As riders, we ask horses to do a job that involves coordinated movement of the musculoskeletal system and therefore a degree of fitness. Of course, different disciplines will involve different degrees of exercise intensity. However, whenever we ask a horse to carry us it is important to consider how best to train, maintain fitness and reduce unwanted injury or soreness.
In recent years, we have seen automatic calf machine becoming more popular on farm, and with recent government grants including machines, popularity has soared. Automatic calf feeders can be a great tool on farm, allowing labour time spent feeding the calves monitoring the calves health and performance.
If your lambs are struggling with low-quality forage or limited grazing options, you should consider creep feeding your lambs. Creep feeding provides supplemental nutrition to lambs while they are still nursing.
For those with well-managed grazing systems and access to plentiful grass, creep feeding may not be required. However, to hit daily live weight gain (DLWG) targets and meet market requirements, reliance on low-quality forage or limited grazing won’t deliver the desired results, and it will pay to feed creep feed to bolster performance.
“In June 2023 we started a complete overhaul of calf management at Bengrove Farm, in an attempt to combat calf disease and mortality rates. We did this while feeding Wynngold™ Bloom and were successful in our initial goals.
In a further push for increased performance, we found that our growth rates would not exceed 0.55 kg/day DLWG. In August, the decision was made - with the help of the Wynnstay Youngstock Team - to switch to Wynngold™ Supernova milk replacer. The increase in vigour and reduction in nutritional scour was immediate with a gradual and consistent increase in growth rates.
We are very pleased with the overall results from feeding Supernova and are incredibly happy to end the year with a DLWG of 0.82 kg/day.”
"We cannot recommend OsmoFit enough, it is extremely palatable and has a pleasant aroma. It is a cost-effective, preventative method and minimises the costs associated with scour outbreaks and sick calves.”
One in five sheep producers are still cross fostering triplet lambs onto single-bearing ewes and about 30% are continuing to bottle feed orphans. This is despite the significant extra labour required to carry out both traditional rearing practices.
The Wynnstay marketing team supports the diverse needs of the business through printed materials, events, podcast, website, and social media. The team are based at our head office in Llansantffraid. In this article we speak to each member of the marketing office to learn more about them and their role.
In his second year of growing maize in tandem with beans, Jonathan Evans of Berry Hill Farm in Pembrokeshire has learned some valuable lessons, particularly in terms of crop establishment, variety selection and the importance of weed control.
Seen firstly as a good alternative break crop to oilseed rape – which has become harder to establish due to the difficulties in controlling flea beetle – maize is now a valuable forage for their beef finishing enterprise as well as an additional cash crop sold to neighbouring dairy and goat farms.