The cost of growing beef for finishing, the store cattle market or for rearing dairy replacement heifers, can put huge financial pressure on your business. Whatever system employed, realising a sustainable profit once all costs are considered can be challenging. With increasing fixed costs, an ever-uncertain political landscape and opportunity cost of the assets used, it is as important as ever that operators remain as efficient as possible to generate profit
With yields on cereal crops widely being reported across the industry as much as 1 tonne higher per acre, (2.5 tonne per hectare) than last year, and grass yields certainly outstripping 2018, grain stores and silage clamps are looking fuller going into the winter this year.
You may have noticed recurring health problems in your livestock but are not sure of the reasons why? Our Wynnstay Specialists are trained to recognise the symptoms of common mineral deficiencies and are here to help you to get to the root of the problems and to help to rectify them.
Feeding minerals to livestock, especially through the winter months, helps to correct mild to serious dietary deficiencies in grazing, forages and straights, to maximise health, fertility and performance and improve disease resistance. Getting the mineral balance right produces visible results in sheep and beef. Performance indicators include: wool growth, milk production and weight gain.
Holstein-Friesian heifers calving at 23 to 25 months of age have been shown to outperform later calving cows in terms of fertility, milk production and survival over their first 5 years of life.
With high numbers of dairy x beef calves entering the beef chain (and the current beef price not setting the world alight), it is important to consider potential finishing rations and their cost implications.
Maize is a crop which responds well to careful management and it is also influenced by weather conditions during the entire growing season, explains Dr Simon Pope, Crop Protection Manager for Wynnstay.
What do we know about worm control? Advice on the best ways to control worms in horses has changed in recent years and it is important to stick with the new advice to ensure a healthy and happy horse.
The health of any animal relies on the balance between an internal immune system and the external challenges of viruses and bacteria. When assessing calf-rearing systems, we find moisture, energy and temperature associated with most environments and related jobs. When we look to reduce bacterial counts or bacterial load on equipment or milk, it is sensible to try to eliminate one or more of their breeding requirements.
Whether our aim is to improve growth from our youngstock, improve feed conversion rates of our beef animals, or to just simply produce more milk from dairy cows, one sure way to enhance this is by increasing nutrient utilisation.
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