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Starch levels are often seen as a measure of milk potential and rumen stability in diets, thus used as a benchmark when formulating diets.
In reality, starch levels in diets do not matter, because in isolation they don't tell you a great deal. Starch is only one of four energy sources to the rumen and furthermore, the degradability of starch sources greatly influences rumen dynamics.

One of the biggest variable costs on livestock farms is undoubtedly feed costs and figures are often quoted that grazed grass is the cheapest feed on the farm. However, if we all agree that grazed grass is the cheapest feed on a farm then one target should be to maximise its use. The second obvious target alongside that is to maximise the use of grass silage in those periods when grazed grass is not sufficient to meet the needs of the stock on your farm. There are many choices to be made when considering grass silage the first being whether to bale or to clamp.

When it comes to making silage, and regardless of whether it’s in a clamp or in bale, one of the most important things to have at the forefront of your mind is oxygen. Or more specifically, how to reduce it in the silo at all times.

The transition period for the dairy cow; three weeks prepartum, into three weeks postpartum is the most important phase in the lactation cycle. Rightly, transition management is receiving much greater attention and more importantly so is the nutrition.

“So, how can farm benchmarking help my farm?” You may ask. Well, it can have great benefits in helping to make your farm business more profitable, resilient, and reach your long-term goals. It offers farms the chance to analyse and compare their performance with either themselves annually, or other farms of a similar size and enterprise mix. With the industries future uncertain and markets volatile thanks to a combination of Brexit and climate change amongst several other factors, benchmarking can help ensure the business is operating as efficiently as possible.

During my visits on farm I have found a common topic keeps popping up- staff; lack of it and lack of quality staff. Recently we found ourselves without a calf rearer on the farm and, this got me thinking;
What makes a good calf rearer?
What qualities should we be looking for?
How can the right person improve performance of calves on the unit?

The AminoMatch nutritional approach is based on characterising the amino acid profile of your forage and then reducing dietary crude protein (CP) levels by ensuring an adequate supply of the first limiting amino acids; methionine and lysine.

Increasing numbers of dairy x beef calves are opening up new avenues for beef farmers, but how do you decide what will best suit your system?

Whilst developed several decades ago, research into high sugar grasses and their proposed benefits has been continual. But where do they differ from normal grasses? Firstly, their “higher sugar” levels are delivered through greater water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) levels within the grass. These WSC’s are present within the plant’s cells as opposed to the cell walls, where they take longer to be broken down for energy in the rumen. Higher WSC content within the grasses offers a greater amount of readily available energy within the cow’s diet, allowing for more efficient utilisation of dietary proteins in the rumen.