Dry Sheep Equivalent (DSE) is a standard unit frequently used in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
to compare the feed requirements of different classes of stock or to assess the carrying capacity and potential productivity of a given farm or area of grazing land.
The unit represents the amount of feed required by a two-year-old, 45 kg (some sources state 50 kg)
Merino sheep (
wether or
non-lactating,
non-pregnant ewe) to maintain its weight. One DSE is equivalent to 7.60
megajoule (MJ) per day.
The carrying capacity of a farm is commonly determined in Australia by expressing the number of stock carried during a period of feed shortage in terms of their DSEs.
Benchmarking standards used by Grazing for Profit programmes quote that one labour unit (40 hours per week) is required for 6,000 DSE (other benchmarking standards set the figure at 7,000 DSE).
See also
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Livestock grazing comparison
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Sheep
References and notes
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External links
How to use Dry Sheep Equivalents (DSEs) to compare sheep enterprises{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110618174421/http://www.fourthcrossingwildlife.com/GrassCows%26Kangaroos.htm , date=2011-06-18
Using DSEs and carrying capacities to compare beef enterprises
Australian sheep industry
Livestock in Australia
Equivalent units