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A spotlight on our top choices for grass silage this September. 

Sam Ashcroft of Rosehill Farm, Chorley buys in two to four-week-old dairy bred beef calves; usually Blue and Hereford crosses. They are fed 2.5-3L of Wynngold SuperNova mixed at 150g/L either end of the day through Milkbar 3-teat compartment feeders.

We have been lucky enough to experience a handful of hot dry days this Summer. On these hot days in particular our thoughts turn to the availability and uptake of water in our calf pens. The average producer waits 17 days before offering fresh drinking water to calves (Wickramasinghe, 2020).

Did you know zinc (Zn) is the second most abundant trace mineral in the body and is involved with over 300 enzyme systems, playing a key role in hoof, skin and gut health, the immune system and optimizing productivity?

If you are looking for the most cost-effective way of rearing pre-weaned youngstock, studies have now confirmed that whey protein concentrate and skim are equivalent sources of dairy protein in milk replacers for high performing young calves fed up to 1,050g of milk solids per day.

This latest independent research – confirmed in recent trial (2019) work by AFBI at Hillsborough in Northern Ireland – will be well received by farmers wedded to skim, who at times may be interested in a cost-effective alternative when global skim prices rise.

For sheep, constant management of fluke is necessary because there is often no break in the grazing cycle. So, with no product persistent against fluke, a sheep treated one day can pick up infection the next if they are grazing infected pasture.

These challenging times are affecting every aspect of our lives, including, for many of us, how we manage our horses.

If you are turning your horse out daily or 24/7, check out the latest research on strip grazing which has been conducted in collaboration with to find out how it can help you manage your horse’s weight.

Pneumonia and scours are the two main problems in calves that vet advice is asked for. Often these diseases occur in severe outbreaks where calves can be lost if not treated appropriately and quickly, but these can be prevented avoiding stress, production losses and saving you money on vet bills!

Great Hares Head dairy farm is run by Alistair, William and Hannah Lawrence, who grew hybrid rye for the first time in 2020 to feed solely as part of the dry cow diet, and saw great results in the clamp.

With the Autumn drilling season on the horizon we are looking at key picks for variety choices this year. On the back of losing chlorothalonil, high yielding varieties with good septoria tritici rating are in popular demand.