Enter the cow body weight and the diet Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF, % of dry matter) into the Dry Matter Intake Calculator. The calculator will estimate the Dry Matter Intake (DMI) per day.
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Dry Matter Intake Formula
The following example problem outlines the steps and information needed to calculate the Dry Matter Intake (DMI) using a common forage-based rule of thumb.
DMI = CBW * 1.2 / NDF
Variables:
- DMI is the Dry Matter Intake (lb/day)
- CBW is the cow body weight (lb)
- NDF is the Neutral Detergent Fiber content of the diet (% of dry matter, entered as a percent such as 50)
To estimate the dry matter intake, multiply the cow body weight by 1.2, then divide by NDF (%). (This comes from DMI as a percent of body weight ≈ 120 / NDF(%).)
How to Calculate Dry Matter Intake?
The following steps outline how to calculate the Dry Matter Intake.
- First, determine the cow body weight (lb).
- Next, determine the diet NDF (% of dry matter).
- Next, gather the formula from above: DMI = CBW * 1.2 / NDF.
- Finally, calculate the Dry Matter Intake (lb/day or kg/day).
- After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.
Example Problem :
Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.
cow body weight (lb) = 1300
NDF (% of dry matter) = 50
DMI = CBW * 1.2 / NDF = ?
Answer: DMI = 1300 × 1.2 / 50 = 31.2 lb/day
