Feed Management

Feed is one of the biggest expenses on any farm. Barnsbook™ gives you tools to track what you have on hand, what you're feeding, and how long your supplies will last — so you never run out and never overspend.

Feed Management Overview

Access Feed Management from More > Farm Management. The feed system lets you track your feed inventory and manage rations for your animals.

Feed Inventory Pro

With a Pro subscription, you can manage a complete feed inventory. For each feed type you stock, record:

• Feed name and type — hay, silage, grain, mineral supplement, or custom
• Quantity on hand — bales, tons, pounds, or bags
• Cost per unit — to calculate feeding cost per animal
• Expiry or best-by date — for feeds that can spoil
• Vendor — link to a vendor in your Vendors & Suppliers list

Rations and Feeding Schedules

Create rations — predefined feeding plans for groups of animals. A ration specifies which feeds are given, in what amounts, and how often. You can assign a ration to a group of animals (for example, all cows in Pasture 2) so you always know the daily feeding plan for each group. Feeding schedules appear in your Farm Calendar as reminders.

Basic feed logs are available on all plans. Feed inventory management and advanced ration building require a Pro subscription.

Forage Calculator Pro

The Forage Calculator (More > Farm Management) estimates the dry matter your pastures can provide and calculates how long they'll support your current stocking rate. This helps you decide when to supplement with hay or move animals to a different pasture before they run the forage down.

AI Ration Balancer Premium

The Ration Balancer (More > AI Tools) is an AI-powered tool that analyzes your animals' nutritional requirements based on their species, weight, age, production stage (lactating, growing, gestating), and your available feed types. It suggests optimal feed combinations to meet nutritional targets while minimizing cost. This is especially useful when transitioning between forage sources or when supplementing for production-stage changes.

Tracking Feed Expenses

Feed purchases automatically become expenses in Barnsbook when you record them in the Expenses tab. Assign feed purchases to the correct Schedule F expense category (Feed Purchased) so your tax reports are accurate. See the Expenses & Revenue guide for more details on expense tracking.