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.
2023's spring and summer saw frequent wet spells and lower levels of sunshine, which had an impact on harvesting windows and according to Trouw Nutrition GB analysis, and has resulted in variable silages across the UK, with some wet and unpalatable, and some dry and low protein grass silage. Maize silage yields were good if the weather allowed the harvest at the right time, albeit starch levels are lower than usual. High maize silage diets coupled with lower protein gras silages may leave a shortfall of rumen degradable protein and fermentable energy in rations. .
With spring calving fast approaching, kickstarting one of the busiest, most demanding time of year, being properly prepared can relieve some of the stress for farmer, cow and calf.
Rearing heifers are a sizeable investment to a dairy enterprise, with rearing costs not being recouped until the cow reaches their second lactation. Studies carried out by AHDB show that on average 17% of milking heifers exit the herd before their second lactation (AHDB, 2023).
Elevated energy demands placed on pregnant ewes in late gestation mean sheep can lose condition and suffer from twin lamb disease. This produces ketones as fat reserves are used as an energy source as opposed to glucose in the bloodstream.
With the festivities behind us we, and our horses, can get back to the day to day of enjoying our riding, and looking forward to longer days with better weather ahead. However, that is not always easy when we are still very much in the grips of winter. Icy, or very wet and boggy, conditions can mean longer time spent stabled for our horses, limiting their natural exercise; while the cold, damp weather seemingly heads straight to their joints at this time of year. This is particularly true for our senior horses, where joint stress is recognized as being prevalent in more than 50% of horses over fifteen years old, rising to around 80-90% in older animals.
The importance of upholding soil health and sustaining its productivity for the future is essential. No matter what the enterprise, we are reliant on soil for all production, either to produce our crops or forage to feed livestock. Therefore, measures must be taken to conserve soil, which is more vulnerable to erosion and the leaching of essential nutrients over the winter months, especially after the harvest of maize crops.
