Dry Sheep Equivalent
Dry Sheep Equivalent is a standard unit frequently used in Australia 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 Merino sheep to maintain its weight. One DSE is equivalent to 7.60 megajoule 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 is required for 6,000 DSE.
