With proven benefits to cow health and welfare, herd productivity and farmer work-life-balance, robotic milking systems are increasing in popularity.
If you’re looking to make the transition, Wynnstay head of dairy services, David Howard, gives his four top tips for those considering introducing robots to their farm.
Wynnstay Group, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of agricultural products and services, is turning to LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) to help support its net zero ambitions.
The transition period impacts cow health, fertility and production, therefore, effective and efficient management during this time is key. To do so, Wynnstay dairy specialist David Jones, recommends focussing on four F’s: feet, forage, feed and facilities.
If you didn’t look at reseeding last spring, this autumn could be an ideal time to invest in your forage quantity and quality.
Recent silage analysis from across the country has show variation in nutrient analysis, this may pose feeding challenges to farmers this Autumn and consideration needs to be given to balancing the ration to optimise rumen health and maintain performance
There is no such thing as a silver bullet balancing for Amino Acids in calf milk replacer.
Amino acids are certainly the buzz word in ruminant nutrition, and rightly so. Nevertheless, will AA supplementation change the world of calf milk replacers too?
There are two overarching themes in research and ongoing farm trials:
No foot, no horse’ is a well-known saying in the equine world, and nutrition is a key part of maintaining optimum hoof health. When considering hoof nutrition, the emphasis tends to be on biotin, methionine and zinc, and all of these have their roles to play within the complex hoof, but have we overlooked one of the main players? What role does sulphur play in your horse’s hoof health?
Minerals are necessary to sustain life but you might be surprised by how many cow and calf operations are mineral deficient, especially when it comes to copper and Selenium. Here is our guide to minerals and the roles they play in keeping your livestock healthy.
Whether lambs will be retained for breeding or finishing, it is imperative that they have the correct balance of trace elements in order to thrive. The 4 key trace elements needed for optimal performance are Selenium, Cobalt, Iodine and Zinc. All these trace elements are contained within the ‘Wynnstay Lamb Bolus’, or alternatively if lambs only require Cobalt, then the ‘Wynnstay Cobalt B12’ bolus is a suitable alternative.
The British dairy industry prides itself on being a pioneer in dairy cattle welfare; it is a top priority for the sector.
However, the fate of dairy bull calves is not a secret; it is a key focus area for the industry. While the rearing of bull calves for the beef market is high, and several industry initiatives continue to champion improvements in calf health, welfare and survival, there is still room for improvement. The industry has committed to making further progress in this area with the development of the GB Calf Strategy. The core objective of the strategy is to find practical solutions to reduce the number of calves that are routinely euthanised on farms. You can read more about the GB Calf Strategy on the AHDB website.
