How to Rank Your Pasture using the Contribution Calculation

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Hi, I’m Sarah, and today I’m breaking down how to rank your pasture using the Contribution Calculation. If that phrase made you think, What on earth does that mean?, don’t worry—you’re not alone! It might be worth checking out our guide on “How do you know when it’s time to renovate your pastures?” first for some helpful context.

For those who don’t know me, here’s a quick intro. I was born and raised on a farm so I understand the problems farmers face, I have experience selling Delmade machinery and have worked as a part of the sales team for quite a few years – so I have the knowledge to find the machine that’s going to work for your situation, and in my spare time I’m knocking out a Batchelor of Ag Science Degree in the hope of rounding out my knowledge.

Now, let’s get to it and make sense of this calculation together!

Step 1: Collect Your Quadrant Data

Collect your quadrant data. We recommend using a basic table system as pictured here. (You can download your own copy of this below).

For each quadrant, record the top three species found and rank them according to their presence. The species with the highest presence is ranked Rank 1, the second highest is Rank 2, and the third highest is Rank 3.

Example of each quadrants data listed in simple tables:

Step 2: Rank Your Species

Once you have your data recorded it's time to rank each species you found. Again, we recommend using a basic table system as pictured here. (You can download your own copy of this below).

List every species you found and then count the number of times each species found appears as a Rank 1, Rank 2 or Rank 3. At the bottom of each Rank total up the column.

Example of all species recorded are listed in a simple table:

Step 3: Perform the Calculation for each Species

Step 3 is performing the calculation. The calculation might sound complex, but it’s actually quite straightforward. It’s called the Contribution by Species to Botanical Composition Calculation and is used to determine the percentage each species contributes to the overall botanical composition of a quadrant.

This method uses a weighted system that factors in how often a species is ranked in different positions:

  • Rank 1 (most dominant) carries the heaviest weight at 70.2,
  • Rank 2 contributes 21.1, and
  • Rank 3 contributes 8.7.

You will perform the calculation for each of the species listed above in Step 2 and it will give you a clear picture of the relative importance or dominance of each species within the quadrant.

Contribution by Species to Botanical Composition Calculation

As an example, we have performed the calculation for legumes as listed above in our example data:

Legumes appear 1 time as a Rank 1 species, 1 time as a Rank 2 species and 0 times as a Rank 3 species.

Replace the red text in the equation with the correct data.

So, legumes contribute 30.43% to the botanical composition of the quadrants measured.

By following these steps, you'll have a clear and accurate assessment of each species' contribution to your pasture's botanical composition.

BONUS TIP & FREE DOWNLOAD!

You can use a program like Excel to help you perform the calculation for each species.

To help you out here is a downloadable copy of all our example data & and an Excel sheet that can perform the calculation for you!

Download your Copy!

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