Silage dry matter calculator

Free silage dry matter calculator: enter wet and dry sample weights to get dry matter percent, plus the as-fed amount, and share your result.

The short answerDry matter % = dry weight divided by wet weight, times 100. To compare feeds fairly, convert any nutrient from an as-fed basis to a dry-matter basis by dividing by dry matter.

Dry matter: 33.0%

Go deeper in the course

L13
NIR in Agriculture
Week 4 · 18 min
See in curriculum

Enroll — $99 lifetime  14-day refund

Questions

Why does silage dry matter matter?

Dry matter sets how much feed a cow actually gets per kilogram of silage. Corn silage dry matter can range from 28% to 45% in one region across years.

How do I get the wet and dry weights?

Weigh a sample, dry it fully in an oven or forced-air dryer, and weigh it again. Dry matter percent is dry weight divided by wet weight, times 100.

Can NIR replace the oven?

A calibrated NIR gives dry matter in about a minute. Oven drying remains the reference used to build and check the calibration.