All good nutritionists know that every single farm has a minimum of three rations. The first is the ration that the nutritionist formulates, the second is the one that is loaded, mixed and fed out and the third is the one the cows sort out and consume. The difference between the first and final ration can be enormous & the principal affects grass-based herds as much as TMR fed ones. Afterall there is the grass that is measured (either by eye, sward stick or plate meter), the grass that is allocated to the cows (by field or fence) and the grass (and concentrate) that the cows consume and digest.

2020 has seen an extremely dry spring followed by a wet summer for some, but how has this impacted on grass growth on Welsh farms?

Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) will discuss the challenges of the 2020 grass growing season in its next online webinar on 12 October 2020 at 7:30pm.

Read the Raw Material Market update, written by Carwyn Worthington, Senior Trade Manager at Wynnstay.

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?

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.

The last few years have produced some challenging weather conditions for UK dairy farmers, with predictions suggesting extreme weather events may become more common place.With summer approaching, Wynnstay and QLF look at how molasses can help reduce your heat stress losses.

An amino acid is the building block of protein and needed for many vital processes like the synthesis of hormones, neurotransmitters, and cell structures. There are twenty that are required, with ten of those called essential, because the cow cannot produce them herself.

Transition cows are the next generation of milking cows in your herd, so every effort should be made to ensure that they have the best transition into milking and become profitable long-term herd members. Just letting one thing slip under the radar - such as diet, or space allocation - can unknowingly cause costly health problems later on.

Ruminants are fascinating creatures. What sets them apart from monogastric organisms with one simple stomach, is that they possess a huge fermentation chamber - the rumen. The rumen is full of a microbial population made up of bacteria, protozoa and fungi. This microbial population is able to break down forage and raw materials, that aren’t edible for humans into essential nutrients that can be used for body function and performance.

We are coming out of one of the toughest winters in terms of forage stocks in recent memory and although the grass is not blowing in the wind quite yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is time to be planning forage stocks.