remove the area (ha) when the paddock will have had it's last grazing. Return the area to the budget when its pasture cover will be close to the average pasture cover of the milking area.

When pasture area is removed, without any other change to the feed budget, the following occurs:

• Total feed supply (kg DM/ha/day) increases due to the inputs (nitrogen fertiliser and supplements) being divided by the new farm area, which is now smaller than before
• Total feed demand (kg DM/ha/day) increases due to the feed demand of stock being divided by the new farm area, which is now smaller than before
• Average pasture cover (kg DM/ha) at the start of the following period is likely to decrease as the increase in total feed demand tends to be greater that the increase in total feed supply

To add the land or new land in pasture back into the farm area, use the “Pasture area added” feature on the Pasture growth page. The period in which new land is added should be when the pasture cover of the new land is equal to that of average pasture cover of the milking area.

When more pasture area is added, without any other change to the feed budget, the following occurs:

• Total feed supply (kg DM/ha/day) decreases due to the inputs (nitrogen fertiliser and supplements) being divided by the new farm area, which is now larger than before
• Total feed demand (kg DM/ha/day) decreases due to the feed demand of stock being divided by the new farm area, which is now larger than before
• Average pasture cover (kg DM/ha) at the start of the following period is likely to increase

Q4: Where can I get more location specific pasture growth data?

A4: Click here to go to pasture growth data for over 100 locations around New Zealand

Q5: What figures should I use for the feed demand page?

A5: Default values for the demand for yearlings, calves, milking cows and dry cows can be modified for each period.

Loss of feed from poor utilisation is a very important practical issue that can have a large effect on the success of your feed planning. Work out if you assume feed demand to be feed disappearance or intake. Assuming feed demand = feed disappearance accounts for wastage of pasture (through treading damage) and wastage of supplements. Assuming feed demand = feed intake means that you need to account for wastage by having higher pasture cover targets and increased supplement quantities.

Poor feed utilisation often occurs in wet conditions during the feed budget periods in winter and spring. To allow for this increase the feed demand to reflect this.

For example for a dry cow to eat 7 kg DM per cow per day with 30% wastage means their feed demand is in fact 10 kg DM per cow per day.

No dairy farm ever experiences 100% utilisation of pasture grown. Pasture disappears through the natural process of decay and is not obvious to the eye even in normal grazing conditions.

Click here to go to the Dexcel Feed Information Sheet (for feed demand figures). Similar data is found in the Information section in FeedPlan.

Q6: How can I set the default units for supplements on the Supplements page?

A6: Each supplement has a default unit, which will appear each time you select that supplement. You can change the default unit for each supplement by going to Options and then Change default units for supplements . In the default unit column, select from the drop-down menu the unit that you want as the default.

The kg/unit shows how many kgs are in the unit (e.g. 1000 kg in a tonne).

The supplement units and an explanation of them are below

Q7: How can I copy the information in the FeedPlan Pro Reports into Microsoft Word or Excel to get more use from it?

A7: To copy the information from any of the FeedPlan Pro Reports into Microsoft Word, open the Report, go to File , and select Edit with Microsoft Word for Windows . This will copy all of the data in the FeedPlan Pro Report into a Microsoft Word document. You can then type in your own comments, or delete unnecessary information. You can also copy and paste the graphs into other Microsoft Word documents.

To copy the information from any of the FeedPlan Pro Reports into Microsoft Excel, open the Report, select all the data (hold down the Ctrl button and push the A button) and then copy the data (hold down the Ctrl button and push the C button). Open Microsoft Excel and paste the data into a new spreadsheet (hold down the Ctrl button and pushing the V button). You can then work with the numbers in Microsoft Excel. This could be a useful way to compare scenarios.

Q8: Is there a minimum and maximum level that the Pasture Cover should not exceed?

A8: Check the pasture cover graph with your own targets for the year. For most farms, where pasture forms over 80% of the cows diet a target of 2200 - 2400 kg DM/ha at calving is recommended. In order to feed cows well from pasture alone, average pasture cover should not fall below a minimum value of 1800 kg DM/ha, otherwise bite size will be restricted and pasture growth compromised.

Q9: What does the Feed Supply and Demand graph tell me?

A9: The Feed Supply and Demand graph shows feed supply and feed demand as kg DM/ha/day standardised to pasture equivalents (1 kg DM pasture = 11.5 MJME). The graph can be used to check the practicality of the fertiliser inputs. Totals can be found by clicking on the red diamond or green bar on the graph.

• Pasture grown from N-fertiliser (blue box on graph) should not be more than pasture grown without N-fertiliser.
• If the red demand line is above the feed supply column then the average pasture cover will reduce.
• If the red demand line is below the feed supply column then the average pasture cover will increase.

Q10: How do I delete unwanted feed budgets?

A10: Go into My Computer , then open the Local disk (computer's hard-drive) and open the FeedPlanPro folder (usually stored in Program Files ). Feed budget files are stored in the feedBudgets folder. Feed budget files can be deleted from this, by selecting the file and pushing the Delete button. Make sure you select the correct file!!

Q11: How do I change the average pasture cover as it changes on farm?

A11: Regularly comparing actual pasture cover with your budgeted cover will help you better manage your farm. To update the budget in FeedPlan Pro:

• Open the feed budget in FeedPlan Pro
• Identify the most likely causes in variation in pasture cover
• Change these factors in FeedPlan Pro until the budgeted pasture cover is the same as the actual
• Adapt future periods to achieve pasture cover and production targets.
• To save the feed budget, which could be called “actual”, for example, click on File , Save As , and type in a new name in the File name box.

Example

Actual pasture cover at the start of June is 2000 kg DM/ha. Budgeted pasture cover was 2400 kg DM/ha. Likely causes:

• Milked 20 cows for 2 weeks in May more than had budgeted
• May was colder than normal. Pasture growth was lower than that budgeted

The feed budget is adjusted for these changes by changing the numbers of milkers and dry cows and reducing the May pasture growth rates.